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The State of the Syllabi at Drexel University

A Learner Centered Orientation.
Drexel's regional accrediting body, the Middle States Association, emphasizes student learning as a central value. The learner-centered approach stresses clear communication of teaching goals and assessment practices to students. One of the ways most faculty members communicate with students is through the course syllabus. Although nearly every Drexel course has a syllabus, there is no uniformity of presentation. Syllabi vary from one page of generalities to more than twenty pages to webpages replete with links to relevant websites. The basics that are usually covered include course title, faculty name, text, requirements and a course calendar. A small number of syllabi fail to meet even these simple standards. Many of the best syllabi come from departments that are responsible to rigorous accrediting agencies.

Why a Good Syllabus Matters.
This is a document of advocacy. I believe a learner-centered syllabus that shares substantive information about a course and its presentation confers two great benefits. First, the exercise invigorates the faculty member by affirming the meaning and value of her/his course. Second, a syllabus that gives a rationale for a course, describes its place in the curriculum and presents clearly the reasons and methods for grading has the potential to invite students into a genuine learning community. In addition, well thought out and agreed upon syllabi for multiple sections of introductory courses can make grading meaningful by presenting consistent departmental standards.

Characteristics of a Learner-Centered Syllabus.
A learner-centered syllabus, for the purposes of this paper, is a printed document that presents all the information a student needs to know what is required for success in a given course. Length of a syllabus and excellence of presentation are not necessarily related. A very fine, clearly written syllabus can occupy one double-sided page, while a rambling print or website syllabus can confuse more than it enlightens. Sections, subtitles, white space, and use of an index for a lengthy document help to make a syllabus content more accessible. The template below itemizes characteristics of one type of learner-centered syllabus.

Some Features of Recent Drexel Syllabi.
During 1998, 1999, and 2000, I surveyed approximately 2300 Drexel syllabi. Most represent honest efforts to offer high quality instruction. The best convey a generosity of spirit and love of learning that are deeply reassuring, in that they demonstrate how much faculty care about students, learning and teaching. My hope for this paper is that it will initiate a conversation among concerned faculty about making our syllabi still more representative of our ideals.

Some departments decide certain elements should appear in all their syllabi. Either the same information appears embedded in each syllabus, or a standard insert is included with each syllabus in the discipline. Departments may mandate inclusion of the weight given to requirements and a course description. Often, descriptions are lifted out of the University catalog and inserted into a syllabus. This practice underscores the inadequacy of many catalog descriptions, which tend to be stilted, non-specific and ungrammatical. Descriptions of the course content in the faculty member's voice are much more interesting and accurate. Other frequent elements that departments include in their syllabi are information about campus resources such as the writing center and policies on late assignments, missed tests, and academic dishonesty. Many of these use duplicated statements that are punitive in tone. The same information could be conveyed in a more student-friendly manner.

Most Drexel syllabi include a course calendar, with dates (sometimes just the week of the term), topics for class sessions, and assignments. Calendars range from vague, sketchy grids to elaborate overviews of courses. A good calendar can be extremely helpful to those students who consult it as a guide to faculty expectations and use it as a tool for managing their time.

Few Drexel syllabi include a strong rationale for a given course, or accord it an honored place within a field of study. The syllabus is a remarkable communication tool that can convey a great deal about a faculty member to her/his students. It is refreshing to encounter in a few of syllabi a passionate statement about the value and usefulness of a discipline or the specific course. After all, most courses are in the curriculum because faculty members value them highly. Articulating faculty values for students is one way to open more authentic communication about a discipline.

