Why. Can't. They. Have. Syllabi. Ready. Before. Classes. Begin.

[hopskipjump]

<vent ON> DD is in 5 classes this semester. Three of them didn't have posted syllabi as of Sunday evening. Monday morning, one of her Monday-classes posted a syllabi. The other Monday class is still not posted - neither is the last Tuesday/Th class.

 

A Tuesday class emailed tonight (before this, dd couldn't even find her email address. Because dd wanted to ask if the stupid CODE was actually required) - and yes, the code IS required for this class. DD ordered her textbook tonight ($270) and will have it by Thursday's class.

 

The Stats class she enrolled in, we went ahead and bought the ($250) book + code beforehand. She cracked it open in class - just in time to be told "Oh, by the way! You don't need the code for this class! You'll only need it if you take the second-semester class." (DD won't be taking that second-semester class...)

 

So, we could've gotten the stats book for about $50 (but everyone assured dd that ALL THE MATH CLASSES NEED THE CODE). And then had to whip out another enormous chunk of money for the anatomy class.

 

All of this could've/should've been in a syllabus that could've/should've been posted for weeks now. Their laziness costs us so much money each semester.

 

Next semester, I guess dd will just wait to order her books until after the first class if we have any questions about the codes. Both of us really hate waiting that late, but this is tedious.

 

<vent OFF> Ugh. We're learning the ropes, I suppose. I'd just prefer to order all what she needs at least 3 weeks before class starts and be DONE with it! Why is that so complicated?? She WANTS to show up prepared and ready to go, but they make that remarkably difficult!!

Edited August 22, 2017 by hopskipjump

[mathmarm]

Can she sell the unused stats code to another student to recoup some of the loss?

[Laura Corin]

Very frustrating.  Just in case your daughter is feeling cross with the lecturers concerned (and that might influence their relationship) it's possible that there are deeper administrative issues that got in the way of their producing the document on time.  Not an excuse, of course, but worth potentially spreading the blame.

 

Laura (University Administrator)

[Hilltopmom]

That does suck.

 

Ds has never had access to any syllabus before the first day of class so far.

[Bootsie]

I am one of those professors who, for a number of reasons, often does not have a syllabus ready and to students several weeks before a class starts for a number of reasons:

 

On a number of occasions I have had my teaching schedule changed at the last minute--yes once 10 minutes before a class started

The LMS at the school does not go live until 12:00am on the first day of classes.  So, even if I post the syllabus days before, students can't see it

In some classes I like to have a good idea of the number of students enrolled before I develop the syllabus (I can have students make presentations if I have 15 students in the class, when the number gets to 25 it takes a much greater amount of class time to do so)

Some semesters I have not received a copy of the textbook that we will use until a few days before the class starts

I have taught a class where several sections were "merged" together.  This merging wasn't done until several days after classes started (for registrar's office reasons), so I could not post a syllabus until then.

 

I even taught at a school where classes started mid-August.  Faculty had to have an official university email address before posting any syllabus or accessing student rosters--BUT faculty contracts ran Sept 1-May 30.  So, new faculty could not be put into the system and receive an email before Sept 1--so could not post a syllabus online until after Sept 1.  

 

There are many reasons, in addition to laziness, that a professor may not have a syllabus posted before classes start. 

[hopskipjump]

Yes, laziness was too general a term for me to use. Because we do realize it's not always the instructor's issue or within their control always. This was the first semester that all the instructors were listed weeks ago. All of them taught the same classes the previous semester (but we couldn't find a copy of that syllabi to go off of...), so we were hopeful they'd pop up the syllabi quickly.

 

One instructor today expected the students to have already done a certain amount of the reading in the textbook. But there was no published syllabi. She said they should have emailed her before class started to ask.

 

O_o wth?

 

I wouldn't mind the delays and would be 100% understanding if these books weren't SO expensive! :/ Last semester (another code was listed, purchased, and wasn't needed) - the professor made a big deal about how his textbook could be purchased for $20. Sure! When you don't spend $150 for the darn code that was listed as necessary!!

