Syllabus Template
This template was designed by the Koehler Center to help faculty create a syllabus that
contains the most useful information to enhance student learning.
Instructions for Use:
Save this document to your hard drive. Put course-specific information in place of the
material within the brackets. You can, of course, add other information as desired. Any
item marked with a double asterisk (**) is not required, but is recommended. After
completing the syllabus, you may need to adjust the spacing and page breaks in order to
make the content flow more smoothly.
For further information on any of these items, contact the Koehler Center for Teaching
Excellence (ext. 7434)
The template includes:
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Title of Course
o Course Number
o Credit Hours
o Instructor Information
o Office hours
o Office phone
o Email
Final Exam date
Required Text and additional resources/materials
Course Description
Course Requirements
Prerequisites
Learning Outcomes
Teaching Philosophy
Instructional Methods
Course Policies and Requirements
o Grading
o Attendance Policy
o Statement on Disability Services at TCU
o Academic Misconduct
o Netiquette: Communication Courtesy Code
Getting help with Pearson LearningStudio (eCollege)
TCU Campus Resources for Students:
Course Schedule
TCU Mission Statement
Final Exam Date | Required Text | Course Description | Course Requirements |
Prerequisites | Learning Outcomes | Teaching Philosophy | Instructional Methods |
Course Policies | Pearson LearningStudio (eCollege) | Campus Resources | Course
Schedule | TCU Mission
This syllabus represents my current plans and objectives. As we go through the
semester, those plans may need to change to enhance the class learning opportunity.
Such changes, communicated clearly, are not unusual and should be expected.
Course Title and Number Here – Syllabus
(be sure it matches the title as shown on Registrar’s site)
Instructor Name:
Semester/Year:
Class location:
Class Meeting time(s):
Office:
Telephone:
Email:
Final Exam date
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Type details here
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Required text and additional resources
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Type details here
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Course Description
[from the course catalogue]
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Type details here
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Course Requirements
This course currently meets all or part of the following requirements for a degree:
[check off or include as many of the following as are appropriate for your course:]
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University Curriculum Requirement (UCR)
TCU Core Curriculum Requirement(s) (if a Core-designated course; ‡see below)
Requirement within the Major
Requirement for other Majors
Supports Mission Statement
(‡Check Registrar’s site to determine if your course is designated as fulfilling one or
more Core requirements; for each Core requirement it fulfills, you should have at least
one Core outcome for that requirement showing as an outcome on your syllabus. For
instance, if the course is designated as meeting both Religious Traditions and
Humanities Core requirements, then, at minimum, you should include one RT Core
outcome and one HUM Core outcome on your syllabus.)
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Type details here
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Prerequisites
[What are the prerequisites and how will you build on them? You may wish to refer
students to resources for correcting weaknesses that might interfere with their learning
in the course]
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Learning Outcomes
[List as specifically as possible the learning outcomes the course is intended to produce.
It is helpful here to think about the kinds of evidence that you will need to evaluate the
students’ learning, as your objectives should drive your grading. A well stated outcome
has two components: substance (content/subject matter) and form (what action must
the student perform with regards to the substance--compare and contrast, evaluate,
analyze, apply, etc.) If your course is a Core-designated course, at least one of the Core
outcomes should appear in your syllabus as a course outcome for each Core category.
For example, if your course is designated in Literary Traditions and Humanities, then you
should show at least one LT Core outcome on your syllabus and at least one HUM
outcome on your syllabus.]
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Type details here
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**Teaching Philosophy
[In your statement of teaching philosophy, you should include descriptions of how you
think learning occurs, how you (as teacher) will impact the students’ learning, what
goals you hold for student learning, and how you believe students should participate in
the learning process.]
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**Instructional Methods
[It is helpful to students to understand how you have structured the course and how
classes will be conducted. If the course has multiple formats (like lecture & recitation,
lab and discussion, group learning projects and/or presentations), these should be
explained clearly.]
