Skip to main content

University Syllabus Template

University Syllabus Template

Authority: 
Academic and Student Affairs
Date enacted or revised: 
August 01, 2012
In F/S Handbook: 
yes

Required Components for Undergraduate Syllabi 1

(revised August 2012)

Required Class Materials

The following materials are to be distributed by each instructor to his/her classes and a copy of each hand-out kept on file in the office of the appropriate department head or dean:

  1. a syllabus providing course objectives or learning outcomes,
  2. grading scale,
  3. how the student's grade will be determined,
  4. attendance policy, and make-up policy,
  5. offices hours and contact information for the instructor.

Each course syllabus must be posted electronically on Blackboard or Moodle.

These handouts should be given to the department head/dean by the tenth (10) day of class and should be reviewed and updated each semester. The department head/dean should maintain a file of all course syllabi for a five-year period. Each course must have the syllabus posted to Blackboard or Internet. The address must be made available to the department head, dean, and students.

Faculty should make themselves aware of the emergency exits and areas of refuge in buildings where they teach or perform other work responsibilities. Faculty members must inform students they teach of the exits and refuge areas.

As recommended by the Faculty Senate, Section 504 0f the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), all course syllabi must contain the official ADA Statement.  Additionally, all syllabi must contain the University Policies section (see below).

Course syllabi must include the components listed below (not necessarily in order):

General Course Information

  1. Course number and title
  2. Instructor Name
  3. Office location and hours ("office hours" means on-campus, not remote or virtual)
  4. E-mail address provided by McNeese
  5. Course Description as stated in the current Catalog
  6. Prerequisite Requirements (courses, experience, skills, permission, student classification, etc. as stated in the current Catalog)
  7. Textbooks/Required Materials


Course Content Information

  1. Course goals/Objectives/Student Learning Outcome (SLO's): Goals, objectives, and student learning outcomes are often used interchangeably.  For the purpose of McNeese State University assessment, goals are generally broad statements about what the student will learn; objectives and student learning outcomes are more specific statements about what the student will learn.  For Examples and more information about Student Learning Outcomes see below.
  2. Assessment: Syllabi should include information about how the student's learning will be assessed in the course. Because SLO's must be measurable, methods of assessment will explain to the student how his or her learning will be determined. Assessment methods vary according to course content and may include a clinical evaluation tool, a critical thinking rubric, embedded test questions, a course evaluation summary, etc.
  3. Course Requirements and Evaluation: Students should know what is required of them such as readings, papers, projects, lab work, participation in class discussions, etc., and how they are going to be evaluated. Frequency and types of examinations and/or other elements that will form the basis of their course grade must be included in the syllabus. The weight given to each element in calculating the course mark should be included.  (This information should relate directly to the student learning outcomes.)
  4. Methods of Instruction: Students should know what they will be doing in order to attain the objectives/outcomes listed above, i.e. listening to lectures, participating in discussions both in class and on-line or Blackboard, discussing cases, doing research, reading assignments, writing assignments, completing laboratory work, field work, receiving critiques of individual and/or group projects, and so on.


Course-specific Policies

Instructors may include optional classroom policies pertaining, but not limited, to the following:
  1. Class Attendance
  2. Tardiness
  3. Late Work
  4. Make-up Examinations and Required Class Assignments
The course syllabus provides expectations for class attendance and procedures for make-up exams or course work missed due to excused absences.  Students who miss examinations or required class assignments due to a planned absence for University approved events must present the approved University excused absence to the instructor prior to missing class.  The instructor can allow the student to take an exam or submit assignments prior to the planned absence, or can allow the student to arrange to make up exams or assignments within two weeks after the absence.  Lab assignments, oral presentations, artistic performance or similar assignments may require special consideration and extended time to arrange completion.  In cases of excused absences for illness or other circumstances deemed appropriate as an excused absence, faculty are encouraged to provide make-up exams soon after the student returns to class.  Make-up exams must be complete prior to the beginning of the University final examination period.  Faculty may not create make-up policies which result in punitive actions against students who miss exams or are absent due to University-excused absences or other excused absences.


University Policies

The following policies should be included in all syllabi:
  1. Americans with Disabilities Act: The following ADA Accommodation statement may be copied as is:

It is the student's responsibility to register with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities when requesting an academic adjustment in accordance with ADA.  Any student with a disability is encouraged to contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, Drew Hall, Room 200, (337) 475-5916 Voice, (337) 475-5878 FAX, (337) 562-4227 TDD/TTY, Hearing Impaired.  Dr. Michael T. Snowden serves as ADA Coordinator, Burton Business Center, Room 404, VOICE (337) 475-5428; FAX (337) 475-5960; TDD/TTY, Hearing Impaired (337) 562-4227; or cdo@mcneese.edu. McNeese ensures compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, other federal and state laws and regulations pertaining to persons with disabilities, and receives complaints regarding ADA access issues. All students, including students with disabilities, are responsible for locating the designated emergency exits and the areas of refuge in a classroom building and are encouraged to develop and discuss an evacuation plan with the class instructor.

