When I was an undergraduate student, a syllabus consisted of only the most basic information for a course, and typically, it fit on a single sheet of paper. A syllabus was a simple list, usually without flourishes:
- Course name and course code.
- Professor’s name, contact information, and office hours.
- Classroom and meeting times for the course.
- Basic assessments and deadlines (essays, exams, assignments, and how much each was worth).
- Sometimes, a rough schedule of the weekly reading schedule for the semester.
Times have changed. At the institution I taught at most recently, the syllabus template was 6 pages long prior to describing any of the assessments, or listing any readings. My syllabi over the last few years have typically stretched to about 12 pages, and sometimes more.
The modern syllabus is a much more formal document than the single sided photocopy I was handed on my first day of class. It is sometimes treated as a contract between students and instructor, sometimes treated as a pedagogical tool, and nearly always understood to be the fundamental source of information about a course. It tends to specify policies, rules and regulations, texts, and assignments for a given iteration of a course, especially in cases where courses are offered in multiple sections by different instructors. That makes it a very important resource for each student, and an opportunity for each instructor and course designer.
The problem is that as syllabi have grown in length and detail, they have also become increasingly inaccessible and overwhelming. Understandably, students don’t always read these multi-page documents full of legalese policy statements and multiple changes in formatting. Even when students do read the syllabus, they may predictably miss important details. Students miss crucial course information so ubiquitously that an industry of memes has popped up around redirecting students towards the syllabus. Mocking students for struggling to find crucial course information is neither mature nor productive, and I don’t recommend it. But, what should instructors do?
There are very good reasons to include as much course information as possible in the syllabus, but the more information is included, the more likely it is that any particular piece of information will be overlooked. It is a good idea to include as much information as possible, because this is the document that students will return to the most. Many colleges and universities view the syllabus as a policy document or contract, deviation from which is problematic. For this reason, the syllabus really does need to be comprehensive. But, as a result, students will not read every word of it, and that’s okay. I have a few strategies to help you – and your students – get the most out of the syllabus.
- Reframe
First, recognize that the student is not the problem. The syllabus’s length and comprehensiveness is both the problem and a desirable feature, and it is more or less set in stone by institutional policies. Focus your energy on incentivizing referencing the syllabus regularly, and additional energy on building nets (and networks) to help everyone get the information they need, when they need it. Additionally, recognize that every student is different, and a diversity of student learners is a good thing. Some students will read through the entirety of every syllabus, but that it is perfectly reasonable that some (or many) students will not.
2. Redundancy
It is worth building redundancy into the syllabus. Make sure that the most important information (deadlines and avenues of communication) are communicated in more than one way. Perhaps they arise more than once on the syllabus, and perhaps they are additionally available through course webpages. As deadlines approach, highlight them in course communications (lectures, announcements, emails, etc.). Offer multiple pathways to find the same information.
3. Easter Eggs
Incentivize reading through the syllabus. Some people use syllabus quizzes to ensure that their students absorb the most important information in the syllabus. I once taught a course that offered a bonus mark (of 0.5%) for completing an introductory discussion post. It wasn’t hidden in the course materials, but the bonus mark wasn’t highlighted as much as other material. If they found information about the bonus mark, they were likely to find other more important information about the course in the process. I’m not sure what I think about hiding money and directing students to it in the syllabus, but it seems designed to prove that students don’t read the syllabus, rather than incentivizing reading the syllabus in the first place.
In recent courses, I have asked students to include a cute animal picture with each email. I view it as my own version of the brown M&M rider. If students email me with a cute picture attached, I know that they have had a good look at the syllabus and haven’t found the information they were looking for. (And they are probably not alone.) I’ll answer the question and add a course announcement on the course webpage, or a post on an FAQ page, or send out a course-wide email. If they email me without the cute picture attached, it’s no big deal, but it’s slightly more likely that asking me is their first port of call. And that is useful information, too. In either case, I will try to answer the question they have asked and also direct them to where they might find more information, but I’m less likely to generalize my response to an email without a cute animal picture.
4. Accessibility
Of course, all syllabi should use accessible and screen-reader-compatible formats. Choose accessible fonts and document formats. Provide alt-text for any images. Check the (minimum) accessibility requirements at your institution, but see if you can aim higher than that.
It should be clear by now that I am not impressed by the ‘It’s in the Syllabus!’ memes. They belittle students for something that is perfectly reasonable and understandable. So, when you are working on your next syllabus, remember to think about it from the student’s perspective, and create a document that will help the whole class to get on the same page throughout the course.