Title: Creating a Syllabus
Headings: Teaching & Learning
Teaching & Learning
Creating a Syllabus
Purposes and content of a syllabus
The syllabus as a contract
The syllabus as a permanent record
The syllabus as a learning tool
Links
Resources
Readings

Content: While many of these items are not required for syllabi at Illinois, adding them can greatly improve students' ability to learn the material. To do this, a syllabus should include the following: Ways of contacting the instructor (office hours, availability for appointments, time within which students can expect a response via email, phone number)
Conceptual structure used to organize the course, why it is organized the way it is
Instructor's philosophy about the course content, teaching, and learning
Relevance and importance of the course to students (e.g., how the course fits into the college or department curriculum, why the students would want to learn the material)
Campus resources available to help students' learning (tutoring, writing, counseling, etc.) Estimate of student workload
Hints for how to study, take notes, etc. To see recommended information to include in a syllabus, use the checklist in Guidelines to the Organization and Contents of a Syllabus. Links
"The Promising Syllabus" is an innovative approach that Ken Bain found in his research of the best college teachers. Resources
Richmond, A. S. (2016). Constructing a learner-centered syllabus: One professors' journey (IDEA Paper 60). Manhattan, KS: