TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
Thisisalistofsuggestionscompiledfromstudentinput.Studentsmajoringinthehumanities,the
socialsciences,andthenaturalsciencescontributed.Ofcourse,studenthopesvary,butthissetof
guidelinesoffersaglimpseintosomestudents’thinkingaboutsyllabi.
1.Whatdoyoulook/hopeforinasyllabus?
Format:Usebulletpointsandlists;thesyllabusneedstobeaccessible,clear,andconcise.
CourseDescription/Rationale
● Acoursedescriptionandwhytheprofessoristeachingit.Whatistherationalebehindthetopic,why
aretheyinterestedinit,andwhyshouldwebeinterestedinit?Thisdoesn’thavetobemorethana
paragraphor2,butit’salwaysnicetoseeonthefront.
● Summaryofthepremiseoftheclass&howitrelatestocurrentday/worldevents/whyit’simportant
tostudy
● Generalperennialquestionsthecourseseekstoaddress(andoftennotfullyanswer)alongthelines:
ofWhataretheeffectsofglobalizationonwomen'srights?foraglobalfeministtheorycourseor
perhapsforaphilosophycourseHowdoesthetheoryinteractwithpractice?
FormalandInformalExpectations
● Anobjectivessection:Clearclassobjectivesincludingabsence,late,andclassparticipationpolicies
givesmeafeelfortheprofessorandletsmeknowhis/herexpectations.
● Whatkindofworkdoesthecourseinvolve(assignments,problemsets,projects,readings,exams)
andtheworkload(howmuchI’mexpectedtodoeveryweek).
● Expectationsaboutparticipation,writing,etc.Whatarethegoalsoftheprofessor,andwhatshould
ourgoalsbe?
● Iftherearegeneralexpectationsthattheprofhasforweeklyreadingsorparticipation,thatishelpful.
Maybetheywantstudentstofocusonaparticularelementofreading,orcomeupwithacoupleof
focusquestionsontheirown.Thiscanbehelpfulguidancefromweektoweekaconstant
reminder.
● Professorpreferencesoncitationstyle
● Anoteonflexibility.Howflexibleareduedates?Whathappenswhenyouhaveanemergency?
Evenifit’sasmuchasemailingbeforethedaythatanassignmentisdue,thatcanbehelpfultosee.
Also,ifthereisnoflexibility,thatshouldbenoted.
SemesterlongSchedule
● Atentativecourseoutlinebydate(themorespecific,thebetter;thebestsyllabihaveeveryclass
mappedout)
● Ascheduleofduedatesofmajorassignmentsandexplanation:3shortpapersspacedoutevenly?1
longpaperdueattheend?weeklyresponsepapers?Ithinkthatwhenfiguringoutaworkload,
studentsreallyappreciatethisinformation.
● Ascheduleofeachweek,evenifit’sjust"WeekofSeptember5/7"orsomethinglikethatwitha
scheduleofreadings,articles,andanotethattheymaychange.Duringthefirstclass,some
professorswillalwayssay,“Thisschedulemaychangeandwemayhavetoadjust.”Thatcreatesan
environmentofflexibilityandunderstandinginlearning.Obviouslysomewillholdthemselvestovery
highexpectationstoremainonthepredictedschedulefor3months,butthenwhenit’sabsolutely
necessarytomakeanadjustment,everyone(profandstudents)cangetfrustratedneveragood
thing!
1
TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
1
TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
Assignments
● Abasicoutlineofassignmentsthatmightberegularorweeklyperhapstheresponsepaperisdueon
Thursdayatnoon.Thatcanbestatedonce,thoughforthefirstcoupleofweeksitcouldbehelpfulto
sendanemailreminder.
● Importantassignmentsbolded:Distinguishesaheadoftimewhatthebigassignmentsareandletsme
knowwhatisimportant
● Subheadingsfortheassignments:Theseletmeknowwhattheprofessorwasthinkingwhenthey
wereassigningthematerial.
● NotsimplyEssayDue,butStudentSelectedTopic,EssayonMachiavelli(oressaydiscussinga
generalthemeoftheclass...orresearchessayinvolvingprimarysourcedocuments)alludingtothe
professor’sparticularexpectationsandgoals(iftheycansomehowrelatethistothelearninggoals
fortheclassthisalsomakesthisatightconnectionandIammorelikelytounderstandwhatthey
mean).
GuidelinesforReading
● Numberofpagesofthereading:LetsmeknowhowmuchreadingIwillhaveeachnight
● Focusingquestionsforthesubjectmatterorforthereadingcanalsobeveryfruitful.Ihaveused
syllabiwhenreadingassignmentstoaskquestions,focusongiventhemes,generateessayprompts
ortoprepareforexams.UsingsyllabitosynthesizeclassmaterialafterIhavebeenexposedtoitin
classmakesmefeelasifIamontherighttrackdevelopingmyselfandkeepingupwiththepace
ofthecourse.
