A syllabus is a reflection of an individual faculty member’s course goals, pedagogical preferences, and teaching style. As such, rarely are any two syllabi the same. However, effective syllabi do have attributes in common. They provide information students need to navigate the course, such as how to contact the professor and a schedule of assignments and events (Slattery and Carlson, 2005). They convey a sense of enthusiasm and motivation (Svinicki and McKeachie, 2014). They help students understand how to learn as well as what to learn in a course (Parkes, Fix, and Harris, 2003). Finally, they clearly communicate what is expected of students (Saville, Zinn, Brown, and Marchuk, 2010).
While the Centre College Faculty Handbook requires that statements related to attendance, grading, and academic accommodation policies be included in college syllabi, you may find clearly communicating expectations regarding academic integrity, classroom civility, technology usage, and Title IV helpful too.
The syllabus statement samples below represent the types of statements that are often included on Centre College syllabi. They are intended to give you a starting place for thinking about the types of statements that you want to include in your syllabus. Any of the statements may be adapted to fit the goals, context, and tone of your course. The list is not exhaustive, and should you have an example you would like to add, please contact the Center for Teaching and Learning (ctl@centre.edu).
- Diversity and Inclusion Statements
- Academic Integrity Statements
- Classroom Civility Statements
- Academic Accommodations
- Mental Health Statements
- Title IX
- Electronics
- Recording of Class
If you would like feedback on your syllabus or someone to proofread it, please email Nisha Gupta (nisha.gupta@centre.edu) or Matt Downen (matt.downen@centre.edu) in the CTL or schedule a consultation and select “Syllabi” using this form: CTL Consultation Request Form.