Standard 3

Important course information

The course syllabus clearly conveys all important information and sets a positive tone for the course.

Checklist Items

Is the following information available for students prior to the start of class? If so, for each checklist item, also note how students
will receive that information, a scheduled email to registered students, an iCollege welcome announcement, or something else.

3A - The syllabus includes all required components.

While the Course Checklist provides many recommendations, especially with regards to course syllabus components, all course syllabi should at minimum include the University Required Components. These requirements set a minimum standard that all students can expect from their course syllabi at GSU.

  • Complete course title and number, name of professor, term, year
  • Statement of faculty member’s accessibility to students outside of class (e.g., office hours, telephone number)
  • Prerequisites (if any)
  • Course objectives that specify measurable and/or observable student learning outcomes
  • Course assignments and due dates
  • Specific course requirements (e.g., written and oral tests and reports, research papers, performances).
  • Grading policy
  • Attendance policy
  • Lists of text(s) or other required course materials
  • Make-up exam policy
  • Statements (provided by the University) about the potential for course deviations, the need for student feedback, and the accommodation process.

Resources:

3B - The syllabus should be available to students as a downloadable file in a common file format

Providing students access to the syllabus as a downloadable file in a common file format (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .html) allows them to interact with the syllabus in a way that best suits their needs and preferences. Some students need to read the syllabus with a screen reader, some may need to increase the font size for easy reading, and some may prefer to print hard copies of their syllabus for reference offline. A downloadable file in a common file format meets all those student needs (and many more).

Resources:

  • OSCQR Standard #4 – “A printable syllabus is available to learners (PDF, HTML).”
  • OSCQR Standard #34 – “Text content is available in an easily accessed format, preferably HTML. All text content is readable by assistive technology, including a PDF or any text contained in an image.”
  • Quality Matters 8.3 – “The course provides accessible text and images in files, documents, LMS pages, and web pages to meet the needs of diverse learners.”

University Requirements

3.1-1: Complete course title and number; name of professor; term, year

Syllabi are often accessed by students and other faculty beyond the current course and term. Providing the complete course title and number, name of professor, term, and year on your syllabus helps students identify that the syllabus in their hands is the correct one for the course they are actively in enrolled in, and helps other readers situate the document if it is referenced at a later date.

Resources:
3.1-2: Statement of faculty member's accessibility to students outside of class

Possibly the most significant asset of learning at a college or university is access to the disciplinary expertise of faculty. Make sure your students know when and how you are available to them for support outside of class. If you have a preferred method of contact (email, phone, etc), state that clearly, and if you have any other communication policies be sure to include those as well.

We recommend re-branding “office hours” as “student hours” or “virtual check-ins.” We already know the label “office hours” can be confusing for new students (especially first generation and non-traditional students), and the label makes even less sense for online learning. Be sure to let your students know when you are available and how students can get the most out of that time. The announcement tool can be a great way to communicate this to students initially and to remind them throughout the semester that you are still available to help them virtually.

Resources:
3.1-3: Prerequisites for the course

If there are prerequisites for your course, state those explicitly so that students can identify for themselves if they have the required course experience. Upper level courses build on previous learning and no student benefits from trying to build their knowledge without scaffolding. You are also encouraged to state any expectations you may have for prior disciplinary experience or knowledge or any required competencies outside of previous coursework.

Resources:
3.1-4: Course objectives that specify measurable student learning outcomes

These learning outcomes should state course objectives in language that makes explicit the knowledge and skills students should have after completing the course. Consequently, these objectives may be quantitative or qualitative, as appropriate for the learning outcomes. The learning outcomes for general education courses are available in the Core Curriculum Policy as approved by the GSU Senate 2/13/04.

Resources
3.1-5: Course assignments and due dates

Providing students information about the type and frequency of course assignment they can expect in a course allows them to preview the course workload and make more informed choices about their own time management. Specific due dates for both recurring and one time activities are especially important for our students, many of whom are balancing classes with jobs and family commitments. In addition to due dates, we encourage you to include time-to-complete estimates for required activities (how many hours can they expect to spend weekly on required readings, videos, or other activities).

