When a course is offered in multiple sections, sometimes at
different locations, and taught by different instructors and worthy of transfer
credit, it’s important that the students taking it have the same course
experiences. Depending on the course, there may be some or no flexibility with
the content and some or no discretion on the part of instructors as to
instructional methods, policies, and assessment criteria. Curricular
consistency is usually supported with a common course syllabus or syllabus
template. The common syllabus usually prescribes everything about how the
course will be taught. The syllabus template usually identifies what must be
covered and done in the course and what course details are at the instructor’s
discretion.
The beauty of common and template syllabi is the
consistency they provide. If you’re a beginning student taking multiple courses,
getting four or five different syllabi can be overwhelming. Every teacher wants
something different, has different policies, and includes different information
on their syllabus. Even some consistency, such as teachers across the
institution including the same academic integrity or disability accommodation
policy, can make the various syllabi look related. More importantly, repetition
of policies underscores their importance and sends the message that they apply
to every course.
Ronald Rockland, Levelle
Burr-Alexander, and Howard Kimmel (New Jersey Institute of Technology) identify
another value of syllabus consistency within a department or program:
For instructors
teaching subsequent courses so that there is alignment with prerequisites, it
is necessary to require that prerequisites mean more than just earning a grade
in a previous course. Completing a prerequisite course means students have the
skills and knowledge required for the next course. And completing the sequence
of courses within a degree program should indicate that the students have
acquired the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes required by graduates
of the program.
Syllabus templates and common syllabi not only create
course consistency but are also especially helpful to part-time and adjunct
faculty. These teachers don’t always have good connections with the department
and colleagues who have taught the course. Providing them with syllabus
material helps them deliver the course as it was designed and is regularly
taught.
We raised the question of syllabus templates in our call
for syllabus-related materials, and we received several templates in response. What
makes a template particularly useful is a clear delineation between what goes
on the syllabus no matter and what’s optional. Irene Gaither (South Mountain
Community College) shared her College of Mathematics’ syllabus template, which
is laid out as a two-columned table, with all the syllabus sections labeled on
the left side. Required content is clearly specified: the text in the right
column is already filled in. But when it comes to instructor-specific sections,
such as those on teaching philosophy and extra credit, the right column
includes an instruction to “insert yours” or revise a placeholder policy. (All
instructions to insert or modify text are in easily noticeable red font.) Were a
template like this used in every course a department or program offered,
students would always see the same syllabus layout. That consistency reduces the
sense that every instructor does every course differently and the best way to
succeed in a course is to find out what the teacher wants and do it. Moreover,
using the same format helps students find the information of most interest to
them: it’s in the same place on every syllabus.
The syllabus template Myron Williams (TCM International
Institute) shared also does a good job of clearly differentiating what’s
required of an instructor and what’s at their discretion. Laid out in a more
conventional, single-column format than Professor Gaither’s example, the
template includes a mix of fixed text and guidelines for what teachers should
include in each required section. In addition, it serves a developmental
purpose. It makes suggestions about teaching methods, grading, and feedback and
provides a bit of history about the institution. It even suggests a number of
pages students should be asked to read in a course and the number of words
suitable for assignments. The tone is helpful and supportive. For anyone new to
teaching or new to teaching at the institution, a template like this prepares
one not only to teach the course but also to be a professor.
It’s long been a tradition that syllabus creation is under
the purview of the faculty member teaching the course. Decisions about content
specifics, course policies, exams and assignments, and grading criteria are
made by the teacher. But with more courses taught by part-time and adjunct
faculty and more courses offered online and at different locations, actions
that promote consistency across sections and teachers have become essential.
Common and template syllabi have become part of the solution. They preserve
curricular integrity. Additionally, they benefit students by creating
expectations shared across courses and they benefit new and part-time teachers
by providing relevant course material.
