Writing & Linguistics Department
Syllabi Guidelines
Example Syllabi:
In response to the recent SACS accreditation report and recommendations, the university is placing particular emphasis on developing and defining clear “outcomes” and “assessment methods” at all levels -- from individual courses all the way up to each college and the university itself. We will be hearing much more about this subject in the months ahead, but for us the first step is to insure that course syllabi include specific, well defined information. When you develop your syllabi for spring, 2006, please make sure that they include the following information (not necessarily in this order):
NECESSARY ITEMS:
The term of the course (i.e., semester and year)
Full title and CRN of course
The name of the university and the college
Contact information (your office number, phone, e-mail address)
Course outcomes -- what will students learn to do in the class? Many of us presently call these “objectives” or “goals” on our syllabi. The department has developed an outcomes statement for first year composition. It appears on the department website:
PREFERRED ITEMS:
The date, place, and time of the final examination (available on WINGS, click on Semester Schedule Information)
An attendance policy that conforms to the one in the university Catalogue (page 38 of the 2005-06 version)
The last date to withdraw from the course without academic penalty (noted on the University Calendar in the Catalogue, pages 4-5 of the 2005-06 version)
A statement regarding academic dishonesty and its consequences that conforms to the one in the Faculty Handboook (pages 52-53 in the 2005-06 version)
A statement about the Americans with Disabilities Act and the university Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC). See page 16 of the 2005-06 Catalogue
Specific information about assessment (what many of us presently call “grade components”), e.g., the number of required essays, quizzes, exams, portfolios, etc., and the value you will be assigning to each of those measures. The department has an assessment statement on our website: Writing Assessment
August 2005