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It Really, Really is in the Syllabus!
In an Age of Virtual Learning, Here’s Suggestions on How to Improve Student Communications in Regards to the Course Syllabus (i.e. How to Get Them to Actually Read It!)
Introduction
The course syllabus. Often, it becomes almost a work of art for us professors. It is something that each of us have to craft each semester. And yes, I use that word “craft” deliberately, as the course syllabus is the guiding document for your teaching and student learning in the course.
However, one of the “inside baseball” frustrations of being a professor is knowing that for all the many hours of work that one puts in to carefully creating a syllabus, students — by and large — neglect to actually read what is in it — at least up front in the course. Now there are students who will actually take the time to read the syllabus, but that number is always uncertain. And one thing is for sure, assuming students read — and understand — what is in the course syllabus is a dangerous assumption to make today. And yet, as the syllabus is more and more recognized as a contract for the course, student interest in syllabus content does only peak at the end of the semester for many students — when the grading provisions come into play.
