Guidelines to the Organization and Contents of a Syllabus
Items in bold are essentially required. Those in regular
text are highly suggested. (Those in parentheses are up to individual
instructors.)
- Department
- Course title and course number
- Number of units/credits
- Semester
- Meeting time and location
- Basic Instructor Information
- Name of instructor (title and
rank)
- Office address and phone number
- (home phone number)
- Email address (with some indication of time to
allow for response)
- Office hours
- Preferred method of contact
- Names and contact information for teaching assistants: essential
if they are graders or tutors only, not essential if they do have
their own discussion section, for example
- Description of the course
- Introduction to the subject matter, what the course is
about
- How the course fits in the college or department curriculum
- Why students would want to learn the material
- Overall course goals or objectives: 3-5 major objectives
you expect all students to strive for (unit objectives
may be included in the syllabus or handed out as a separate document)
- Format of the course
- Conceptual structure used to organize the course, why it is organized
the way it is
- Philosophy of teaching and learning
- Courses that students should have successfully completed
- Knowledge students are expected to have
- Course Requirements and Assessment Overview
- Nature of assignments and exams (details can be
in a separate handout)
- Deadlines and test dates
- Description of grading procedures
- Description of how grades will be assigned, components
of final grade, weights, grading scale
- Textbook and other required materials
- Supplemental readings, etc.
- Campus resources—tutoring, writing, counseling, etc.
- Estimate of student work load
- Hints for how to study, take note, etc.
- Availability of past exams, etc.
- University-based policies—academic integrity
- Course specific polices—late assignments, make-up exams,
attendance, participation, etc.
- Statement on accommodations
- Important dates such as drop dates, final exam date, etc.
- Course Calendar or Schedule
- Sequence of course topics with tentative (or firm) dates
- Due dates for assignments, exams
- Preparations or readings
