The Effective Syllabus
(55 Strategies)

The effective syllabus provides students and instructors
with a compass for success!

Compass

“This workshop was SO HELPFUL!  Victoria made me think about content I’d never thought of adding to my syllabus.  It gave us lots to think about…very applicable, very engaging, great methods.” ~Suzanna Bratzler, University of La Verne, CA

“This workshop helped me reflect on my own approaches and think more intentionally about my teaching and language on the syllabus.”  ~Allyson Brantley, Assistant Professor, History
College of Arts and Sciences, University of La Verne, CA

Faculty Development Workshop Purpose and Focus
  1. To develop the expertise (knowledge, skills, and dispositions) needed to create a  highly effective syllabus
  2. To identify and explore the purpose and goals of a highly effective syllabus
  3. To identify the critical core components of a highly effective syllabus, for the purpose of drafting or developing participant’s own
Overview

A highly effective syllabus is student centered, detailed, precise, well-designed, and serves at least 14 critical functions.  It:

  1. Introduces and defines the course, and lists major areas of content, concepts, and/or discussion topics.
  2. Articulates the student learning objectives.
  3. Helps students determine their readiness for the course challenges.
  4. Serves as a compass and a road map to navigate and successfully complete the course in an organized manner.
  5. Articulates course policy and procedures.
  6. Provides a set of academic and behavioral expectations with consequences, thus serves as a contract between instructor and students.
  7. Establishes the tone and pace of the course.
  8. Defines the method of instruction.
  9. Functions as a class management tool.
  10. Serves as a learning tool and provides needed and helpful resources.
  11. Serves as a model of scholarly practice.
  12. Articulates the course grading system.
  13. Is a reflection of the instructor.
  14. Provides the institution’s administrators with valuable information about the course and the instructor.

For all these reasons, and more, your course syllabus needs to be drafted purposefully, extensively, and carefully.

This faculty development workshop includes,
55 Strategies to Create a Highly Effective Syllabus
(Complimentary Best Practice Card
for the first 25 workshop participants)
Top 24 Learning Objectives

By successfully completing this workshop, participants should be able to demonstrate their expertise in creating a highly effective syllabus.  This will be evident as participants:

  1. Explore options for obtaining sample syllabi.
  2. Articulate goals of their own syllabus.
  3. List essential core components of a highly effective syllabus.
  4. Draft a course description, using the institution’s catalog as a model.
  5. Determine course prerequisites.
  6. Determine required and optional learning materials and where they may be obtained.
  7. Articulate students’ behavioral outcomes.
  8. Formulate a student attendance, absenteeism, and lateness policy.
  9. Formulate a policy regarding missed and make-up classes.
  10. Formulate classroom protocol and student participation policy.
  11. Create an assignment schedule.
  12. Create a late assignment submission policy.
  13. Create a student assessment schedule.
  14. Draft assignment scoring rubrics.
  15. Articulate a grading system/scale/criteria.
  16. Articulate an academic integrity policy.
  17. Articulate the institution’s plagiarism consequences policy.
  18. Indicate their office hours and available contact information.
  19. Articulate emergency procedures.
  20. Provide contact information for the institution’s student support services such as:  Students with Disabilities, Tutoring Services, Writing Center, Math Lab, Technology Services, and Counseling Services.
  21. Explore methods of making the syllabus user-friendly.
  22. Decide when and how to initially make the syllabus available to students.
  23. Develop strategies that encourage students to read the syllabus.
  24. Identify and create student survival documents that will enhance the teaching-learning process, as addressed in the  Student Survive and Thrive Documents Workshop.

This faculty development workshop is available to serve as
Professional Development Hours.

Each participant, who successfully completes this
faculty development workshop,
will be awarded a “Certificate of Completion”.

Certificate

Click to Contact Dr. Nesnick
or
E-mail:  Victoria@VictoriaNesnick.com
 or
 Phone:  (631) 889-2178