This resource page contains tips and strategies for designing a course syllabus that can make teaching easier while facilitating student learning. Dedicate time to building a syllabus that is interactive and useful, teach students to use it as a tool for success in your course.
Review the syllabus components section to construct a working syllabus that can serve as a “contract” with students while facilitating a seamless delivery of your course, make use of the downloadable template provided.
Designing Your Course Syllabus
Using the Syllabus as a Learning Tool
Dynamic Syllabus
Syllabus Components
Course Introduction | Logistics
Introduction
- Course description-provide the course description from the university catalog and provide a statement about the delivery: face-to-face, hybrid, synchronous, or asynchronous
- Pre-requisites-help students realistically assess their readiness for the course. What does the instructor assume students already know how to do? Are there any applications or skills that students should brush up on prior to beginning the course? Provide resources and hyperlinks.
- Program overview-a brief description of the degree, program goals, and the fundamental skills emphasized across the core classes
- How the course fits into the curriculum/degree if the information is available, or a hyperlink to the curriculum online
Logistics
- Instructor information-name, contact information, office hours, and how to schedule virtual office hours if applicable
- Location, room number, meeting time
- Technical requirements-suggested web browsers, computer specifications, Internet connection
- Computer/digital literacy skills-learning management system, proficiency with specific applications like MS Office, accessing libraries, using online search tools, citing information sources, writing standards, or the ability to prepare a presentation
Materials & Resources
- List required text with information and hyperlinks on how to access and/or provide ISBN numbers. If text is accessed from the university library or databases, provide instructions on how to access from there. Provide dates and deadlines of when texts must be in hand.
- Additional readings from the web, digital resources, or database with hyperlinks
- Materials-pens, markets, post-its, and more
- Suggested supplemental readings-web sites, digital resources, text, or social media with hyperlinks
Provide a brief statement on why the specified readings have been selected and explain what their relative importance is to the discipline.
Outcomes | Objectives
Are the course learning outcomes and course/program competencies measurable? Spend some time reflecting on this question. Measurable course learning objectives or competencies precisely and clearly describe what learners will learn and be able to do if they successfully complete the course. Course objectives or competencies describe desired learner mastery using terms that are specific and observable enough to be measured by the instructor. Visit our outcome writing resource for guidance.
The course learning outcomes or competencies should be provided on the syllabus for transparency. You can take this a step further and provide transparency and clarification on how everything students do in your course align to the stated learning outcomes. This planning can help you as an instructor think through each module to ensure that your individual unit learning outcomes/objectives are measurable and aligned with the overarching course outcomes. Furthermore, you are able to evaluate all assessments and activities in the course to confirm that they are adequately (and with the appropriate amount of rigor) measuring the stated outcomes at the module level and course level.
Example Course Outcomes
| Course Oucomes |
|---|
|
I. Recognize Usability in various forms such as web applications, furniture, construction, and more II. Identify Interaction Design strategies or lack of, in applications and products of everyday life III. Examine how design and development work together to produce competent products and applications IV. Apply Interaction Design principles in the development of various applications and in a final deliverable |
| Module Title | Module Learning Objectives/Outcomes | How will students demonstrate this? |
|---|---|---|
| Module 1: Introduction to Usability and Interaction Design |
|
Knowledge Check & Module Quiz-Usability and Interaction Design (LO 1) Assignment-visit and evaluate the interaction design strategies of small and large company websites, prepare a summary of your findings (LO 2) Case study & discussion (LO 3) |
Structure | Schedule | Deliverables
Provide information about the learning process and instructional methods for the course. Share a recommended approach for time management and working efficiently. This suggested weekly scheduled could be as general or specific as you prefer.
Monday: review module overview page and start required readings
Tuesday-Thursday: work through guided practice sessions and module content/activities (attend optional evening virtual session to answer specific questions about practice sets)
Friday-Sunday: collaborate with team members on case study assignment and discussions, Sunday: all assignments are due by 11:59 pm.
Provide a course schedule. If you already created something similar to show alignment of outcomes and assessments, repurpose it here.
| Week | Module Title | Module Learning Objectives/Outcomes | How will students demonstrate this? | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1: August 21-27 | Module 1: Introduction to Usability and Interaction Design |
|
Knowledge Check & Module Quiz-Usability and Interaction Design (LO 1) Assignment-visit and evaluate the interaction design strategies of small and large company web sites, prepare a summary of your findings (LO 2) Case study & discussion (LO 3) | Sunday by 11:59 pm |
Take this a step further and place course assignments and activities into categories, this can help you as the instructor with planning while providing transparency for students. This step can also assist with categorizing assignments in order to add a weighted percentage of the overall course grade.
| Activity | Participation | Deliverables | Description |
|---|---|
| Data set individual practice | Your instructor will be demonstrating data analytic techniques throughout this course, you are expected to work through the demonstration/tutorial with the data sets provided. After watching the tutorial and participating in the guided practice, you will complete a practice exercise to demonstrate your ability to complete the data analytic technique. |
| Data Analytic Techniques Group Assignments | After your practice exercises with data analytic techniques, you will work as a group or with a partner to complete the homework assignment for the data analytic technique featured in the module. This is a weekly assignment, so coordinating time to work as a team is essential. |
| Discussion | Participation | As you practice data analytic techniques, you will discuss how to apply this technique in your current workplace, personal life, or in a scenario where you can see the technique being used. There will be multiple opportunities to participate in knowledge checks for readings and data analytic techniques. |
| Individual Course Project | Based on your current (or past, desired future) work experiences, you are to write a 4-page paper on how business/marketing analysis techniques can improve the operations of the business. |
Grading Policy
List assignments, discussions, quizzes, or exams with details of each and the point values assigned. Assignments can be broken down into categories here with point values for each and category weights (percentages) provided.
Provide a late work policy statement with specific details and consequences.
Provide a grading scale and/or letter grade definition.
If rubrics are used in the course, provide a statement on how the rubrics will be used for assessment.
Expectations & Engagement
In this section, share specifics on how student-to-student, student-to-content, and student-to-instructor interaction should take place.
Describe the instructor’s role and plan for communication and timely grading. Reiterate office hours and hours by appointment. Share your plans for regular and substantive interaction.
Discuss the importance of active learning and collaboration in the course. Provide specific expectations about group work, discussion boards, knowledge checks, or virtual breakout rooms. Encourage students to meet on their own time to work through practice sessions or difficult content. Provide module discussion boards to allow students to post questions about unit content and to share resources, articles, or videos related to unit topics.
Remind students of the importance of engaging with the content and dedicating time weekly for the course. If this is an online course, put due dates on content pages so that they will populate on the student to-do list as a reminder to read, engage, and prepare. Incorporate low-stakes knowledge checks and encourage students to use them as a self-assessment.
Policies & Student Support Resources
Post individual course policies, university policies, and student support resources in this section. You don’t need to type all of the policies in the syllabus, provide hyperlinks to published resources.
Syllabus Template
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