AssessmentandEvaluation:
● AnoutlineforhowIamtobeassessedinthecourse(forexample,whatpercentageeachassignment
isworthinmyfinalgrade),andanexplanationofanyspecialpoliciestheprofessormayhave(for
example,guidelinesonrewritesandsuch).Nothavingagoodideaofhowyouaredoinginacourse
canbeverystressful,anditisverynicetobeabletokeeptrackofyourgrade.
Resources
● Whilethismayseemobvioustosomeprofessors,postingasyllabusonlineisveryhelpful(some
professorsstilldon’tdothis!).Thedocumenthandedoutonthefirstdayiseasilylostorburiedin
otherpapers,andstudentsmaywanttofrequentlycheckitthroughoutthesemester.
● Citationsforthereadings:Itletsmeknowthecontextandbackgroundofthereadingandfromwhere
itcame.Thisishelpfulwhenanalyzingthetext.
● Officehoursandcontactinformationarealsoalwayshelpfultoinclude.
● Alistingofteachingassistants,PLI's,andextrahelpsessionsiftheyhavebeenscheduled,etc.
ProcessofIntroducingtheCourseandSyllabus
● Itishelpfulwhenthesyllabusisintroducedandgoneoverabitinclassasopposedtojustbeing
handedoutasstudentsleaveonthefirstday.Helpfultoowhenthisisadocumentthatisrevisitedas
aclassduringthesemester.
● Itcanbehelpfulandinterestingfortheprofessortotalkabitaboutthemselvesit
developstheideathatthey’rehumanbutalsoillustratestheirapproachandhowtheycameto
consideranddoworkintheirfield.
● Makingalistofaspirationsandexpectationscanalsobehelpfultodoasaclassexerciseinrelation
tothesyllabusandcourseintroduction.
1
TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
2.WhatshouldNOTgoonasyllabus?
● Idon'tthinkthereisevertoomuchthatcanbeincluded,althoughadocumentnearingoroverfour
pagescanseemveryoverwhelming.
● Adetailedoutlineofeveryassignmentiftheyaredifferentfromeachother.Itcanbeoverwhelming
toseedirectionsforeachofthethreelargepaperswehavetodo,orapagelongexplanationofhow
paperswillbegraded.Thesecanbenoted(ashortsentenceabouthowthiswillbecoveredin
class).
● Anobviouslackoftrustinstudents’abilitytokeepup,interestinthecourse,expectationsforthe
classexperience,knowledgeofthesubject,etc.Tonecanbeveryobviousinasyllabus,andcan
createanimportantimpressionforstudentsonthefirstdayorduringthefirstweekofthesemester.
It’smeaningfultoseeaclassroomcommunitygrowingrightfromthebeginningwhereit’snotjusta
teacher/studentrelationship,butacollegialcolleaguecolleaguerelationship.
● "OfficeHoursTBA"Thishappensquitefrequently,andsometimesjustasimple,byappointment
only,or,willbeannouncedfromweektoweek,isespeciallyhelpful.Insomecourses,TBAhas
cometomean"rarely,"whichcandissuadestudentsbythemiddleoftheterm.Also,it’sgreatto
putifthedoorisopencomein,orifyouwanttomakeanappointment,Iamalwaysavailableby
email.
● Whentalkingaboutcommunicationwithstudents,it’snotnecessarytoincludeastoryaboutthe
studentwhoemailedatmidnightthenightbeforeanexam.Ithinkthatthemajorityofstudentsknow
thatit’snotappropriate(oritcanbeapartoftheinclassexplanationrunthroughofthesyllabus).If
theprofessorhascertainexpectationsaboutemailing,thentheyshoulddefinitelylistthem(willnot
respondafter9pm,theychecktheiremailinthemorning,etc.etc.ifit’spossible),butIremember
onesyllabusinparticularwheretheteacherdidn'tseemtowanttohearfromstudents,orwasmuch
moreaccessibleinofficehoursratherthanemail.
3.Whatkindsoflargercontextualconsiderationsfacultyshouldbeawareofindesigning
syllabi/coursesandassignments(lullorcrunchtimesduringthesemester;rhythmsofthe
semester[whenthereshouldbewhatkindofworkinacourseandwhy];etc.)
Considerhowbesttosupporttherhythmandthedevelopmentofstudentlearning
● Ilikewhenaprofessorusesassignment“scaffolding”—forinstancewhenthereareseveraldue
datesfordifferentphasesofalargerproject.Themostvaluableprojectscomeoutofaprocess
whereastudentcanreceivecriticismandeditaccordinglyalongtheway.