Resources:
3.1-6: Specific course requirements

The syllabus should include descriptions of any specific course requirements (e.g., written and oral tests and reports, research papers; performances), how many and how often students can expect them, and how their performance will contribute to their final grade. Student success or failure is generally measured across a whole semester of work, so early knowledge about major assignments, assessments, or other requirements allows students to work towards their course goals with specific benchmarks in mind. 

In cross-listed undergraduate and graduate classes, the course requirements should also clearly specify how the nature (quality and/or quantity) of the work expected of students and the criteria for evaluation of the work produced be commensurate with the degree level. Any projects and/or other activities required specifically of graduate students taking the course and the criteria by which student work will be judged must differentiate graduate-level from undergraduate-level work.

Resources:
3.1-7: Grading policy

Grading policy: how the final grade is to be determined with respect to the weights assigned to various course requirements.

Student trust in the consistency and fairness of a course is the bedrock of building a learning community. A clear and easy-to-read grading policy can go a long way towards establishing that trust through transparency. Grading policies should plainly present the course’s various requirements, the relative weights of those requirements, and how final grades will be determined. The grading scheme, whether percentages or points or some combination thereof, should be laid out in plain and direct language. If your system is complicated, you might consider including an example scenario for clarification.

Resources:
3.1-8: Attendance policy

Attendance policy (see current University general Catalog for University guidelines). Syllabi should state specific requirements for attendance including requirements for the frequency and kind of participation by designated channels.

An attendance policy outlines your expectations for regular student participation in your course. Oftentimes these policies are framed punitively (penalties for absences), but we encourage you to consider how your attendance policy could be framed differently (Could it mirror professional attendance expectations? Could it reward attendance/participation instead of or  addition to penalizing absences? Could “showing up” be counted in other ways? etc.).

Include any departmental/college policy and refer to the Student Attendance section of the Faculty Handbook when you design your own policy. Remember that you will have to live with the policy you create for the entire semester, so make sure that it is clear and specific. Also consider how you want to handle excuses and what serves as an excuse. For online courses, you’ll also want to include information on what counts as participation and/or attendance and what expectations you have about behavior in that space.

Resources:
3.1-9: List of text(s) or other required course materials

Early access to all learning materials is key for students to have their best shot at success in a course. Your syllabus should include as full a listing as possible of all required texts or other required course materials (course-specific technologies, learning platform subscriptions, supplies). By providing as much information in advance as you can, you give students the opportunity to make arrangements to access the materials they need ahead of time rather than scrambling after the course has already started and missing out on valuable learning time.

Resources:
3.1-10 Make-up examination policy

Your make-up policy should be specific. It should set out clear conditions for making up missed work. It should describe which assignments can be made up and which cannot and under what conditions. You might also consider including a brief statement of rationale for your policy, especially if you feel your policy reflects disciplinary or industry standards that students might encounter in their future careers.

Resources:
3.1-11 All syllabi should include the following statement:

All syllabi should include the following statement: “The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.”

Semesters rarely go exactly as planned for anyone. Sometimes instructors are able to move faster or have to move slower based on students’ prior knowledge and experience; sometimes current research or events present can’t miss opportunities that force other adjustments; sometimes people get sick. Regardless of why, including a statement that the syllabus may and can be changed as necessary leaves room for flexibility. The statement below is required, but additional framing can personalize the statement for your course.

“The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.”

Resources:
3.1-12 All syllabi should refer to the Policy on Academic Honesty

Include departmental/college policy and refer to the Academic Honesty section of the Faculty Handbook when you design your own policy. Also consider adding a statement about social sharing tools like GroupMe that some students use to share answers.

Resources:
3.1-13 All syllabi should include the following statement:

All syllabi should include the following statement: “Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take the time to fill out the online course evaluation.”

Your syllabus should include a description of your plan for course evaluation. For online classes, developing 2 or 3 quick intra-semester evaluations (the results of which you respond to in some way) has several advantages including helping students set expectations, reflect on these expectations, and build a feeling of communal responsibility. The statement below is required.

“Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation.”

Resources:
3.1-14 All syllabi should include the following statement:

All syllabi should include the following statement: “Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Access and Accommodation Center. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Access and Accommodation Center of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought.”

Announcing early on that you are committed to supporting students of all abilities in your classroom can go a long way towards establishing trust and clear communication between you, your students, and the professionals at the Office of Disability Services. The statement below is required, but you might consider including an additional statement of support in your own voice.

“Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may do so by registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodated upon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which accommodations are sought. Students with special needs should then make an appointment with me during the first week of class to discuss any accommodations that need to be made.”

Resources:

University Recommendations

R - 3.1

The syllabus states that sharing instructor-generated materials is prohibited.

This is a growing concern of many GSU faculty. Feel free to adapt the sample statement below to meet your needs.

“The selling, sharing, publishing, presenting, or distributing of instructor-prepared course lecture notes, videos, audio recordings, or any other instructor-produced materials from any course for any commercial purpose is strictly prohibited unless explicit written permission is granted in advance by the course instructor. This includes posting any materials on websites such as Chegg, Course Hero, OneClass, Stuvia, StuDocu and other similar sites. Unauthorized sale or commercial distribution of such material is a violation of the instructor’s intellectual property and the privacy rights of students attending the class and is prohibited.”

R - 3.2

The syllabus includes a FERPA Statement.

Students’ right to privacy is protected by law and USG and university policy. Demonstrating your commitment to that privacy, along with acknowledging its limits, can help to foster trust and model the respect we expect our students to provide each other. A sample statement is provided below.

“In keeping with USG and university policy, this course website will make every effort to maintain the privacy and accuracy of your personal information. Specifically, unless otherwise noted, it will not actively share personal information gathered from the site with anyone except university employees whose responsibilities require access to said records. However, some information collected from the site may be subject to the Georgia Open Records Act. This means that while we do not actively share information, in some cases we may be compelled by law to release information gathered from the site. Also, the site will be managed in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which prohibits the release of education records without student permission.”

R - 3.3

The syllabus includes a Sexual Harassment Statement.

In your role as instructor, there may be situations in which students may try to confide in you, either on their own or in response to you showing concern about their performance or wellbeing. It is important that students know that you are obligated to share all reports of sexual misconduct with administrative officials. While you should remind students of your obligation as soon as you can during such a conversation, a statement about this policy in the syllabus can give students advance notice and also let them know there are other people they can disclose to confidentially. A sample statement is provided below.

“In instances of sexual misconduct, the present instructor(s) and teaching assistants are designated as Responsible Employees who are required to share with administrative officials all reports of sexual misconduct for university review. If you wish to disclose an incident of sexual misconduct confidentially, there are options on campus for you to do so.  For more information on this policy, please refer to the Sexual Misconduct Policy which is included in the Georgia State University Student Code of Conduct.”

R - 3.4

The syllabus includes a Campus Carry Statement.

House Bill 280, commonly known as the “campus carry” legislation took effect on July 1, 2017. The Campus Carry legislation allows anyone properly licensed in the state of Georgia to carry a handgun in a concealed manner on university property with noted exceptions. Information about the law is available from the Office of Emergency Management.

From University System Chancellor Steve Wrigley: “House Bill 280, commonly known as the ‘campus carry’ legislation, will take effect on July 1. I understand that many of you have strong feelings about this bill. Yet, whether you opposed or supported the legislation, it will soon be state law, and I respectfully ask everyone to exercise patience, understanding and respect as we implement it. We all share the same goal of ensuring a safe campus environment. We should work together to implement the law as written and thoughtfully address any complications that may arise.”

You are encouraged to include a statement about Campus Carry in your syllabus that directs students to GSU’s Office of Emergency Management or the Board of Regents for information about the law. A sample statement is provided below.

