Title: The Importance of the Course Syllabus | Duquesne University
Headings: The Importance of the Course Syllabus
The Importance of the Course Syllabus
Tips for Faculty about creating an effective syllabus that helps students to learn.
Tips for Students about the importance of the syllabus in the learning process.
Center for Teaching Excellence

Content: Tips for Faculty about creating an effective syllabus that helps students to learn. The syllabus is a great place for faculty members to begin helping students appreciate the nature of a given course. As educators, we must not assume that our students explicitly understand why they are taking a given class, how it relates to the college curriculum, or what is meant by the requirements that we carefully outline in our syllabus. The stereotypical response that students give about the course being required, while humorous, reveals the need for faculty to become more explicit in their syllabus construction as a teaching tool. Sharon Rubin outlines several questions that many syllabi fail to address. Carefully crafting our syllabi to address some of these questions would help our students as they learn in our courses. 1. Why should a student want to take this course? How does it make a difference as part of the discipline? How does it fit into the general-education program?