● Ithinkthatconsistencythroughoutthesemesterisalsoimportant.Irememberonehistorycourse
wheretheprofessorassignedonepaperbetweenthebeginningofthespringsemesterandspring
break(35pg?),amidtermpaper(57?),betweenspringbreakandtheendofthesemester(35?),a
differentsortofpaperduethelastday,andafinalpaper(810pg?).Itwaswonderfullyspacedout,
andIsawthetwoshorterpapersaspracticerunsIthinktheyweremorefocusedonourreadings.
Nothingwastooexcessive,andtherewasagradualdevelopmentofassignmentsduringthefourth
monthterm.Itfunctionedwellincomparisontoalongmidtermpaper(1012pg)andalongfinal
paper(1215)whentherewasn'tasmuchguidance.
● Iftheprofessorchoosestohaveworkdueonthelastdayofclasses,aswellasthelastdayoffinals,
studentsshouldknowwhatthedifferencesarebetweenthetwoassignments(paperandpaper,paper
andexam,etc.).Largepapersareoftenduethelastdayofclasses.Also,inthesamewaythat
thinkingaboutworkingduringbreakscanbedaunting,papersdueinthemiddleofthefinalsperiod
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TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
canbedauntingaswell.However,havingapaperdueonDec.14ratherthanthe18,orMay10
ratherthanthe17,canhelpstudentsgetitdoneandfleshthingsoutearlier.Helpfulexplanationsare
thattheprofneedstogetstartedearlierb/cofseniorwork,theydon'twantthewholethingdragging
onstudentscanreallygetcaughtupinoneassignment.Havingaroughdraftoranoutlinedueat
theendofclasses,perhaps,andthenthefinalproductdueinthemiddleoffinals,isanicewayto
spacethingsout.
Studentshavemultiple/variousneedsandresponsibilities
● Considerlevelofexperienceofthestudents,istheclassmostlyfreshmenandsophomoresorjuniors
andseniors,andifthestudentsneedmoretimetocompletedifficultreadingsormightbeassisted
withhavingroughdraftsdueorhavingarequiredtripthewritingcenter.
● Rememberthatstudentshaveothercommitments,classes,andwork.
● Considertakehomefinalsoramixoffinalsorpapers/presentations.
Keepinmindcampusandculturalevents
● Halloween,MayDay,ParentsWeekendandotherreligiousorcelebratoryholidaysandeventsare
importanttoconsider.
● Facultyshouldbeawareofthedaysthatmanyotherclassesarecanceled(usuallythedaybefore
Thanksgiving),andcampuswideevents/traditions.Forinstance,itwouldnotbewisetoholda
reviewsessionforthefinalonMayDay,norwouldbeitagoodideatoadministeranexamduring
HellWeek.
● Ithinkprofessorsshoulddefinitelyconsiderthetraditionswhencreatingsyllabi.
Typicalcrunchtimes
● Facultyshouldalwaysincludeguidelinesofwhenisthelatestormaximumamountoftimetheyneed
ifstudentshave"crunchtime"withotherclassesandmightneedextensions.
● Facultyshouldbeawareofpeakexamtimes(theweeksbeforefallbreak,thanksgiving,andspring
break),althoughmanycourseshavetheirexamsatdifferenttimestoo.
● Thebulkofassignmentsareusuallyduebeforeorafterbreaks.Learningtoaddvarietytothe
schedulecanbeveryhelpful(havingthingsduetwothreeweeksafter/beforebreak)canhelp
studentseasetheburdenoftoomanyassignmentsatthesametime.
● I’venoticedthatmoststudentsdon'tliketheirexamsorprojectsduedirectlyafterabreakbecause
studyingcanthenconsumewhatshouldbetheirtimeoff.
○ IamnotinschoolmodeduringbreakssoIamnotgivingmybestworkbutinsteadworkingor
studyingthedaybeforeclass.
○ Ipersonallyhatehavinglargeassignmentsdueimmediatelyaftervacations,especially
Thanksgiving.Whilemanyassignmentsareduebeforebreaks,itmakesforafarmorerelaxing
vacationifthemajorityoftheworkisduebeforehand.Inaddition,ourbreaksandtimewithour
familiesaresoshort,anditissadwhenthistimeismademorestressfulbyassignments.
○ IreallydislikeexamsorpapersdueafterfallbreakorthanksgivingasIfeelthatisawasteof
break.
○ OverbreaksIthinkitisbesttohonorthefactthatitisabreakandstudentsprobablyneedit
butIthinkitissometimesniceextrapreptimeforalargerprojectandIwouldn'tobjectto
somereadingorinitialresearchduringthesetimes.
