When, how, and how often we invite students to engage with the course syllabus can impact the extent to which they use and engage the document. Below are strategies for encouraging students to explore and utilize the syllabus as a tool for academic success.
Syllabus Design Resources
While there are certain components that all syllabi should include, different types of courses may have different required components. For instance, a course with a clinical, laboratory, or service learning component should make those expectations clearly known to students early on. Likewise, online synchronous or asynchronous courses may need additional clarity around communication or technology support steps. You can find a complete list UK's required components here on the Provost's page for instructor resources.
Designing a syllabus that students actively engage with for each course requires attention to clarity, visual appeal, and student-centered language. Below are some of CELT’s recommendations, along with links to external tools and resources, intended to support UK instructors in crafting compelling and effective syllabi. If you have further questions about the best practices for syllabus creation and sharing, please reach out to us to request a consultation here.
Use the Syllabus to Prioritize Learning
The syllabus is a key opportunity to emphasize that a course is designed with student learning at its core. To highlight that focus, consider the following:
- Characterize the learning experience: Clearly articulate the type of learning you hope to foster you in your course design. Identify the key concepts, competencies, skills, and objectives of the course and clearly link how those are connected to assignments, assessments, and learning experiences. You can also explicitly state how your chosen policies support those goals. For example, your choice of AI policy should closely align with your goals for student learning. This transparency can help students recognize how each element builds on the others and contributes to their overall learning
- Provide a roadmap: A well-structured syllabus serves as a roadmap for students to guide them through the learning journey. An effective course calendar and ordered assignments section can give students a clear picture of what will be expected of them when. Providing a "one-pager" version of the semester's schedule in addition to the full syllabus can also assist students' navigation and wayfinding.
- Utilize warm, student-centered language: Writing your syllabus in a friendly, welcoming tone can help establish a positive relationship with your students from the start. When students perceive the tone of a syllabus as warm and inviting, some studies suggest that they are more likely to approach their instructors with questions and otherwise proactively communicate about their learning (see Harnish & Bridges, 2011). Furthermore, a student-centered syllabus–that is, one that is framed around students’ educational experiences and goals–can help motivate students to learn and engage (see Richmond, 2016).
- Consider and refine document design choices: Integrate accessibility information naturally within the document. Does your syllabus typically include language about accommodations and the DRC close to the policies and statements around plagiarism and academic integrity? If so, consider how you might move those into more strategic spaces to communicate the importance of accessibility in your approach to teaching.
- Offer clear, direct information about assignments: Include grading scales, criteria, deadlines, and expectations for all assignments in your syllabus. Linking to checklists and rubrics can further enhance transparency and help students quickly understand how their work will be evaluated. For more information see the Transparent Assignment Design checklist.
Additional Links and Resources
- Office of the Provost - Instructor Resources
- Syllabus guidance and required components.
- Accessible Syllabus
- Tangible steps to enhance accessibility of syllabi.
- Transparent Assignment Design Checklist
- Strategies for implementing transparency framework for student assessments.
- CELT AI Course Policy Resources
- Example policy statements and advice for writing your own.
- New Faculty Teaching Resources
- Find first day tips and a UDL-informed Canvas Template.
Strategies for Helping Students Engage with the Syllabus
Encouraging students to engage with the syllabus
There are strategies that instructors can employ to encourage students to more readily engage with course syllabi. Prioritizing visual design (see guiding principles below), summarizing less essential information, and adding interactive elements like hyperlinks, questions, and callout boxes can lessen reading load. Students often appreciate when syllabi are written in clear, concise language that focuses on the tasks, activities, and assessments they will encounter in the course, often written in the second-person (“you”) point of view. Adding personal touches like a welcome message or short biography can also make syllabi more enjoyable to read.
Syllabus design principles
Headings and subheadings: All students, and especially those who use assistive technologies like screen readers, can benefit from clearly-defined headings and subheadings indicating different sections.
Formatting: When possible, breaking text into shorter, more digestible chunks, possibly formatted using tables, check boxes, or bullet points, can make information easier for students to locate.
Appealing visuals: Incorporating visuals like charts, icons, diagrams, flowcharts and photographs can also capture students’ attention and communicate key information in a more compelling, effective way.
Organization: Consider organizing the content of your syllabus so that the most essential elements are presented first (for example, your course learning goals, major assignments and assessments, and course calendar), followed by institutional policies, procedures, and other details.
Highlight essential elements
When presenting your syllabus to students in the first few class sessions, adopt a welcoming tone, and prioritize only the most important information. Ken Bain, author of What the Best College Teachers Do, recommends that college instructors focus initial conversations with students about the syllabus on three components: (1) an explanation of the course’s “promise” to students, meaning the skills and knowledge they will develop by the end of the semester, (2) the activities and assignments that will support students in developing those skills,, and (3) how the quality and progression of students’ learning will be understood and assessed (see more on the “promising syllabus” here). Other important information to share may include your class attendance and participation policies, and how students can most effectively communicate with you during or outside of class.
Syllabus activities and assignments
Consider using a syllabus activity or in-class syllabus assignment to introduce students to the syllabus. Incentivize your students to actively engage with your syllabus as they read. Some possibilities include administering a syllabus quiz, planning a short scavenger hunt, using an active learning technique like a jigsaw in which students take turns teaching each other a portion of the syllabus, or burying a hidden message. Designing engaging syllabus-based activities, games, or short assessments can encourage your students to read carefully and prepare thoughtful questions about the most important elements of your course.
Other options include inviting students to explore the syllabus collaboratively. For example, a syllabus annotation activity that utilizes a cloud-based software where students can leave comments and questions can get students thinking and talking about the course policies, assignments, and schedule. You could also invite students to map the syllabus (Davidson and Katopodis, 2022).