 

Yes, planning to sell on Amazon or something, but if prefer to save the money on the front-end. lol!!!

 

We've had one semester of cheap books. I'm going to remember that semester with fondness and affection. â¤ï¸

[Andromeda]

I understand the frustration, but as jdalquist pointed out above, quite frequently it is not possible to post a syllabus regardless of how far in advance an instructor was attached to a class/section.

 

I teach at university level, and there have been occasions when I was given a physical copy of the textbook by the department and prepared a syllabus for it only to come to class and find out from my students that the Bookstore sold them a completely different edition of the text. I had no notification of this. Students could not complete my original assignments because the version was so different. I had to spend many hours fixing assignments and dealing with students who were not happy -  with me- to say the least. Telling them I was completely blindsided did not help.

 

I've taught for an institution where I did not know until 3 days before the start date if I had a class or not. I had no active email until class start either - something to do with contracts.

 

I teach for an institution where the policy is to post the syllabus the day before (two maximum). 

 

I have also taught for an institution where the syllabus was available to students a couple of weeks in advance, but this has not been the norm.

 

When I was an undergrad and graduate student, I used to get textbook lists from the book store, but the syllabus was not distributed until we came to the first class session. 

 

I have zero input into which textbooks are used in my courses. I can make some adjustments and bring in my own materials if/when the text is not working well, but I cannot change the textbook requirement. If I taught a course that has a textbook with a code, a student can contact me ahead of time and ask if the code is needed. They may know I am their instructor, but I have no way of knowing if they are my student. I don't have access to the class roster until a couple of days before classes start because the Registrar moves students between sections, people go on and off waiting lists, fail a prerequisite and get dropped, etc. Even if I had the info, I know from experience that students do not (as a majority) react well to unsolicited email - even with things that may help them - before class starts. So for my own sanity, I do not send out mass email.

 

 

 

 

 

[madteaparty]

Only one of my DS's classes this semester has the syllabus up. But we know the books for the other one (not the selections, just the list of books).

[G5052]

The college I work for now requires that they be posted BEFORE you open the Blackboard shell. And the shell must be open before the first class is held, or in my case for online, no later than 8am the day that classes are in session.

 

My previous college said by the end of the first week. Really? The only way I can see that is if a professor was assigned at the last minute, and I'd personally work my tail off to get it done ASAP.

[regentrude]

My syllabi have been up for a month. My pet peeve is: why can't they READ the syllabus?

[G5052]

My syllabi have been up for a month. My pet peeve is: why can't they READ the syllabus?

 

LOL. Because I teach asynchronous online, the syllabus is five pages long, and there's scads and scads of other things they have to read plus I post an announcement at least weekly and use an internal reporting system which emails them a form letter if they don't log in on time or start missing assignments.

 

And there's always a percentage that don't bother with it all at all. What? I'm being dropped because the last time I logged in was three weeks ago (yes, this college has automatic drops)...

[Teachaheart]

Others have given several of the situations my colleagues and I have experienced for not having a syllabus available on or before the first class. Last week I opened the Blackboard sites and posted my syllabi for the classes that start next week. Yesterday I logged in to Bb to post announcements about textbook discounts I'd just been made aware of to learn that sometime in the last week my sites had reverted to being unavailable to students. If I hadn't logged on yesterday, I might not have realized that the sites were no longer available until later this week or even Monday.

 

I know that many of my colleagues are still working on their syllabi and other course materials. Our department's entire curriculum, course structure, and textbooks have just changed, and many of us are still trying to work out all the details for this semester. Many of us only received our official teaching assignments in the last two weeks, and several (8 or 10) new adjuncts have been hired in the last few weeks. Many syllabi probably won't be available until the first day or so of class.

 

I know the whole code thing is frustrating! I never use them in my courses, and when relevant I give my students that information on Bb when I post the syllabus. Students who need to know sooner can always contact the department office for that information.

[regentrude]

Others have given several of the situations my colleagues and I have experienced for not having a syllabus available on or before the first class. Last week I opened the Blackboard sites and posted my syllabi for the classes that start next week. Yesterday I logged in to Bb to post announcements about textbook discounts I'd just been made aware of to learn that sometime in the last week my sites had reverted to being unavailable to students. If I hadn't logged on yesterday, I might not have realized that the sites were no longer available until later this week or even Monday.

 

I HATE the LMS because it used to be so unreliable. I am circumventing it and write my own website with all course materials. I just make a front page for the LMS (we have switched to Canvas) and put links to all my material, but this way, even when the LMS is down, students can access my website. 

The drawback is that I cannot have any copyrighted material on there; so made my own artwork for all lectures. But totally worth it.

Edited August 22, 2017 by regentrude

[Teachaheart]

I HATE the LMS because it used to be so unreliable. I am circumventing it and write my own website with all course materials. I just make a front page for the LMS (we have switched to Canvas) and put links to all my material, but this way, even when the LMS is down, students can access my website. 

The drawback is that I cannot have any copyrighted material on there; so made my own artwork for all lectures. But totally worth it.

 That's a great idea! I put copies of nearly all my teaching materials in Google Drive and link those on Bb, but perhaps I should just create my own website. Do you use a particular platform?

[regentrude]

 That's a great idea! I put copies of nearly all my teaching materials in Google Drive and link those on Bb, but perhaps I should just create my own website. Do you use a particular platform?

 

No, I just write html code in a text editor and make a css style sheet. If you want, I can pm you a link

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My syllabi have been up for a month. My pet peeve is: why can't they READ the syllabus?

 

When I made a syllabus for coop classes, whenever possible, I answered questions with, "Well as you will see on page x of the syllabus."  Still only some of them got the point.

 

On the other hand, it seems like some of the syllabuses my kids have had don't include useful information about assignments, grading breakdown, or final exam dates.  Instead they are full of boilerplate about course drop polices, plagiarism, and class courtesy.  Good policies to have, but info that seems to apply to every course at the school and should be well covered in other places, like the registration pages.

 

DS1's least favorite class so far was one where the assignments seemed to be made up on the spot and deadlines for assignments were extended multiple times.  Nothing builds contempt like having stayed up late to complete an assignment, only to have the deadline be extended twice before it is actually collected.  

[Mom22ns]

For the school ds and I attend, the system switched over so teacher's posted syllabus was available a week before classes started. One of my teachers had her syllabus up that day, the other was just a couple of days later. Ds on the other hand, had a teacher post a syllabus for a different class for one of his classes and none of the others posted at all. He had to wait until the first day of class to see it.

 

I rate this as a minor inconvenience. The bookstore has all the books listed for each class and any time we have a question about codes needed we email the instructor. 

 

On the other hand dd bought an ebook from the University bookstore that was described as including the code, her receipt even said with code, but no code was included. She went back and the bookstore said they don't include codes with ebooks. She showed them the bookstore's own item description and the receipt and they still refused, but they did refund her even though she had already registered the ebook. It was a huge hassle and required multiple trips to the bookstore to get straightened out. She ended up getting the code for $69 from Pearson and renting the textbook from Amazon for $30 instead of paying $270 they wanted for a new book with code. I was very proud of her efforts to save me money :).

 

 

[Laura Corin]

I uploaded our course descriptions today.  Classes start on 18 September.  You're welcome.  The undergraduate ones aren't up yet, but they aren't mine to chase.

[Mom22ns]

I uploaded our course descriptions today.  Classes start on 18 September.  You're welcome.  The undergraduate ones aren't up yet, but they aren't mine to chase.

That makes you a truly wonderful person :)

[KarenNC]

I'd be happy to just have accurate info on the materials required in time to have them for the first class without having to overbuy. To me that seems reasonable for a gen ed intro level course that is presumably pretty standardized across the college, particularly dual enrollment at the community college. I wish we could have contacted profs about codes, but the names and contact info were not always provided in advance.

