CENTER FOR CONTINUING STUDIES | ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY
Senior to Sophomore Program
Syllabus Writing 101: Guidelines for Creating a Senior to Sophomore Syllabus
Each Senior to Sophomore class must have a course syllabus. The first section of this document
includes specific guidelines and suggestions to help you in the course planning process. The
next section is a template you can use to build your syllabus.
Below you'll find how-to information, for the following syllabus components:
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Instructor Name, Contact Information, Office Hours, Class Meeting Times and Location
Mentor Information
Course Name, Number, and Prerequisites
Course Description
Course Objectives
Course Content
Required Course Materials
Course Requirements
Course Schedule
Course Policies
Grading
Study Tips
INSTRUCTOR, NAME, CONTACT INFORMATION, OFFICE HOURS, CLASS
MEETING TIMES/LOCATION
Include your name, class meeting times and location. Also include how students can contact
you. You may also want to include any relevant background information about yourself.
SCSU MENTOR INFORMATION
Include the name of the SCSU Mentor, and contact information if appropriate. You may also
want to include background information and information about faculty visits to the class and
class visits to the SCSU campus.
COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES
Insert the official course name and number, taken from the SCSU Undergraduate Bulletin. You
may also want to list the appropriate High School name and course number.
Next, state any prerequisites for the course. For on-campus courses these are typically taken
directly from the Undergraduate Bulletin.
For Senior to Sophomore courses, include the standard PSEO prerequisites: (A Junior who ranks
in the top 1/3 of their class or a Senior who ranks in the top ½ of their class) AND/OR any
special prerequisites (ex. “All students must be in the top 1/3 of their class”, or “Students must
have completed __________ before enrolling in the course”).
COURSE DESCRIPTION
"Here, in quotation marks and in italics, you would put the Undergraduate Bulletin course
description and note the number of credit hours."
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Here you would list 4-5 broad statements of what it is that you hope students will achieve. What
do you hope that your students will be able to do, to know or to have experienced as a result of
taking your course?
COURSE CONTENT
You may want to expand on the official course description. What will be covered in this
course? Let your students know a little more about what the course will contain. Your
discussion might include topics such as:
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What will be covered in this course?
What won't be covered?
What is your approach to teaching this content?
How will this relate to the material that was covered in the prerequisite course(s)?
Is there any other body of content that it will draw on? (For example, a science course
might draw on calculus concepts, even if calculus is not an official prerequisite.)
What will be expected of you, the student? This is a good place for a discussion of what you,
and St. Cloud State, will expect from the student. You might address issues such as these:
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How much time do you expect them to devote to your course?
Do you expect them to interact with fellow students? Participate in class discussions?
How do you expect them to conduct themselves in their interactions with you and/or their
fellow students?
Include any information that you think will help your students get a better understanding
of your expectations.
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
In this section, list any materials that students will be required to have for this course, including
the textbook(s), other print materials, special software, etc. You should note those materials that
the student will be responsible for obtaining.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
This section is used to summarize all course requirements, such as assignments and exams.
Information about each item's point value and/or percentage of course grade is usually included.
COURSE SCHEDULE
This section should include due dates for all assignments. It might also include the expected
timetable for covering specific topics.
COURSE POLICIES
Here we typically include information about any course policies such as:
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Assignment Policies
o How to submit your assignments: How do you want students to submit
assignments? Do you want them to include any particular identifying information
on their assignments? Will assignments be returned to them, or will they just see
a posted grade? Anything else that they'd need to know?
o Assignment due dates: Since the Course Schedule section (above) will spell out
specific due dates, this section is used to describe any late penalties and any
particulars about exactly when items are due.
o Writing style: Are students supposed to use any particular writing style, such as
APA or Chicago Manual? Are there any on-line writing resources that might be
helpful to your students as they prepare their assignments? What if English is not
their native tongue...is help available to them? These are the kinds of issues
addressed in this section.
Late Policy
Academic Honesty
o Suggested Wording - "As a reminder, SCSU (and/or ________ High School) has a
policy on academic honesty. You are expected to abide by the procedures set
forth in the SCSU Student Handbook.
o See: http://www.stcloudstate.edu/studenthandbook/policies/academic.asp for
specifics.
Accommodating Disabilities
o Suggested Wording - "Any student in this course who has a disability that may
prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact me
personally as soon as possible, so we can discuss accommodations necessary to
ensure full participation and facilitate your educational opportunity."
GRADING
Here you would state the University grading policy, as well as your own grading policy for
assignments if that varies at all from the University's. It is also a good place to let students know
when, and how, they will find out their grades on assignments, projects, and/or exams.
STUDY TIPS
This section is the place to provide your students with any advice you might have regarding the
best way to take your particular course. Are there particular study strategies that work well in
your subject area? Are there any on-line or print resources that you might refer them to?
REFERENCES
Penn State World Campus. (n.d.). Syllabus Writing 101. Retrieved June 2, 2003, from
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/public/atb3/syllabustemplate/syllabus.html
CENTER FOR CONTINUING STUDIES | ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY
Senior to Sophomore Program
Syllabus Template
This syllabus template is designed to be used for Senior to Sophomore courses. Fill in
information for the following syllabus components:
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Instructor Name, Contact Information, Office Hours, Class Meeting Times and Location
Mentor Information
Course Name, Number, and Prerequisites
Course Description
Course Objectives
Course Content
Required Course Materials
Course Requirements
Course Schedule
Course Policies
Grading
Study Tips
(The lines by each section are just place holders and can be removed as you fill in content.)
INSTRUCTOR, NAME, CONTACT INFORMATION, OFFICE HOURS, CLASS
MEETING TIMES/LOCATION
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
SCSU MENTOR INFORMATION
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES
Course Name and Number: _______________________
Prerequisites: __________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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COURSE OBJECTIVES
_____________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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COURSE CONTENT
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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS
___________________________________________________________________________
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COURSE SCHEDULE
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COURSE POLICIES
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GRADING
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STUDY TIPS
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