Syllabus Template

Course Syllabus



Course Title

Course number

Credit hours

Semester/ year

Meeting days

Room location

Lab/discussion session location

Webpage (if existent)

Prerequisites or other requirements (e.g., does it fill an academic requirement such as Communication Intensive or Culminating Experience, or is it co-listed with another course and therefore cannot be taken twice under different numbers)



INSTRUCTOR: (Full name/ title)

Office location:

Office telephone number:

Office hours:

e-mail address:


Teaching Assistant name(s):

TA office location:

TA office hours:

TA e-mail:



Student Learning Outcomes (between 4 to 8 sentences with “student” as the subject in the sentence, and the verb describing the outcomes, what the students should be able to do upon successful completion of the course. The outcomes describe student abilities, skills, knowledge application, that can be observed and measured with the assessment that was designed for the respective course –such as remember, demonstrate, apply, analyze, compare, contrast, create, evaluate, etc. )


Course text(s) and other reading materials, information on other supplementary materials


Course Assessment/measures: (the list of course assessments (e.g., exams, papers, recitation performance, homework, labs, projects, etc.) that should reflect the Students Learning Outcomes. Is advisable to give also the due date and value points for each assignment. Separate of syllabus assessment measures can have a large and more detailed description. Where appropriate, the assessment should have a separate grading rubric which can be provided to the students when the assessment is presented in class. Students must have a clear understanding how they will be assessed and how do they need to perform to be successful in the course). If not as a separate section, then all assessments should be presented as embedded in the course calendar or in the grading system. This will inform students on the measures used for the learning outcomes.)



Course calendar (a week by week list of topics to be covered till the end of the course, as well as due dates for major assignments, special events, and exam dates. If the instructor would like to keep a certain flexibility to the schedule the following text can be insert on top of the schedule: “This is a tentative schedule and subject to change depending upon the progress of the class”).


Grading criteria

(the grading criteria should include the following information:

- The fraction of the total grade determined by each part of the course assessment (e.g., exams, papers, recitation performance, homework, labs, projects, etc.)

- Whether a single poor performance will be dropped or weighted lower, or if some form of “resurrection” will be built into the grading system

- The means that students may appeal grades

- Each course syllabus should identify the mechanisms that are used to provide students with assessment of their progress during the semester. By mid-semester students should receive some form of assessment that indicates their standing in the class. The mechanism for each individual assessment across the course can be determined by each faculty member, and does not necessarily have to be a letter grade (e.g., can be points, percent, or specific formulas to calculate the final grade).

(The instructor should indicate what criteria are used to assign each letter grade in the course.)



Attendance policy (Remember that "attendance" and "participation" are two different things, even if one would imply the other. If attendance is required the instructor should include the penalties for non-attendance)



Other course policies

(There are several topics that can be included here:

- Attendance and lateness

- Class participation, how will be measured and how participation will be graded (attendance and participation are two different things, being present physically vs. being active in class work)

- Missed exams or assignments – the syllabus should inform the student if assignments and exams can be made up

- Extra credit policies -- if existent should be stated as well

- Lab safety/health

- Incomplete grades

- Withdrawal from course




Academic dishonesty

The University Handbook of Student Rights and Responsibilities defines various forms of Academic Dishonesty and procedures for responding to them. All forms are violations of the trust between students and teachers. Student-teacher relationships are built on trust. For example, students must trust that teachers have made appropriate decisions about the structure and content of the courses they teach, and teachers must trust that the assignments that students turn in are their own performance. Acts that violate this trust undermine the educational process. (or any text like this in accordance with the Institutional guidelines)

Collaborative or group work should be encouraged at all times. The instructor must specify when collaboration will be explicitly forbidden (e.g., individual take home exams). The syllabus should also contain, in writing, guidelines for what is considered cheating; and plagiarism should be also forbidden. The penalties for cheating and plagiarism must be stated in the syllabus For example: “A grade of zero will be given on the first assignment where a violation is detected. If there is a subsequent infraction the student will receive a grade of F for the course.”



Other course specific information
This section can have statements concerning: Students with disabilities, support services on campus or department, library, and computer technology help information. Also any advice for successful performance in the course.