Empathetic Syllabi Review Exercise | Teaching and Learning - Faculty Focus

“Do you know how much this exam is worth?” 
“I can’t find any office hours listed for one of my classes—are there any?.” 
“What if I get sick and miss a few classes—will my grade be hurt?” 

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Laura Behling, professor of English at Knox College (Galesburg, Ill.) writes, My answer was the same for all three questions—“I don’t know.” 

Photo: iStock

Even though these were my first-year seminar students asking these questions, they were looking at syllabi from their other courses, part of a syllabus review exercise I do each fall with first-time students.

Here’s how it works: at the end of the first week, I ask students to bring in all of their syllabi from all of their courses that term, our seminar’s syllabus included.  I then ask them to read all of the syllabi carefully, and look for specific components that are important for them to know: items such as the name and location of the faculty member teaching the course, office hours, the attendance policy, the types of graded assignments, when assignments are due, how much of the total grade each assignment is worth, and guidelines for how to effectively participate in class discussion.

Usually at this point, students have grown anxious as they notice how the aggregate number of assignments has grown—15 papers or 18 exams, often more than a thousand pages of reading during the term. For some students, it all seems insurmountable...

This syllabus review exercise has transformed my own syllabi.  I now work through a checklist to make sure all these important details for a student-centered syllabus are there.  I’ve rewritten some language in my syllabi—about class discussion or conduct, for example—to be more explicit and affirming.  Student feedback has helped me clarify language to be more easily understood by students.
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Source: Faculty Focus