 

[Teachaheart]

 

On the other hand, it seems like some of the syllabuses my kids have had don't include useful information about assignments, grading breakdown, or final exam dates.  Instead they are full of boilerplate about course drop polices, plagiarism, and class courtesy.  Good policies to have, but info that seems to apply to every course at the school and should be well covered in other places, like the registration pages.

 

 

I agree; however, we are required to have those policies and more on every syllabus.  :rolleyes:

 

I have separate documents that explain each assignment and give a more complete understanding of my expectations and standards for grading. I put these things in separate documents because shorter documents are more likely to be looked at than a 20+-page syllabus.

 

ETA: The rolling eyes are for the college, not you!

Edited August 23, 2017 by SpringBee

[Teachaheart]

I'd be happy to just have accurate info on the materials required in time to have them for the first class without having to overbuy. To me that seems reasonable for a gen ed intro level course that is presumably pretty standardized across the college, particularly dual enrollment at the community college. I wish we could have contacted profs about codes, but the names and contact info were not always provided in advance.

If you have the course name and section number, the department administrator should be able to give you the instructor's name and email or phone number. At least our administrator will do that. The problem is when a student wants to know before classes have been officially assigned to individual instructors.

[Teachaheart]

I don't know if this is true for other institutions, but because of the way our faculty contracts are written, our classes cannot be officially assigned to instructors until the course is guaranteed to run based on meeting or exceeding minimum enrollment. For fall classes this means that many classes are not assigned until the middle of August. That explains why at our institution students usually end up registering for classes without knowing who the instructors are. It also explains why syllabi and specific information regarding textbooks/codes/other materials are not available as early as many of us would like. Neither my Blackboard sites nor my class rosters were available to me until 11 August, when I was out of town for vacation.

 

I think it was much easier back in the middle ages when I went to university. We bought our books at the campus bookstore. Our choices were new or used (sometimes). We got a paper syllabus the first day of class. And there were NO CODES!  :laugh:

[Bootsie]

 

 

I think it was much easier back in the middle ages when I went to university. We bought our books at the campus bookstore. Our choices were new or used (sometimes). We got a paper syllabus the first day of class. And there were NO CODES!  :laugh:

 

Yes, all of these things that are supposed to make our lives easier sure seem to make it more complicated.  I do think it is much less stressful when students signed up for classes on Monday and Tuesday, went over to the bookstore and bought a book, and went to class on Wednesday where the professor handed out a syllabus.  As a professor, my biggest worry was if the copy machine went down.  Now, my roster isn't correct because students registered months ago and were dropped from courses for a number of reasons (failure to pay, didn't pass a pre-req, changed majors, etc.).  There are a number of different ISBN numbers I have to be aware of as a professor--for ebook, hardcover book, looseleaf book, with code, without code....  Is it better to give my students more choices so they can pick what is most effective in their particular situation or do I just say one format and be done with it?  I need to get the syllabus prepared and formatted for the LMS, then hope the LMS is working properly.   But, there are students who aren't able to access the LMS because of a number of registration issues, so they email me and want me to email a copy... Then, I have to have class materials loaded on to the computer, and hope that the projector is working in the classroom, the first day...

 

This is all so much more complicated than when the professor could walk in the first day with a notepad, copy of the book, chalk, and a copy of the roster from the registrar's office.  I wouldn't mind it so much if I thought any of the extra hassle was leading to improved student learning.

[regentrude]

On the other hand, it seems like some of the syllabuses my kids have had don't include useful information about assignments, grading breakdown, or final exam dates.  Instead they are full of boilerplate about course drop polices, plagiarism, and class courtesy.  Good policies to have, but info that seems to apply to every course at the school and should be well covered in other places, like the registration pages.

 

 

It is very possible that the school requires that these are included in the syllabus which is considered a legal document.

