Syllabus Components
We recommend that faculty consider including the following components in their syllabus.
General Course Information
This information should, where appropriate, duplicate what appears in the UTHSC Bulletin (catalog) and College Communications.
- Course Number and Name/Title
- Semester/Term and Year
- Department/Program and College
- Campus Location
- Course Director information
- Name, title, office address, preferred phone number, UTHSC email address
- Office hours (whether face-to-face or online)
- Course Instructors and Assistants information
- Name, title, office address, preferred phone number, UTHSC email address
- Office hours (whether face-to-face or online)
- Course Logistics
- Meeting times/days, building and room/lab numbers and location (link to campus map)
- Course Format (F2F, online, hybrid, lab, etc.)
- Considerations/ideas: Include a relevant image of course content to foster interest in topic; if pictures are used include a sentence describing the picture (tag line); include a picture of yourself
Course Description
This section should include a brief description of the course and where appropriate, duplicate what appears in the Course Catalog/Bulletin and College Communications. This description can be expanded to include the course’s value and relation to the overall program. The brief description should include:
- UTHSC Bulletin (catalog) description
- Course Overview, Contents, and Structure
- Overall Purpose/Goal of Course
- Course Value
- How the course fits into overall program
- Credit Hours
- Pre-requisites
Student Learning Goals/Outcomes/Objectives
What are the most important things a student should know, be able to do or value after completing your course?
Student Learning Goals/Outcomes/Objectives (SLOs) are statements that clearly describe what the students should know or be able to do by the end of the course and not what the teacher will do.
SLOs should:
- be SMART, i.e. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely
- utilize measurable action verbs to delineate student performance, Bloom’s Taxonomy
- encourage higher order thinking skills, Bloom’s Taxonomy
- be framed as “On completion of this course, the students will be able to…” or “As a result of participating in (course name), you (students) will be able to (action verb) (learning statement)
- be linked to accrediting organization’s standards and/or competencies (if applicable)
- be aligned with assessment and instructional strategies
Tips to be successful in this course
This section should include a description of how students can succeed in this course. The description may include the estimated amount of time needed to spend on preparation for classes and assignments, expectations for student participation and discussions, use of supplemental resources, asking for help, and student and teacher responsibilities.
Course Materials
This section should include a list of anything you require students to use during the course: required, optional, and supplemental texts/readings (titles, author, publisher, edition); required materials, e.g. lab equipment, supplies, software, technology; course resources, e.g. tech support, electronic resources, library research guides, websites, Teaching and Learning Center, IT Support Desk. Also, include how the students can access these materials.
Assignments and Assessments
How will the students demonstrate their learning? The assignments and assessments will help you determine to what extent the students have achieved the SLOs. Activities can include written assignments, portfolios, performances, simulations, problem-based challenges, discussion boards, case study reviews, written exams, oral exams, quizzes, presentations, group projects, etc. Each activity should align with the SLO you have developed for the course. Consider the distribution of graded assignments and assessments throughout the course. Include some early on in the course to identify students who made need assistance (Gannon p.36, 2018).
This section should identify and describe the assignments and assessments that will be assigned in the course. Descriptions should include instructions, guidelines/rubrics, deadlines, percentage of final grade, how often grades/feedback will be given, and other pertinent information needed for student success.
Grading and Grading Policies
Grading is meant to describe, in relation to SLOs, what a student has learned and to what degree. In this section, provide a detailed description of policies and procedures that may impact a student’s grade or performance. The percentage of the final grade for each assignment and assessment and the grading scale should be outlined. In addition to the grading policy, descriptions or links to the University’s honor code and copyright infringement/sharing policies should be included.
When writing your grading policy, you should consider the following:
- When and where will students be able to view grades?
- Will student names be removed from assignments/exams to eliminate teacher bias?
- Will late work/submissions be accepted? If so, how late? How will the student’s grade be impacted?
- How do students go about submitting worked missed due to absences? In what circumstances will this be allowed?
- Will the students be allowed to appeal grades or request regrading?
- Will extra credit opportunities be offered?
Course schedule
This section helps students to prepare for class sessions in advance and manage time to prepare for assignments/assessments. What will students be asked to do before each class session? When creating the course schedule take holidays and campus events into account.