Syllabus Guidelines
Adopted: 12/10/04
1. Introduction
A syllabus is a communication and contract distributed to students at the beginning of each quarter. It is a statement of the goals and objectives of a course and thereby informs student expectations. A syllabus provides an understanding of a course’s content and establishes the criteria for judging student learning. It provides Peer Review Committees the information and understanding needed to evaluate student work with respect to the objectives of the course, and the course with respect to its place and role in the curriculum.
It is the responsibility of all faculty members, as defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (20.1 c) and affirmed by the Architecture Department, to prepare and keep current a syllabus for all courses that they are assigned to teach. The following defines the minimum requirements for a syllabus in the Architecture Department.
2. Format
Each faculty member may determine the formatting for his or her syllabi. However, to facilitate record keeping, and inclusion in reports and to support legibility, it is suggested that it be letter size (8.5” by 11”), oriented vertically, use upper and lower case lettering for text, and have all pages numbered.
The syllabus should not use type smaller than ten point.
3. Content
3.1 Faculty Member Information
A syllabus shall include the faculty member’s name, office location, office hours, office phone number, and E-mail address.
3.2 Catalog Information
A syllabus should include the course number, course name and catalog description.
3.3 Course Objectives
A syllabus should clearly define the learning objectives for the course in terms of Awareness, Understanding and Ability. These should be based on the NAAB criteria and the general learning objectives of the course. In addition, each faculty member may add unique learning objectives.
3.4 Texts and Materials
A syllabus shall identify all required and recommended texts, readings, materials, software, and hardware as applicable.
3.5 Grading Policies
A syllabus shall describe the grading policies for the course. This may include the relative weights of assignments, tests, or course components, the grade scale, provisions for late work and resubmittals, treatment of class attendance, etc.
3.6 Course Schedule
A syllabus shall include a schedule that identifies project and/or paper due dates, field trips, quizzes, tests, Holidays, etc. as applicable.
3.7 Course Assignments
A syllabus should include a description of the work to be assigned.
3.8 Appendix
There may be other materials that are provided to students during a course that are not part of the syllabus. These may include assignments, readings and other materials provided to further define or enrich the course. These materials should be provided as an appendix to the syllabus.