Embedded Files
SYLLABUS (plural ‘syllabi’)
A syllabus is a kind of contract between an instructor and students. It allows students to know what the requirements and expectations are for the course, and instructors to minimize any sense of capriciousness. It is a chance for you to anticipate many of the questions and problems students will have and spell it out for them in black and white. Your typed syllabus should include the following information:
Course identification: Include the course number & name, semester and year, meeting time and place, instructor’s name (you), instructor’s information (office address, phone, e-mail address, office hours)
Course Description: Describe in a short paragraph the topics, approach, importance, significance and/or usefulness of the course. This may be similar to a catalog description.
Text(s) and supplemental reading(s): List the textbooks (give complete bibliographic info) and supplemental readings required or recommended for the course. Include where to find these items (bookstore, reserve desk,...)
Course Objectives: List the objectives students should achieve by the end of the course (what they will know or what they will be able to do). The table of contents and preface of your textbook will be helpful in establishing these goals.
Requirements: Spell out all requirements students must meet to complete the course successfully. Specify the number of tests, quizzes, homework assignments, papers, projects, etc. Include the weight or points assigned to each requirement. You may wish to briefly describe the nature and characteristics of these various requirements.
Policies: Include your policy for attendance, class participation, late assignments, make-up exams, academic honesty, etc... There are a some boilerplate paragraphs of university-wide policies that should be included in every syllabus.
Grading scale: Specify the grading scale used to determine the student’s final grade for the course. You may wish to indicate how specific requirements will be graded, if using a different scale (e.g., aural comp. performance exams, project...). Perhaps include “Should this scale result in a very unbalanced grade distribution, grades may be curved to compensate.”
Tentative Schedule: Schedules usually contain the month and day that readings and specific assignments are due, along with examination dates. For your schedule include the topics to be covered each week and appropriate chapters or pages from text; quiz and exam dates, project due dates. Indicate that the schedule is tentative and subject to change.
Disclaimer: Provide a generic escape clause in case you have to change anything else during the course of the semester. “The above schedule and procedures for this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.”
All instructors should…
Include the Faculty Senate syllabus statement in your syllabus and your Elearning News Feed regarding COVID-19 related requirements regarding facial covering (mask) and social distancing. Depending on the classroom and the nature of the course, instructors may add other requirements (e.g., directional guidance in laboratories). Instructors are encouraged to consider including adherence to these requirements as part of the overall participation grade in the course and send an email or post a note in the Elearning Newsfeed to remind students about the requirements before the semester begins.
Open 2021 Fall Syllabi (in another window)
The Faculty Senate’s Professional Concerns Committee recommends all instructors include the following in each syllabus they prepare:
Students are responsible for making themselves aware of and understanding the University policies and procedures that pertain to Academic Honesty. These policies include cheating, fabrication, falsification and forgery, multiple submission, plagiarism, complicity and computer misuse. The academic policies addressing Student Rights and Responsibilities can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog at http://catalog.wmich.edu/content.php?catoid=38&navoid=1686 and the Graduate Catalog at http://catalog.wmich.edu/content.php?catoid=39&navoid=1740. If there is reason to believe you have been involved in academic dishonesty, you will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct. You will be given the opportunity to review the charge(s) and if you believe you are not responsible, you will have the opportunity for a hearing. You should consult with your instructor if you are uncertain about an issue of academic honesty prior to the submission of an assignment or test.
Students and instructors are responsible for making themselves aware of and abiding by the “Western Michigan University Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, and Stalking Policy and Procedures” related to prohibited sexual misconduct under Title IX, the Clery Act and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Campus Safe. Under this policy, responsible employees (including instructors) are required to report claims of sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator or designee (located in the Office of Institutional Equity). Responsible employees are not confidential resources. For a complete list of resources and more information about the policy see www.wmich.edu/sexualmisconduct.