The Campus Carry legislation allows anyone properly licensed in the state of Georgia to carry a handgun in a concealed manner on university property with noted exceptions. Information about the law is available from the Office of Emergency Management. It is the responsibility of the license holder to know the law. Failure to do so may result in a misdemeanor charge and may violate the Georgia State Student Code of Conduct. Please follow the guidelines established by the BOR

R - 3.5

The syllabus includes a Diversity, Inclusivity, and Respect Statement.

Teaching inclusively means embracing student diversity in all forms — race, ethnicity, gender, disability, socioeconomic background, ideology, using preferred student names, and even including personality traits like introversion — as an asset. A statement about your beliefs and practices around diversity, inclusivity, and respect can help you communicate these values concisely to students. While a number of statement starters and samples are available online, your statement should be authentic to your and your practices (e.g., don’t say diverse representation is important to you and then give your students a homogenous reading list that overlooks minority voices), otherwise students will read your statement as fake or mere gesture.

CETLOE Recommendations

R - 3.6

The syllabus addresses Title IX considerations.

 

Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. This law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance. While Title IX encompasses a wide variety of discriminatory practices based on sex, in the classroom it is most often invoked in reference to discrimination on the basis of pregnacy, childbert, or parental status. A sample statement is provided below, but you might consider including an additional statement of support in your own voice.

“GSU does not discriminate against any student on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or parental status. A student seeking an adjustment on these bases should discuss the request with their instructor. Further guidance for students is available from the Access and Accommodations Center.”

Resources:

R - 3.7

The syllabus lists major or program requirements that are fulfilled by the course, such as senior portfolio elements.

You may wish to include major or program requirements in your syllabus. For example, if students should save work from your course to include in their senior portfolio, that should be noted. Not only will this help students identify coursework that may serve a larger purpose in their academic careers, it can also serve as a conversation point for students who may be interested in pursuing a major or program.

R - 3.8

The syllabus notes the location, day, date, and time of any in-person or synchronous meetings.

Our students lead active and busy lives and often have many obligations to balance outside of the classroom. When you provide a complete listing of all dates and times of any required synchronous or in-person attendance (class meetings, proctored exams, etc.) before the course starts, then you give them their best chance to make any needed accommodations to fully participate in your course. If there are required meetings, summarize them (frequency, purpose, structure). For any synchronous online sessions, be sure to include dates, times (including time zone), and video conferencing link. Noting synchronous or in-person sessions is especially important for a course that is otherwise fully asynchronous and/or online as this could significantly impact a student’s schedule. If you need to make changes later, that is okay, but again, try to give your students as much notice as possible.

R - 3.9

The syllabus notes the location, day, date, and time of exams.

Our students lead active and busy lives and often have many obligations to balance outside of the classroom. When you provide all exam information before the course starts, then you give them their best chance to make any needed accommodations to fully participate in your course. If your course includes exams, note the date, time, and location (or online availability). If your course does not include traditional exams, you might note that for students and explain what other type of capstone assessment they can expect.

R - 3.10

The syllabus notes proctoring requirements, including any in-person requirements or costs.

 Information about any proctoring requirements, including any in-person requirements or costs, should be clearly noted in the syllabus. Students are often making complex financial decisions at the start of a semester and unexpected costs can cause significant stress that can negatively impact a student’s ability to engage early in the course. When you provide a complete accounting of any additional costs before the course starts, then you give them their best chance to make any needed accommodations to fully participate in your course.

R - 3.11

The syllabus includes a Basic Needs Statement, linking to the student assistance resource coordinated by the Dean of Students.

Our students bring not only their intellects but their whole selves into our classrooms. Our students are humans first, and their basic needs must be met before they truly have a shot at success in our classrooms. GSU has many support resources available, but often students are unaware of them or embarrassed to seek out that support. A statement in your syllabus acknowledging the challenges some students face and highlighting GSU’s resources can go a long way towards establishing a relationship of support and care between you and your students. A sample statement is provided below.

Any student who faces challenges securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their performance in the course is urged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, please notify the professor if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable us to provide resources that we may possess. The Embark program at GSU provides resources for students facing homelessness.

