SAMPLE SYLLABI
These syllabi offer lots of ideas and serve as good examples for inclusive tone and helpful structure.
The course syllabus is more than a simple contract or informational document for the students. The syllabus serves many purposes:
Go through the modules to better understand the importance of having an equitable syllabus, see example syllabi and think about where and how to communicate in a more equitable, welcoming and demystifying way.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing a syllabus. The structure of a course syllabus will differ depending on instructor, course topic, department guidelines, and institutional guidelines. However, there are ways to structure a syllabus that are more effective than others.
We recommend the following checklist or rubric to evaluate your syllabus and identify areas for improvement:
We have created a CEILS Syllabus Template that you can use as a starting point.
This website will prompt you to enter all the relevant information and then create a Word document for you to download and open (“Submit Form”):
These guides go along with the CEILS syllabus template so you can see language examples (along with resources) as you create or update your own syllabus.
These syllabi offer lots of ideas and serve as good examples for inclusive tone and helpful structure.
A syllabus scavenger hunt is a 10-15 minute in-class activity you can do, instead of just reviewing the syllabus for your students. They work in groups to use the syllabus to answer common questions that come up about the course.
Another option is to assign a CCLE quiz on the key points of the syllabus (with no penalties for incorrect answers and allowing multiple attempts), so that students are all answering the most common questions themselves on the quiz.
Here are some preliminary considerations for developing your syllabus:
In addition to developing the content of your syllabus, it is critical to consider the tone and language. Here are a few tips:
A great tool to help you plan your course and design your syllabus is Measuring the Promise: A Valid and Reliable Syllabus Rubric by Michael Palmer, Dorothe Bach, & Adriana Streifer at the University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center.
The following resource by Michael Palmer, Lindsay B. Wheeler, and Itiya Aneece provides several contrasting examples between more learner-centered language and more content-centered language, which influence the tone of the document and students perception of the course and instructor:
Does the Document Matter? The Evolving Role of Syllabi in Higher Education
Resource on Syllabus Constructions (includes sample statements you can review for ideas on language):
Riviere, J., Picard, D. R., & Coble, R. (2016) Syllabus Design Guide. Retrieved 1/26/2017 from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/syllabus-design/
The Course Syllabi Recommendations Word document contains information gathered by the UCLA Undergraduate Council regarding syllabi and suggested template language you may wish to adopt for certain topics. The Council does not wish to be prescriptive, and no faculty member is required to adopt any of the recommendations it has created.
The Council identified a number of best practices, such as:
If you have any questions, or would like to share any best practices you have discovered, please feel free to contact Professor Lazazzera at BethL@microbio.ucla.edu or the Undergraduate Council Analyst, Julia Nelsen, at jnelsen@senate.ucla.edu.
The following guides have been developed by UCLA WI+RE to provide tips for students on etiquette for communication with faculty:
Meeting With Faculty In-Person
The following campus resources can be provided to students as well in your syllabus (as a list or as a link) or posted in CCLE:
There are many perspectives on allowing the use of devices in the classroom. Whatever you decide, we recommend including this policy in your syllabus.
University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching released a 2011 report summarizing student survey findings on the use of laptops and recommendations for faculty. Below, we list a few syllabus text recommendations adapted from this report:
This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, entitled “How much do you want your final to count?” describes a procedure for allowing students to choose the weight of each assignment within certain ranges; students almost universally loved this approach.. If you are wondering how to do this within Bruin Learn or your own spreadsheet program, you can contact us at CEILS for help.