 

I am required to include links to egress maps so they know where the emergency exits are (in case you are wondering: they are signs in the room that say "Exit"), the academic regulations about dishonesty, the Title IX policies, disabilities accommodations, academic assistance. I can fit it on a few pages only because I refuse to include the actual paragraphs and instead just give the links to the university website.

I HATE the LMS because it used to be so unreliable. I am circumventing it and write my own website with all course materials. I just make a front page for the LMS (we have switched to Canvas) and put links to all my material, but this way, even when the LMS is down, students can access my website. 

The drawback is that I cannot have any copyrighted material on there; so made my own artwork for all lectures. But totally worth it.

 

As an aside, I wanted to thank you for doing this.  As a member of the general public, it has been very useful for me to check out arbitrary college course syllabi.  It is very useful to know, for example, what kinds of books a freshman english class is expected to read at some school, or how many lines of latin are expected to be translated a week, or how much of a textbook a college class really expects to complete in a semester, or all other kinds of info.

 

However, much of this class information is now hidden behind a walled-garden system that only students enrolled in that school (maybe only student enrolled in that particular section?) can see.  I know you don't get paid to provide this information to the public, but I, at least, derive a lot of value from it.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It is very possible that the school requires that these are included in the syllabus which is considered a legal document.

 

I am required to include links to egress maps so they know where the emergency exits are (in case you are wondering: they are signs in the room that say "Exit"), the academic regulations about dishonesty, the Title IX policies, disabilities accommodations, academic assistance. I can fit it on a few pages only because I refuse to include the actual paragraphs and instead just give the links to the university website.

I understand why some of it has to be there. The prof and school have to be able to show that the student was informed.

 

I just think that the reading assignments and project deadlines should be there too.

 

Egress directions is a bit silly.

[luuknam]

I rate this as a minor inconvenience. The bookstore has all the books listed for each class and any time we have a question about codes needed we email the instructor. 

 

I also like to read syllabi for any electives (in or outside my major) I might take, before signing up for the class. That means usually the current semester's syllabus, not the semester I'm signing up for, unless I'm signing up pretty late, but still... vast improvement over not having a clue at all. I think I've found reading those syllabi to be more valuable/informative than the Rate My Prof websites - either there tend to be too few reviews to be all that meaningful, or it tends to be some gen ed required course where most of the reviews are from people who didn't want to be in that class in the first place. Either way, I really appreciate instructors (and schools) that have the syllabi up early and to the general public and all that (as well as who will be teaching which section), and bonus points if they keep old syllabi up indefinitely (but clearly labeled what semester/year they were for). I'm totally cool with plain HTML websites for syllabi - no bonus points for making it fancy - just make it such that it will be legible on my screen (and plain HTML tends to work in all browsers). Come to think of it, I should probably try to remember to express appreciation for advance syllabi in end-of-semester evals. 

 

Wrt the legal blah-blah-blah, I tend to prefer if that's the last zillion pages of the syllabus, optionally marked with something along the lines of "university required policies after this point". That makes them easy to tear off in the print version (that almost all instructors seem to insist on handing out - if you have the syllabus available online, don't bother with the print version - if I print it myself, I can save some trees and not print out the Plagiarism, Title IX, ADA, etc stuff - though I get that for professors' sanity it might make sense to give everybody a hardcopy... still sad for all the trees killed in the name of preventing plagiarism (I've never had a syllabus list points of egress though... that's just wacky... it seems like it would be more effective to have the prof point at them at the beginning of the first class)).

 

As an aside, I wanted to thank you for doing this.  As a member of the general public, it has been very useful for me to check out arbitrary college course syllabi.  It is very useful to know, for example, what kinds of books a freshman english class is expected to read at some school, or how many lines of latin are expected to be translated a week, or how much of a textbook a college class really expects to complete in a semester, or all other kinds of info.

 

However, much of this class information is now hidden behind a walled-garden system that only students enrolled in that school (maybe only student enrolled in that particular section?) can see.  I know you don't get paid to provide this information to the public, but I, at least, derive a lot of value from it.