○ Althoughitcanbedifficulttothinkaboutduringfallbreak,havingamidtermorapaperduethe
weekafterfallbreak,orthelastweekinOctober,reducestheprebreakstress.Thisis
especiallytrueforashorterpaperthatcanbedifficulttofitintoamidtermstudyschedule.
Thesameprobablygoesforspringbreak.
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TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
● Thelastdayofclassesisalwaysaverydifficultday.Manystudentshavefinalsthatday,orhaveto
completemajorassignmentsbeforetheendofthesemester.Iwouldthinkitwouldbekindtohave
someoftheseassignmentspushedforward,sothatstudentsdonotfeelallofthatstressthelastday
(thatdayisalwaystheworstofthesemesterforme).
Somenarrativeexplanationsforwhytheseconsiderationsareimportant:
Therearecertainclassesthatonereallywantstotakeorhastotakeduringaparticularsemester.
Inthosecourses,thesyllabusdoesn'taffectmydecisiontoenrollmuchatall.But,fortheother
courses/electivesthatwillfillintherestofmyschedule,Ilookforthecoursestructuretoseeifit
fitswiththeotherclassesI'mtaking.IwanttomakesureIdon'thavetoomanycoursesofthesame
kindsothatallmyhomeworkinvolvespapersandreadingeveryweek.Ilookforasmuch
informationaspossibleonthesyllabus.ThemoreIknowaheadoftime,thebetterIfeelabout
takingacourse.Idon'tliketobesurprisedwhenIhearthatthereisassignmentcomingupthat
wasn'tlisted.Ialwaysplanoutmysemesterwithacomprehensivesemesterataglancepagefor
myselfthatincludesallmajortestandprojectdates,campuseventsI'minvolvedin,andtripsoffof
campusthatImayhaveplanned.Iwantenoughinformationonthesyllabustobeabletofillthat
out.Ialsoliketoseeagenerallistoftopicsthatwillbecoveredweeklyandabreakdownofthe
gradingpercentages.I'malotlesslikelytotakeacoursewheretheentiregraderestsonjusta
coupleofexams/paperssinceIprefertohavelotsofopportunitiestocontributetomygrade.
Thereshouldbeadescriptionaboutwhathappenswithlateassignments(whethertheyare
tolerated,byhowmuchone'sgradedecreaseseveryhour/daytheassignmentislate),ifredosof
assignmentsareallowed,whathappens(ifanything)whenastudentmissesclass,andhowmuch
participationinexpectedinclass.
Sometimessyllabicanbesoenormousthatstudentsdonothavetimetoreaditthroughcompletely,
andtheimportantinformationinsideisneverfound.I'dadviseprofessorstobeconciseintheir
syllabi,butalsodetailedintheinformationthatstudentsreallywanttoknow(likehowtheyare
assessed).
Syllabishouldideallyincludeadetailedoverviewofclasstopicsandpossibleassignments/reading
(thelatterisnotalwaysrealistic).Theyshouldalsoalwayshavedatesspecifiedforwhenmajor
assignmentsorexamstakeplace.(Sometimesfacultyneglecttoputthisinformationinanddonot
announcethemtothelastminute).Atthesametime,facultymembershavedifferentstyles.Some
followtheirsyllabustothemark,whileothersmightgoaheadorbehindwhichcouldcause
confusionforthestudentsandrenderthesyllabususeless.Forfacultymemberswhodonotfollow
thesyllabusexactly,theyshoulddesignsyllabiwithestimatesinmindofwhatthetopicsareand
whentheyexpectmajorprojects,exams,paperstobeduesostudentsunderstandthereismore
flexibility.
Moststudentslikemyself,don'tknowiftheyareabletodiscussthesyllabuswiththeprofessor,and
don'tknowiftheyhaveanyagencyinpossiblyalteringthingsthattheymayfindunfairor
unreasonable.Forexample,Ihadseveralprofessorswriteontheirsyllabithattheywouldprefer
studentstonotleaveclassduringadiscussiontogotothebathroom.Ipersonallyfoundthose
commentstobehighlyminusculeandelementary,andwould'vepreferredforthemtoeithernotbe
onthesyllabusorstatedinformallyduringclasstime.ReadingitmademefeellikeIhadalmost
regressedbacktohighschool,andratherawkwardaroundtheprofessor.Iwould'velikedtohave
raisedmyhandandaskedtheprofwhytheychosetolistthatonthesyllabus,butIfelttherewas
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TheAndrewW.MellonTeachingandLearningInstituteatBrynMawrCollege
WhatStudentsHopeForinaSyllabus
nospacetodoso.So,itcouldbecool(probablynotentirelypossible)forprofstohavesomesort
ofdiscussionwithstudentsonsyllabi.
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