The emotional tone of syllabi varies as much as the factual information content. Syllabi are generally impersonal in tone. This is not necessarily the best way to engage and motivate learners. Occasionally, faculty members disclose professional information, such as their qualifications to teach the course or some of their research interests. The very few personal disclosures in syllabi tend to express enthusiasm for the course, the discipline, or certain pedagogical stances ("I believe that group projects help to prepare students for the world of work, where everyone's productivity is affected by collaboration."). In my opinion, appropriate self-disclosure enhances faculty credibility. Although most syllabi display minimal personal or emotional information, a few have an angry, aggressive tone ("Late papers earn failing grades. Don't test me on this!"), while others carry warmth and encouragement ("The best equipment you bring to the lab is your own fine brain."; "I feel that I have done my job if everyone gets a well-deserved 'A' in this course.").

Faculty Learning Styles and Preferences.
Sometimes a weak, sketchy syllabus is used by a faculty member with a good reputation as a teacher. I have asked a few of these faculty why their syllabi didn't cover items like assessment or guidelines for papers or even give actual class meeting dates as opposed to "Week One", "Week Two", etc. about the course in class. Such faculty members tend to be skeptical about student use of syllabi. They claim to cover this material "and much more than can be put on paper" in class. My impression is that these faculty members have a verbal learning style and prefer oral/aural communication. Because they themselves are not visual learners who wouldn't consult a syllabus, they assume that students want only to hear explanations and ask questions. Because they are dedicated teachers, they might prepare more detailed syllabi if they were convinced that students would use them.

Who Is the Syllabus For, Anyway?
The primary beneficiary of a good syllabus is the student, who has assurances that the course is required or offered for valid reasons and will be conducted according to consistent, ethical principles. A learner-centered syllabus also conveys faculty expectations for student learning.

A strong syllabus also benefits the faculty member by making implicit assumptions explicit. A learner-centered syllabus can be time consuming to construct. Teasing faculty assumptions out of the unconscious and examining one's motivation for pedagogical practices is labor intensive. In my experience, the effort pays off. Reflecting on the purpose of my course, its place in the curriculum, its relation to the University mission, and the relevance of my evaluation methods to my teaching goals has been extremely helpful. I have become more conscious of my intentions and more careful about my methods because of the challenge of constructing a learner-centered syllabus.

On a more mundane plane, a good syllabus protects against charges that students were not informed about course policies and procedures. A common faculty concern is that a dissatisfied student could try to rigidly hold one responsible for every clause in a syllabus. The University attorney advises me that faculty are protected in general by the concept of academic freedom but that it is good practice to insert a simple statement that a syllabus may be modified at need by the faculty member.

Elements of a Learner-Centered Syllabus

DESCRIPTIVE

RESOURCES

Helpful Resources(on or off campus; print, electronic, human, retail, or other)

ASSESSMENT

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

DREXEL UNIVERSITY

Template for Syllabus Construction

Course title, course number and section number

Class meeting time and place

Faculty availability:

• name
• office location
• office hours
• telephone number/s
• email address or other contact information

Text and other materials

Course rationale:

• Why is this course offered?
• What is its value?

Describe course purpose

Describe course content

Teaching Goals:

Learning Objectives:

• what the successful student will learn

Clear assessment standards and criteria

Describe course format:

• presentation (such as lecture, discussion, small group work...)

Describe course format:

• procedures (e.g., films on Fridays, guest lecturers, daily quizzes...)

Describe any nontraditional or unique elements of the course

List helpful resources (including tutorial centers, enrichment readings, websites, museums, vendors, theaters, or other course-related resources)

Guidelines for notes, papers, etc.

Describe how course fits into a general program of study, department or program, especially for interdisciplinary courses

Clear grading policy:

• weights of given assignments and tests
• late or missing assignments/exams
• indicate when, how and type of your feedback
• attendance
• class participation requirements

How to prepare for class participation

Expectations about assignments and how these affect grades

Define the level of performance required for various grades. Give examples of excellent work.

Describe any on-going assessment for student feedback

Describe all special projects in detail

If interim materials are due, give due dates and turnaround times

Describe the assessment of group projects

Describe what will happen if group members do poor work or drop the course

Clear course calendar with dates, topics, and assignments

Statement on accommodation of disabilitiesy on cheating

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