 

 

:iagree:  This as well, though it's been quite a while since I've used them for this purpose... I suspect this use will increase again as my oldest gets older. 

[Laura Corin]

 

 

However, much of this class information is now hidden behind a walled-garden system that only students enrolled in that school (maybe only student enrolled in that particular section?) can see.  I know you don't get paid to provide this information to the public, but I, at least, derive a lot of value from it.

 

We have detailed information behind a wall.  For us, it's a question of implied contracts.  Say you are a student applying for 2018/19 and you look at the course details for 2017/18 on the website but find that those exact courses are not available when you arrive at the university.  Legally, the University is in the clear, as when you applied there would have been a disclaimer about no promises about exact courses.  But you would still get some students (for whatever reasons) making a fuss, bringing in lawyers, etc. 

 

It also prevents the situation where a current student Googles their module and goes to the location that pops up with the books specified, only to find that it was an out-of-date description and they hadn't noticed the date on their phone.

 

[Mom22ns]

I also like to read syllabi for any electives (in or outside my major) I might take, before signing up for the class. That means usually the current semester's syllabus, not the semester I'm signing up for, unless I'm signing up pretty late, but still... vast improvement over not having a clue at all. 

 

That would be great, but how on earth do you get a syllabus for a class you aren't enrolled in? That information would be great to have, but I've never thought of it being available!

 

As far as syllabus policies go, I love the way ds's school does it. They post an information sheet automatically in every class that contains all the things people are describing as being required but of little use. There is a semester calendar (like you need one for every class and can't look it up), the grading system, some contacts, disability policy, etc. All the information you can easily find on the Universities website, but they have to provide directly so they can't be accused of not informing the student :001_rolleyes:. Then the syllabus for each class is done by the instructor and the University seems to put no requirements on it. They are all different (although I'd say there is a template provided if the instructor chooses to use it, because many follow a standard format) and all completely customized to the class so the information is all worth reading. I think this system encourages students to read the syllabus because it isn't book length and doesn't (usually) waste their time on extraneous information.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

That would be great, but how on earth do you get a syllabus for a class you aren't enrolled in? That information would be great to have, but I've never thought of it being available!

 

 

 

I've often been able to find syllabuses by searching for the name of the course/subject and syllabus or the title of the textbook I plan to use + syllabus.

 

Ex.

 

International Politics Syllabus

Edwards Government in America Syllabus

Environmental Science Syllabus

Tro Chemistry Syllabus

[luuknam]

I've often been able to find syllabuses by searching for the name of the course/subject and syllabus or the title of the textbook I plan to use + syllabus.

 

 

By searching for the name of the instructor and the course number, or sometimes course title, and maybe the university name. Some universities even have a central place you can find all current syllabi (though that's relatively rare), but for example, Regentrude mentioned having an HTML/CSS site with her syllabus, so I'd assume that if I were to search for Regentrude PHYS202 I'd be able to find her syllabus (well, if I knew her real name, and the real course number). 

 

Btw, I forgot to mention why I appreciate it when profs keep links to historical syllabi on their websites. Mostly, because sometimes I might have a reason to look up what was covered in a class I took years ago (often the easiest way to ascertain what book was used for that class as well), but also to see at a glance what courses a prof usually teaches. 

[regentrude]

That would be great, but how on earth do you get a syllabus for a class you aren't enrolled in? That information would be great to have, but I've never thought of it being available!

 

Google. Or go to the department website, look for Current Courses. We are required to post syllabi on  the department website. They are available to everybody, not just enrolled students.

[swimmermom3]

My syllabi have been up for a month. My pet peeve is: why can't they READ the syllabus?

 

Thanks for your annual PSA!  Last year, I read yours and other professors advice on this topic to ds before he started his first year at college. I just sent him another reminder.  I received a "Lol" text with the following, "Wouldn't dream of not reading them." He had a professor his first semester that offered no mercy for those who did not read the syllabus. The professor told her class each day the first week to read the syllabus and she told them exactly what to expect if they didn't. Sailor Dude said she held to it no matter how bitterly students complained.

