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Crafting and Revising Your Syllabus

Crafting and Revising Your Syllabus 

The syllabus provides a vital function for your classes. It acts as the guide for what will happen over the semester; it sets expectations for your students about what you will do and what they should do; and it is, in many ways, your chance to make a great first impression, as the syllabus is typically the first document that students will receive from you at the start of the semester. 

Since your syllabus acts as a guide and a contract, it is important to spend time developing and fine-tuning this critical document. There are many websites that provide ideas for how to craft a new syllabus and how to revise an existing syllabus. We would recommend checking out the following first: 

If you prefer, click here to see to watch a video on designing a syllabus from Northern Illinois University. You can also check out books on syllabus design from the CTL Library, including The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach by Judith Grunert O’Brien, Barbara J. Millis, Margaret W. Cohen and The Graphic Syllabus and the Outcomes Map: Communicating Your Course by Linda B. Nilson. 

When developing a new syllabus or an updated course schedule, it is important to keep in mind the flow and key times of the semester so that you can plan accordingly. Check the academic calendar and consult a list of religious holidays. If you are teaching multiple courses, consider how your own effort can be spread across courses and time during the semester, so that you aren’t doing all your grading for multiple courses at the same time. 

Course Policies: The syllabus is also a key place to convey your classroom policies to students. At Trinity, faculty place a high value on academic freedom, and there is no required language for syllabi. However, several centers and groups on campus offer recommended language. You might consider using or adapting the following statements about resources and policies: 

  • AI Policy statement options from Academic Learning & Scholarship 

Many faculty also include technology use policies in their syllabi. (For a thoughtful discussion of these policies, check out Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It by James M. Lang from the CTL library.) It’s also wise to articulate a policy on late work and extensions and possibly on attendance, keeping in mind how attendance policies may affect student athletes, students with certain academic accommodations, and students who live off campus.   

You can also use the syllabus as an opportunity to link students to resources such as the Counseling and Wellness Center, the Student Emergency and Equity Fund, the Student Integrity Contract, the Student Handbook, and/or the Title IX Office.