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Course Policies and Requirements
[must include attendance policy, policies on late assignments and make-up exams or
assignments
Grading
[Each syllabus will include details about how the student will be evaluated - what
factors will be included or not included, how they will be weighted and how they will be
translated into grades. In addition to this explanation, the grading scale must be
included. For example
Final Grade Elements:
Percent / Point
Value
Item
(Keep in mind, the weighting of amount of points for the different assignments and
tasks you give students will have a major impact on their effort distribution. For
example, if you have many homework assignments and/or quizzes, but not any one of
them will count significantly toward the final grade, students may invest less time and
commitment to doing them. If a certain percentage of the students’ grades is based on
class participation, what criteria will be used to make that assessment: quantity or
quality? If quality, what determines quality? Publishing your rubrics for how you
determine student performance on an assignment is advisable (though you may not
want to put rubrics for all assignments in the syllabus. Please work with your
department to determine the department policy on grading using the + - system.)]
Final Numerical Grade Calculation (+/-):
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
C-
4.00 – Excellent
3.67
3.33
3.00 – Good
2.67
2.33
2.00 – Satisfactory
1.67
D+
D
DF
1.33
1.00 – Poor
0.67
0.00 – Failing
P – Passed the course.
NC – No credit awarded for the course.
Final Letter Grade Calculation:
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Score
90-100
80-89
70-79
60-69
0-59
(Faculty have the option of choosing +/- grading or not. There is an option allowing +/grades on the PeopleSoft final grade rosters. Courses at the 5000 level, which can have
both graduate and undergraduate students enrolled, should include both
undergraduate and graduate grading scales. Additional grading information is
available in the Undergraduate Studies Bulletin, the Graduate Studies Bulletin, and the
Brite Divinity School Bulletin.)
Sample Threaded Discussions Rubric:
CATEGORY
3
2
1
0
Topic Response Responding to the Responding to Responding to Not responding
instructor's topic the instructor's the instructor's to the
by Wednesday.
topic by Friday. topic by Sunday. instructor's
topic.
Peer Response Responding to 3 Responding to 3 Responding to 3 Responding to
peer postings by peer postings by peer postings by NO peer
Friday.
Saturday - OR - Sunday - OR postings.
ONLY
ONLY
responding to 2 responding to 1
peers.
peer.
Final Response Responding to all Responding to Responding to Responding to
peers who have
3/4 of the peers 1/2 of the peers NONE of the
posted a response who have
who have
peers who
to you.
posted a
posted a
have posted a
response to you. response to you. response to
you.
Quality Threads Student comments Student
Student
Student does
that add
comments that comments that not participate
significantly to the add moderately do not add to
at all in the
discussion by
to the discussion the discussion. threaded
suggesting other by suggesting Student does
discussion.
solutions, pointing other solutions, not substantiate
out problems, or pointing out
any comments
even respectfully problems, or
made with
disagreeing.
even
reasoning or
Student also
respectfully
even source
substantiates any disagreeing.
citation. Posting
comments made Student does
is simple: "I
with reasoning or not substantiate agree" or "Yes"
even source
any comments or "No"
citation. A quality made with
posting is about 30 reasoning or
to 75 words.
even source
citation. Posting
is about 20 to 75
words.
Attendance
[The university attendance policy states that regular and punctual class attendance is
essential and that no assigned work is excused because of absence, no matter what the
cause. Records of class attendance are kept by faculty. When an accumulation of
absences reaches the point of endangering a student’s academic status, the faculty
member should report this situation to the Campus Life Office. An instructor should not
assume that continued absence from class indicates an official withdrawal until notified
by the Registrar (TCU Faculty Handbook). Your attendance policy should be stated
clearly in this section. You may also want to include information about withdrawal from
a course.]
Statement of Disability Services at TCU
Disability Statement approved Fall 2007 by the Undergraduate Council / Revised Summer 2011
Disabilities Statement: Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with
Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with
disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator of
Student Disabilities Services in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 1010.
Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as
soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information
can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX
76129, or at (817) 257-6567.
[Note: The following two paragraphs may be included, but are not required.]
Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not
retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the
academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible
for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the
Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at
http://www.acs.tcu.edu/disability_documentation.asp.
Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a
building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as
soon as possible.
Academic Misconduct:
Academic Misconduct (Sec. 3.4 from the Student Handbook) –Any act that violates the
academic integrity of the institution is considered academic misconduct. The
procedures used to resolve suspected acts of academic misconduct are available in the
offices of Academic Deans and the Office of Campus Life and are listed in detail in the
Undergraduate Catalog (Student Policies>Academic Conduct Policy Details;
http://www.catalog.tcu.edu/current_year/undergraduate/). Specific examples include,
but are not limited to:
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Cheating: Copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other
report, or computer files and listings; using, during any academic exercise,
material and/or devices not authorized by the person in charge of the test;
collaborating with or seeking aid from another student during a test or
laboratory without permission; knowingly using, buying, selling, stealing,
transporting, or soliciting in its entirety or in part, the contents of a test or other
assignment unauthorized for release; substituting for another student or
permitting another student to substitute for oneself.
Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase or obtaining by any means
another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that
work as one’s own offered for credit. Appropriation includes the quoting or
paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit therefore. (If you are using
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Turnitin www.turnitin.com place information about your course id and password
or LearningStudio dropbox reporting. If you only want to use Turnitin as a spot
check please indicate in your syllabus that you may use Turnitin for plagiarism
detection.)
Collusion: The unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing work
offered for credit.
**Netiquette: Communication Courtesy Code
All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email
messages, threaded discussions and chats. If I deem any of them to be inappropriate or
offensive, I will forward the message to the Chair of the department and the online
administrators and appropriate action will be taken, not excluding expulsion from the
course. The same rules apply online as they do in person. Be respectful of other
students. Foul discourse will not be tolerated. Please take a moment and read the
following link concerning "netiquette".
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/
Participating in the virtual realm, including social media sites and shared-access sites
sometimes used for educational collaborations, should be done with honor and
integrity:
http://ctlt.ubc.ca/distance-learning/learner-support/communicating-online-netiquette/
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Pearson LearningStudio (eCollege)
[Please note that some of the language below is designed for an online course (or a
syllabus posted in Pearson LearningStudio). You should include the information most
pertinent to your course.]
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If you have not yet taken the Student Orientation Tutorial, please exit this
course and do so immediately. Once you have finished, return to this course and
continue. The Student Orientation Tutorial is listed on your personal student
homepage. To access it, click on "Exit Course" at the bottom of this page. Then
click on the "Student Orientation Tutorial" on your home page.
If you experience any technical problems during your usage of Pearson
LearningStudio, please do not hesitate to contact the HELP DESK (at Pearson
LearningStudio). They can be reached by phone or by chat 24 hours per day, 7
days per week.
phone: 1-800-826-1665
chat: http://247support.custhelp.com Click “Start a Live Chat” at the top
of the page.
Users can access these options by clicking the Tech Support tab from
within a course shell.
For questions about logging into Pearson LearningStudio (eCollege) visit the online
video: http://www.elearning.tcu.edu/resources/howtologinvideo/howtologinvideo.asp
If, however, you have a course related issue (course content, assignment troubles,
quiz difficulties) please contact the professor.
[In addition to technical support and help desk information, you might also include
information about how you intend to use Pearson LearningStudio in your classes.
Including a description of the tools you intend to use (and a discussion of student
responsibility for using them) will help ensure a successful semester.]
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TCU Campus Resources for Students
**TCU Campus Resources for Students: Many resources exist on the TCU campus that
may be helpful to students: Mary Couts Burnett Library (257-7117); Center for
Academic Services (257-7486, Sadler Hall. 1022); the William L. Adams Writing Center
(257-7221, Reed Hall 419); Student Development Services (257-7855, BLUU 2003); and
Office of Religious & Spiritual Life (257-7830, Jarvis Hall), Campus Life (257-7926, Sadler
Hall 2006), and the Counseling, Testing, and Mental Health Center (257-7863, Brown
Lupton Health Center).
**Email Notification: Only the official TCU student email address will be used for all
course notification. It is your responsibility to check your TCU email on a regular basis.
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Course Schedule
[number and dates of exams must be included]
**the specific day-to-day or week-to-week schedule is not required, but it is
encouraged
Date
Day
1
2
3
4
Topic
Reading
Assignment
Aug. 28
Aug. 30
Sept. 4
Sept. 6
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TCU Mission
To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the
global community
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