 

[swimmermom3]

Others have given several of the situations my colleagues and I have experienced for not having a syllabus available on or before the first class. Last week I opened the Blackboard sites and posted my syllabi for the classes that start next week. Yesterday I logged in to Bb to post announcements about textbook discounts I'd just been made aware of to learn that sometime in the last week my sites had reverted to being unavailable to students. If I hadn't logged on yesterday, I might not have realized that the sites were no longer available until later this week or even Monday.

 

I know that many of my colleagues are still working on their syllabi and other course materials. Our department's entire curriculum, course structure, and textbooks have just changed, and many of us are still trying to work out all the details for this semester. Many of us only received our official teaching assignments in the last two weeks, and several (8 or 10) new adjuncts have been hired in the last few weeks. Many syllabi probably won't be available until the first day or so of class.

 

I know the whole code thing is frustrating! I never use them in my courses, and when relevant I give my students that information on Bb when I post the syllabus. Students who need to know sooner can always contact the department office for that information.

 

Do schools have policies about codes? I am curious because in three terms, my ds has never been required to have a code. Or is that more applicable to specific majors?

 

[Susie in CA]

My syllabi have been up for a month. My pet peeve is: why can't they READ the syllabus?

 

HAHA! Totally agree!

 

I am taking classes right now and I am thinking 'Why do I have listen to a whole hour lecture on the syllabus?' Maybe I would be one of very few who actually look at it.

[LinRTX]

Well my daughter got the syllabus for her online class last week and took the syllabus test. The syllabus says the class is self paced so students can work ahead, but there is a definite due date for all assignments. Today (first day of class) she logs in to get the first assignment and he wants them to get familiar with blackboard and the syllabus so he is not opening the assignment until Monday -- the day it is due! She is gone all day on Monday so was wanting to work on it this weekend. She has already read the first chapter so was ready to do the assignment. I wish he would follow his own syllabus. And give them more than 24 hours (if that much) to complete the assignment.

 

[daijobu]

 

 

might make sense to give everybody a hardcopy... still sad for all the trees killed in the name of preventing plagiarism (I've never had a syllabus list points of egress though... that's just wacky... it seems like it would be more effective to have the prof point at them at the beginning of the first class)).

 

 

 

This brings to mind a flight attendant's safety lecture.  "Remember, the nearest exit may be behind you."  (Point with 2 fingers on both hands.)  

 

In my dd's statistics class at PAH, deep within the middle of the syllabus it said something like:  "Because you have read this far into the syllabus, I am awarding you [some number] of extra credit points.  Email me to tell me that you have seen this, and I will add EC points to your grade."  

 

I thought that was clever and a great way to figure out who has and hasn't read it.  

[Teachaheart]

Do schools have policies about codes? I am curious because in three terms, my ds has never been required to have a code. Or is that more applicable to specific majors?

 

I imagine some schools have policies about codes. Mine does not. I think it's been a push from publishers to get institutions/departments to agree to bundling the access codes with the physical book by touting the benefits of multimodal learning and the digital generation. For my discipline and teaching style, I find most of the online material to be busywork, so I told my students not to purchase or not to open the codes so they could be resold. I also tell my students that if they prefer the ebook format, they should buy that.

 

I think for some disciplines--maybe math and hard sciences--the online materials could be very useful for extra practice.

[luuknam]

This brings to mind a flight attendant's safety lecture.  "Remember, the nearest exit may be behind you."  (Point with 2 fingers on both hands.)  

 

In my dd's statistics class at PAH, deep within the middle of the syllabus it said something like:  "Because you have read this far into the syllabus, I am awarding you [some number] of extra credit points.  Email me to tell me that you have seen this, and I will add EC points to your grade."  

 

I thought that was clever and a great way to figure out who has and hasn't read it.  

