Center for Teaching and Learning

Syllabus Creation Guidelines

Required Elements

The following parts are required, and must be addressed in some way in your syllabus document. You are welcome to arrange in a manner that makes most sense to your course.

  • Course title and number
  • Class meeting time(s)
  • Course head's name, contact information, and office location
    You will want to include the same for TAs / CAs / IAs, as applicable.
  • Time and location of student hours (aka office hours)
    Students often report browsing syllabi for mentions of student hours, taking their absence as evidence that an instructor is less invested in getting to know them.
  • Welcome / invitation to learning
    While you may wish to start with the standard course description printed in the course catalogue, we encourage you to expand upon it and personalize it. Why would students want to take this course? What do you consider to be some of the highlights of the experience for them? This is a great opportunity to speak to prospective and enrolled students in the second person: address yourself to "you," rather than to "students," to give the syllabus a warmer tone.
  • Required books and other materials
    Clearly define which books and materials students are required to purchase. If possible, put one copy of each of your course text(s)—either print or digital—on reserve at the Library. You can also request that the Library acquire materials for your course for Course Reserves. If earlier editions / versions of a required text are acceptable, tell students explicitly. Consider adding the University’s suggested text about financial support for purchasing textbooks (only in undergraduate courses).
  • Learning goals
    Help students understand what you believe constitutes important learning in the course. We recommend that you categorize these in some manner (e.g., skills, knowledge, understanding, values, etc.) and consider the University Learning Goals and your program’s major/minor declared goals.
  • Components of course work
    While the precise categories may change depending on the course / discipline, these generally include:
    • Course plan OR Critical due dates. While you may choose to list out the full details of weekly readings and assignments in a separate document and/or on your Moodle site, we recommend that you at least flag important assignment dates in the syllabus document to help students better plan their studying time.
    • Assignments. This includes the types and lengths of assignments, grading options, and due dates. You may wish to post detailed descriptions of assignments on Moodle, reserving only a summary overview for the syllabus.
    • Homework. What are the types and frequency of homework, grading options, submission protocols, etc.?NB: Consider also explaining your policy on group work here or under “Assignments.”
    • Participation and/or attendance policies. Explain what participation should look like in your class, how you will take attendance, any forgiveness and penalty policies, etc. Consider including  information on how students can make up class and/or assignments that they missed because of illness or family emergencies.
    • Quizzes and tests. What kinds of quizzes and tests will students take, and how often? Consider describing some effective ways in which students might prepare for them.
  • Evaluation and grading
    Include a clear explanation of how much each component of the course is worth, how you assign grades, and any exceptions. It is a good idea to check with colleagues in your department and your department chair for current practices on grading.
  • Important course policies
    Brandeis requires that instructors include several standard policies in every syllabus. They are:
    • Academic honesty
    • Accommodations
    • Expectations for out-of-class work/contributions to coursework

    You will find the mandated text for these policies on this page of our site. We suggest that you also include statements about a variety of other policies (e.g. electronics use, attendance, etc.); see Optional Elements, below.

Optional Elements

Below are several syllabus elements that, while not required by the university, may be essential in particular courses.

  • Guiding questions for reading and homework assignments.
  • Description of the instructor’s approach to teaching and evaluation.
  • Explanation of where students may obtain additional help
    This might include helprooms staffed by TAs, contact information for peer tutors, the Writing Center, etc.
  • Moodle usage and expectations
  • Methods for communicating questions / issues to instructor(s)
    This may be especially important in courses that utilize more than one channel of communication (e.g. Slack as well as email or Moodle announcements). How should students contact you with questions about coursework? About absences? Are there questions that are best directed to TAs vs. the course head? How quickly do you respond to students' messages?
  • Policies on the use of computers / cell phones
  • Privacy if you use non-Brandeis online tools in your class
  • Statements on respectful environment, group work, class policy on inclement weather, policies regarding classes/assignments missed due to personal or family emergencies, policy on religious observance, guidelines for student-athletes, class recordings, etc.
    You will find recommended language for many of these policy areas on this page of our site.

Accessibility

All Brandeis University syllabi must be accessible (in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and revised ADA regulations). To ensure accessibility of your syllabus, we recommend that you use approved word processors, such as Microsoft Office, that can do an accessibility check for you and export your document to PDF with accessibility enabled.

Helpful Resources