In addition, students are encouraged to access the Code of Conduct, as well as resources and general academic policies on such issues as diversity, religious observance, and student disabilities:
· Office of Student Conduct www.wmich.edu/conduct
· Division of Student Affairs www.wmich.edu/students/diversity
· University Relations Office http://www.wmich.edu/policies/religious-observances-policy
· Disability Services for Students www.wmich.edu/disabilityservices
While Western has official letter grades (A, BA, B, CB, C, DC, D, E), there is no official or mandatory grading scale for Western (e.g., 93% = A). You may establish your own percentage scale and publish it in your syllabus. However, if you are using the Elearning grade book, there is a default grading scheme within the system. (You can also make your own custom grading schemes.) PLEASE make sure that the grading scale being used by Elearning matches what you have printed in your syllabus. Otherwise the grades posted to students may not be accurate.
RELEVANT Memoranda of Action (MOAs) for your consideration:
The first indicates what is required on a syllabus
MOA-05/04
The Undergraduate Studies Council recommends that instructors be required to provide course syllabi as follows:
Each instructor is required to make available to students a course syllabus that shall contain a basic course description, course objective, course requirements and policies, grading criteria and instructor contact information. Instructors are encouraged to include a tentative schedule indicating when various topics will be addressed, and when quizzes, exams and due dates for assignments shall occur. Instructors are further encouraged to include in their syllabi basic university policies regarding academic conduct, human rights, diversity, and students with disabilities.
The second indicates what is recommended on a syllabus
http://wmich.edu/facultysenate/policy-moas/moa1102-syllabus-template-final.pdf
MOA-11/02
In keeping with a recommendation of the Higher Learning Commission: North Central Association that “facultymembers communicate course requirements to students through syllabi,” the Faculty Senate recommends that syllabi for all undergraduate and graduate courses contain the following:
1. The name of the instructor assigned to teach the course, with the instructor’s contact information (including email address) and office hours.
2. The name of the course exactly as it appears in the course catalog.
3. Course location, room, building and meeting time, if applicable.
4. Required textbooks and supplies.
5. Recommended readings, if applicable.
6. The description of the course from the course catalog, including prerequisites.
7. The objectives, goals and outcomes of the course.
8. The general education area or proficiency the course fulfills, if applicable.
9. A calendar of the scheduled meetings, including date/time/location of the final exam, with the subject of the lecture/discussion/reading/activities for each date, and/or a list of outline activities. (the syllabus may note that the subjects could be revised.)
10. Due dates for assignments and what each assignment is worth out of the total grade. (the syllabus may note submission deadlines could be revised.)
11. A grading scale. (the syllabus may note the grading scale could be revised.)
12. A clearly articulated attendance policy and expectations for classroom etiquette (behavior).
13. University policies regarding academic honesty, religious observance, reasonable accommodation for physical or learning disabilities and whether the instructor will use plagiarism detection software such as “Turnitin.”
14. How to determine if there will be an Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) evaluation of the course for that semester and, if so, how to access the evaluation.
The third pertains to the General Education Policy and required syllabi for courses coming to the Committee to Oversee General Education for review
http://wmich.edu/facultysenate/policy-moas/moa1211-coge-and-syllabi-final.pdf
MOA-12/11
The Undergraduate Studies Council, in consultation with the Committee to Oversee General Education, recommends this revision to Item #4 in the WMU General Education Policy’s section on Criteria for Selecting and Evaluating General Education Courses/Criteria Applicable to All Courses:
MOA-12/11 was approved by the Faculty Senate on 1 November, 2012 and by WMU Administration on 7 December 2012, such that the current policy reads:
General Education Policy
Criteria for Selecting and Evaluating General Education Courses
Criteria Applicable to All Courses
4. All courses included in general education must have syllabi consistent with the syllabus template adopted by the Faculty Senate on October 6, 2011 in MOA-11/02. (See Appendix.) Syllabi and other related materials must be made available to the Committee to Oversee General Education (COGE) as part of the request for a course to be granted general education status.
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