What is a Syllabus?

A course syllabus outlines the policies, procedures, expectations, and general structure of your course. According to CIDI, a syllabus “is an agreement between the instructor and his or her students to establish the rules of engagement for the course and what is required of students for them to receive credit for the course.” A syllabus ensures that students understand what they are signing up for by being a registered member of your course. It also ensures that students know what to expect from their instructor.

University and Department Syllabus Requirements

USU requires that all instructors “inform students of the general [course] content and [course outcome] evaluation criteria in [a] syllabus or comparable documentation at the beginning of any course they teach” (Policy 403 2.3.1).

To ensure that you are fulfilling the university’s requirement, the composition program requires each instructor to post their syllabus on their Canvas course. Additionally, all faculty must submit a copy of their syllabus to the English department at the beginning of each semester. You can anticipate an email from the department providing a link to the form in which you will upload your syllabus.

Submitting your syllabus to the department helps the university ensure that instructors are treating and assessing students fairly and equitably. It can also provide protection for instructors in case any grievances are filed against them. However, most importantly, making your syllabus accessible increases transparency and ultimately helps students work toward learning outcomes and achieve academic success in your course.

Developing Syllabus Content

During your GI orientation your first semester, the Composition Admin Team will provide you with a Canvas shell that you can import into your own course. This shell, among other things, will include a template syllabus. You may modify this syllabus to reflect your approach to classroom management. However, certain policies and procedures are required by either the department or the composition program. Any mandatory syllabus language will either be marked in the syllabus template or communicated to you by the Composition Admin Team during your orientation.

As you are considering your approach to classroom management and any related changes to your syllabus, please take time to carefully consider your course policies and procedures. Aside from making sure you include mandatory syllabus language, you might also consider other common sections of a syllabus as outlined on CIDI’s syllabus page. Additionally, the office of the provost has provided a webpage that includes updated language for university-wide policies and resources. The CAT is available to review your syllabus if you have any questions.