  1. Fire Drill Policy: The following Fire Drill Policy may be copied as is:

In compliance with federal regulation 29CFR1910.3, the National Fire Protection Association Standard NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, Section 4.7, and the State of Louisiana Office of Risk Management, McNeese State University will periodically conduct fire drills.  In the event of a fire drill or a related building emergency, all persons in a classroom are required to exit the building using posted escape routes or the Area of Refuge for individuals with disabilities.  All persons in class are required to follow the faculty member outside of the building to safety and are required to check in with the faculty member to ensure that everyone has safely exited the building.  The official "all clear" must be given by emergency responders before anyone is allowed to re-enter the building.
http://www.mcneese.edu/policy/fire-drill-policy

  1. Diversity Awareness Policy: http://www.mcneese.edu/policy/diversity-awareness-policy
  2. Academic Integrity Policy: http://www.mcneese.edu/policy/academic-integrity-policy


Calendar of Events

A calendar is optional, but strongly encouraged, for student version. Typically, this is organized by class session or course progression and includes appropriate correlation to text chapters, journal articles, case studies, and so on.

1 General Education Courses

Syllabi must also include:
  1. Course Identity as a general education course under course description;
  2. Identity of the general education competency(s) addressed in course goals/objectives;
  3. Reflection on which general education competency(s) aligns with the student learning outcome(s) that demonstrates the competency(s), (where appropriate) in goals/objectives/student learning outcomes;
  4. Identity of the assessment tools used to measure student performance in assessment.

Required Components for Graduate Course Syllabi

Minimum Elements that a Graduate School Course Syllabus Should Contain:

  1. Course Number and Title.
  2. Instructor (Who as well as where, when and how to contact. Office hours should be convenient for students enrolled in the course.  Electronic mail addresses should be included whenever possible.)
  3. Prerequisite Requirements (List courses, experience, skills, permission, level, etc.)
  4. Course Description (at least a copy from the current Graduate Catalog or the course approval form if it is a new course.)
  5. Course Objectives/Learner Outcomes and Assessment.  (This section should indicate to students what they can expect to know and/or be able to do as a result of successfully completing the course requirements. Outcomes should be written in terms of the knowledge or skills students will attain rather than material covered in the course.  Methods for the assessment and/or evaluation of the completion of learner outcomes should be included.  Outcomes where appropriate should be correlated with the program outcomes as described in the program progress report.)
  6. Modes of Instruction (Students should know what they will be doing in order to attain the objectives/outcomes listed above, i.e. listening to lectures, participating in discussions, discussing cases, doing research, reading assignments, completing laboratory work, field work, receiving critiques of individual and/or group projects, etc.)
  7. Calendar of Events:  Typically by class session (optional) including appropriate correlation to text chapters, journal articles, case studies, etc.
  8. Course Content Outline.
  9. Course Requirements (Students should know what is required of them including: text, attendance, class participation, readings, papers, projects, reports, lab work, technological competencies, and any other performance expectations. Information presented here should relate directly to the achievement of the objectives/learner outcomes described in item 5.)
  10. Evaluation (Students should know how they are going to be evaluated including the frequency and types of examinations and other elements that will form the basis of their course mark. The weight given to each element in calculating the course mark should be included.)
  11. Current Bibliography.
  12. Required University Policies-See above in Required Components for Undergraduate Syllabi.
 
If you have an undergraduate course that is cross listed with a graduate course and you will be doing a Course Addition you will need to indicate on the graduate course syllabus the additional work that is expected of the graduate student.

Course Goals/Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Goal - The student will be able to explain the nursing process.
Objective or Student Learning Outcome - The student will:
  • be able to explain assessment.
  • be able to identify a nursing diagnosis based on the assessment.
  • be able to identify a patient-oriented goal.
 
SLOs are referenced frequently in assessment procedures for SACS.  SLO's are specific statements that describe the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes students will develop from the course-in other words, a SLO is what students are expected to know and be able to do upon successful completion of the course.
 
The SLOs tied to the McNeese State University mission statement are Terminal Outcomes, or what knowledge the student is expected to have acquired at the Completion of the Program. MSU states that upon completion of a degree program students will be able to:
  1. Think critically,
  2. Express themselves effectively and,
  3. Understand the global community.
 
Demonstrating that students achieve these three learning outcomes is accomplished through course assessment which then feeds into program assessment.  If a course you teach is designated as a point of assessment for critical thinking, effective expression (oral, written, or technological communication) or understanding the global community, the syllabus must contain the appropriate SLO and measurement. Courses within a program may designate progressive levels of learning.
 
Reference: 
See also Grading System