 

 

Yeah, I was picturing a flight attendant too, including an apology about the lack of oxygen masks dropping down in the lecture hall in such an event. 

 

I think reading the syllabus tends to pay for itself - no EC needed, since you're more likely to score all possible points in a class if you know what's expected of you and when. I really wish instructors would just give the syllabus, and flunk anybody who fails to meet expectations. (and yes, I know that at some colleges this is problematic, as instructors get in trouble if they flunk too many people... so tired of the system that babies adults though)

[regentrude]

I think for some disciplines--maybe math and hard sciences--the online materials could be very useful for extra practice.

 

I set up a course to use the online materials for extra practice; it was optional and not required. One single student used it.

They have plenty of actual homework.

Edited August 25, 2017 by regentrude

[Andromeda]

One of my courses uses a code heavily. The code is for a lab simulator, and the textbook is actually built into the lab sim. All the practice labs are in the virtual environment as well as the quizzes. The course is very hands on and can be used as preparation for a certification, which uses the same simulator software.

 

There is still plenty of work that needs to be done outside the software, but a student cannot mathematically earn a passing score without using it. It reasonably priced, however, around $60-$80 or so.

 

ETA

 

The code for the lab software is all that is needed. There is no separate text to purchase.

Edited August 25, 2017 by RosemaryAndThyme

[Bootsie]

I imagine some schools have policies about codes. Mine does not. I think it's been a push from publishers to get institutions/departments to agree to bundling the access codes with the physical book by touting the benefits of multimodal learning and the digital generation. For my discipline and teaching style, I find most of the online material to be busywork, so I told my students not to purchase or not to open the codes so they could be resold. I also tell my students that if they prefer the ebook format, they should buy that.

 

I think for some disciplines--maybe math and hard sciences--the online materials could be very useful for extra practice.

 

I haven't heard of a policy applying to an entire university, but I would think that the environment at some universities encourage the use of the codes and the environment at other universities discourage the use of codes.  DD is a  senior at a small, liberal arts school and I am not aware of her ever having a code; I will ask her.

 

I did teach at a school where there was a code required at the departmental level.  The department had to have statistics for accreditation reports and found that the most efficient way to get those statistics was through having automated reports generated from the computer product that tied back to learning outcomes statements.  It was not enough that professors who had years of teaching experience knew what types of problems students tended to struggle with, having statistics to show that student spent, on average, a longer time on those problems pointed to "innovation" and then assigning more of those problems was "closing the loop."--all that look good in the accreditation report (and IMO don't contribute to student learning)

[Malam]

On 8/22/2017 at 10:32 AM, Bootsie said:

The LMS at the school does not go live until 12:00am on the first day of classes.  So, even if I post the syllabus days before, students can't see it

My professors usually would send out an email a week or so before the start of class with the syllabus and a note that it may change without notice in the future.

On 8/23/2017 at 5:38 PM, Teachaheart said:

I agree; however, we are required to have those policies and more on every syllabus. 

Isn't that what size 8 font and a "University-mandated policy disclosures" heading is for?

On 8/24/2017 at 4:21 AM, luuknam said:

I also like to read syllabi for any electives (in or outside my major) I might take, before signing up for the class.

On 8/24/2017 at 11:02 AM, Mom22ns said:

That would be great, but how on earth do you get a syllabus for a class you aren't enrolled in?

Can't you email profs asking for current/previous semesters' syllabi? That's what I did when syllabi weren't publicly available (but I was a student at the same school, so YMMV)

On 8/24/2017 at 5:00 PM, swimmermom3 said:

Do schools have policies about codes? I am curious because in three terms, my ds has never been required to have a code. Or is that more applicable to specific majors?

It's of used in large intro science courses where there aren't enough TA-hours to grade all the homework, so a computer system like Pearson MyLab or Pearson Mastering is used 

Edited August 15, 2022 by Malam

[bibiche]

I think all of these kids have graduated from college by now! But I got sucked into the thread and distributed a few “likes” before realizing it was from 2017. 😂