General Education Syllabi
December 18, 2000
TO: Academic Deans,
Directors and Department Heads
FROM: Provost Richard Herman
RE: Course Syllabi for General Education Courses
In the course of the process of recertifying general education courses, the General Education Board became aware of several problems. It is apparent that departmental offices do not always have syllabi for all sections of general education courses that are taught, and that there is considerable variation in the quality and usefulness of syllabi (some being very detailed, others including very little information). A number of syllabi received did not include enough information to allow the Board to evaluate whether the course properly fits the established guidelines for general education. While good syllabi are helpful in the Board's evaluation of courses, there are also other important reasons for attention to the quality of syllabi. A syllabus tells students what the course will cover and what is expected of students, and is thus an essential part of the course and often an index to its quality.
In the interests of improving the quality of general education courses on campus, The General Education Board has suggested that it would be useful to make certain recommendations and suggest guidelines about syllabi and I support them fully in this. We do not want to impede creativity, and we are not insisting on stultifying conformity, but we do believe that all instructors have the responsibility to inform students about the content and requirements of the course, and students have the right to know what will be expected of them, and on what basis their performance will be evaluated.
With this in mind, effective for courses offered Fall 2000, instructors for every section of a general education course must provide a syllabus to be given to students at the beginning of the semester. These syllabi should be readily accessible to students (e.g., on the Web and/or on paper). These syllabi should also be on file within departments.
Syllabi should include the following information at a minimum:- Course rubric/number and name
- Time, days, and place of meeting
- Instructor's name; office, office hours, phone, email address
- Texts for course (including course packets and where packets can be obtained); required texts plus supplemental/recommended texts
- Topical outline of course and/ or weekly schedule (and supplementary/optional readings)
- Work required of students: e.g., papers (number, length), exams, journal writing, homework, laboratory work, work on the web, dates for exams and papers. (If work on the web will be part of the course, there should be assurance that students will be given proper instruction in using it.)
- Methods for evaluating student performance/grading policies (including whether they will be graded on the plus/minus scale); how their grades will be determined
- Attendance and other class policies regarding late papers, collaborative work, etc.
- A statement: "This course fulfills a general education requirement [name category]"
Other information that many instructors give and students find helpful:
- Background or prerequisites for the course; goals of the course; what students are expected to learn or what questions they will explore