R - 3.12

The syllabus includes links to relevant learner support resources including but not limited to the following: Counseling, Crisis Services, Health Services, Advising, Tutoring (including department-specific services), Supplemental Instruction, Tech Support, the MILE, and the Writing Studio.

Our most successful students succeed in part because they have support. You are encouraged to provide a list of support resources that address a holistic range of student needs. A sample listing is provided below; feel free to adapt or add to the list as appropriate for your course.

“The university has many resources available to help you succeed in this course and beyond.”

R - 3.13

Roughly 5-10 course goals outline the high-level purpose of the course.

Course Goals are BIG PICTURE and should be broad statements of what you want your students to know or care about by the end of the course. They should be easy to understand and written from the student’s point of view.

R - 3.14

Course goals are easy to understand.

R - 3.15

Course goals are written from the students’ point of view.

Resources:
R - 3.16

Course goals explain to students how the course connects to their academic, career, and personal goals.

R - 3.17

Student learning outcomes add specificity to course goals.

When you break down these Course Goals into skills and benchmarks you can OBSERVE and MEASURE, you get a list of Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs). Sharing these course goals and SLOs with students provides them with an understanding of what the end goal is and helps them contextualize their work throughout the course. 

R - 3.18

Course goals are written from the students’ point of view.

Student learning outcomes begin with action verbs that make it clear how student mastery will be observed.

R - 3.19

The syllabus is written using positive language.

R - 3.20

The syllabus includes the instructor’s beliefs about learning, teaching, and assessment.

R - 3.21

The syllabus outlines the structure of the course.

While it is important to clearly indicate the schedule for your course, there are many places where you may do this. You may include a topic outline/schedule in your syllabus, make a separate link to a schedule document in your iCollege course, or use the iCollege calendar tool. Regardless of which you choose, be consistent and keep your calendar up-to-date to help students follow along, reduce confusion, and emphasize time on task.

You can use this section to set expectations about time as well. For example: 

“So, how much time do you need to spend working on this course? Well, since this is a 3-Credit Hour course GSU recommends that you spend around 3 hours or more per week interacting with readings, videos, and other sorts of content and then 3 hours per credit hour per week completing activities and assessments.”

R - 3.22

The syllabus outlines expectations regarding online communication.

Netiquette covers both common courtesy online and communication expectations. A netiquette policy sets the tone for course communications between instructors and students as well as between students. Sample netiquette guidelines can be found online.

R - 3.23

The syllabus provides links to handouts or detailed assignment descriptions.

R - 3.24

The syllabus defines student responsibilities for success.

What advice can you share with students that will help them stay on track and meet course milestones? What behaviors would you recommend to them to help them take ownership of their learning?

R - 3.25

The syllabus includes instructions on how students can sign up for email and/or text message reminders of due dates.

You can login to your course via iCollege. If you need more help, you can review iCollege Documentation for Students. Want to avoid missing important updates and reminders? Stay connected to our course even when you are not logged in by setting up text notifications or enabling mail forwarding.

R - 3.26

The syllabus helps students determine their readiness for the course.

 

R - 3.27

The syllabus states how the course fits into the curriculum and the overall program for both majors and non-majors.

Explain how the course meets the needs of majors (How does this course fit into the curriculum and overall program?) and non-majors (How does this course benefit non-majors? How can it contribute to their overall college career?).

R - 3.28

The syllabus describes available learning resources.

R - 3.29

The syllabus communicates technology and learning platform requirements for the course, including costs.

What technology will students need to complete your course? Do not assume that they will have anything that you do not indicate is necessary.

R - 3.30

The syllabus communicates digital literacy requirements for the course, linking to support and training resources, where applicable.

R - 3.31

The syllabus provides links to privacy policies for technology tools and learning platforms.

R - 3.32

The syllabus includes accessibility statements for all learning technology vendors.

R - 3.33

The syllabus provides strategies to success as online learners.

R - 3.34

The syllabus serves as a learning contract.

R - 3.35

The syllabus includes an Academic Integrity Agreement.

Resources: