Guidelines for Specific Syllabus Components:

1) Credit Hours:

Define the number of hours of lecture.

Indicate the number of contact hours per credit of labs and studios per week.

2) Texts or Major Resources:

Include full citation for textbooks including publication year, and/or

List appropriate potential resource materials (including journal titles) that could be assigned as required readings or to complete class assignments.

Listing of texts or major resources is not required for internship courses

3) Course Description:

Provide description as would be stated in the Bulletin. The description should indicate course content and not outcomes of the course.

4) Course Objectives:

Include sufficient objectives to cover breadth of course.

5) Course Content:

Provide sufficient outline to convey subject matter. Outline can be expressed in conjunction with the schedule.

Provide schedule (weekly or daily) of meetings (to be used to determine if credit hours requested are appropriate) for all 15 weeks of the semester.

Identify approximate exam days/weeks, including the final exam. Explain how the final exam period will be used if another final activity, such as presentations or reports, will make use of the time. For example, in studio courses, final projects can be presented in the final exam time and in lieu of a written examination.

Follow the University policy stated in the Tiger Cub for final exams:

Final exams should be administered during the hours specified in the quarterly (now semester) examination schedule. Due to the specialized nature of many small upper-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses, deviation from this supplement is sometimes warranted. Such deviations are to be approved by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and rescheduled examinations must not interfere with the scheduled academic activities of the students involved. The professor teaching a 6000-level course or higher shall determine whether a formal final examination is appropriate.

6) Course Requirements/Evaluation:

Clarify expectations of student performance, such as papers, quizzes, examinations, presentations, class participation, and field experiences. List relative weights for tests, assignments, class participation, unannounced quizzes, and other components that contribute to the final grade.

Identify grading scale used and how it would be applied.

Explain how class participation, if included in evaluation, is to be graded.

Explain the criteria for attaining a grade of “S” when an S-U scale is used.

7) Course Policy Statements:

Include policy statements on class-related matters, such as unannounced quizzes, class attendance/absences, and class participation.

8) Justification for Graduate Credit (for Graduate Courses Only)

Provide justification for graduate credit for courses at the 6000-level or above. Graduate courses “should be progressively more advanced in academic content than undergraduate programs” and should “foster independent learning” (SACS guidelines 3.6.1 and 3.6.2). Further, the guidelines presented in the Statement of Clarification of the Definition and Use of 6000-level courses as approved by the Graduate Council, May 21, 1997 apply:

Factors to consider in evaluating a course for graduate credit include but are not limited to the following:

1. use of specific requisites;

2. content of sufficient depth to justify graduate credit (materials beyond the introductory level);

3. content should develop the critical and analytical skills of students including their application of the relevant literature;

4. rigorous standards for student evaluation (all students in a 6000-level course must be evaluated using the same standards);

5. course instructor must hold graduate faculty status or be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.