In Texas, the legislature mandates that every course syllabus is given to students and made available online. The public version of your syllabus must include a brief description of each major course requirement (including each major assignment and examination), learning objectives for the course, a general description of the subject matter of each lecture or discussion, and any required or recommended readings.
Here at the FIC, we recommend your syllabus include the following:
- The course number, title, and mode (face-to-face, hybrid or blended, internet)
- The instructor’s name, office location, and office hours (note: office location is optional for the public version)
- If there are teaching assistants for the class, their names, office locations, and office hours (note: do not include in the public version)
- An overview of the class, including prerequisites, detailed discussion of course modality and its relationship to class meetings the subject matter of each lecture or discussion, and the academic/learning goals for the course and how they will be assessed
- Grading policy, including the means of evaluation and assignment of class grades, including whether plus and minus grades will be used for final class grade and whether attendance will be used for determining the final class grade
- A brief descriptive overview of all major course requirements and assignments, along with the dates of exams and assignments that count for 20 percent or more of the class grade
- A list of required and recommended materials, such as digital or physical textbooks, image collections, audio and audiovisual materials, supplies, articles, chapters, and excerpts as appropriate, identified by author, title, and publisher
- Final exam date and time (when available)
- A notice that students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities