Helping students make it to the top
Table of Contents:
Some Thoughts, by Jo-Ann Albers
Calendar Idea, by Barbara Kacer
Include Old Exams, by Juan Antonio Pena
Posting a Syllabus to the Internet, by Sally Kuhlenschmidt
Clarifying Classroom Expectations, by Niki Young, Director. Center for Teaching & Learning , Western Oregon University
From the 16th edition of the WKU Faculty Handbook
Grade determination
At the beginning of each course, the professor will inform each student
in writing of the factors to be considered in determining grades and
the specific weight to be assigned to each of the factors. In addition,
if the course carries general education credit, the syllabus must describe
how the course fulfills general education requirements. (p. 14; See
above.)
Testing
Tests and Examinations - Testing and examining procedures are left largely
to the individual faculty member. (p. 16)
A schedule of final examinations is provided in the official class schedule bulletin at the beginning of each semester. All finals must be conducted at the periods scheduled unless different arrangements have been made with the department head and approved by the dean of the college concerned. (p. 16)
Office
Hours
Faculty members are expected to post class schedules and office hours.
Faculty members have a responsibility to provide to the department head
and students each semester their office hour schedule. Inability to
meet classes or to maintain office hours should be reported to the department
head. (p. 17)
Student
withdrawal
(Meaning of grades is on p. 14). Grades will be recorded in the Registrar’s
Office as reported by the instructor. Students who drop a class within
the period indicated for this purpose in the University Calendar will
have no grade recorded. After the date on which students may withdraw
from a class without a grade, they will be given W or F for the time
during which they were in the class as reported by the instructor. In
all cases, students withdrawing from classes must secure official permission.
In the absence of an official withdrawal, a grade of F will be recorded
regardless of the quality of work being done by the student at the time
of withdrawal. (p. 15)
Academic
Dishonesty
It is the responsibility of each faculty member to maintain at all times
conditions that discourage academic dishonesty in any form. (p. 59)
Plagiarism
To represent ideas or interpretations taken from another source as one’s
own is plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense. The academic work
of a student must be their own. Students must give the author(s) credit
for any source material used. To lift content directly from a source
without giving credit is a flagrant act. To present a borrowed passage
after having changed a few words, even if the source is cited, is also
plagiarism. (p. 59)
Disposition of Offenses - Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty may receive from the instructor a failing grade in that portion of the course work in which the act is detected or a failing grade in the course without possibility of withdrawal… (p. 59)
Field
Trips
Field trips that are listed as part of the course description in the
University Catalog are considered “regular field trips”
and require only that the department head, the college dean, and the
Dean of Student Affairs be notified and provided a list of students
making the trip. Trips not listed as part of a catalog course description
are “special field trips” and require approval through a
“Request for Special Field Trip Approval” form. Copies of
this approval form may be obtained from the departmental or college
office. (p. 16)
It is important that each faculty member supervising any field trip ascertain that the trip constitutes an authorized University activity in accordance with the above paragraph. Participation in a non-authorized activity would expose the faculty member to the risk of personal legal liability. (p. 16)
Copies
of Syllabi and Multi-section Courses
Copies of current course syllabi are to be kept in the department office
and are to be available on-line at the department web site. The scope
and content of multi-section courses taught by more than one instructor
are expected to be coordinated by the department head to insure relative
uniformity. (p. 14)
The syllabus has the status of a legal contract. It is an agreement between you and your students and is a time management guide for students and teachers. The more clearly you communicate the policies in your syllabus, the fewer difficulties you will have as a teacher and the more easily your students can learn the material.
If in determining a student’s grade you intend to ascribe any weight to attendance, you should consider linking attendance requirements to classroom participation. For example, if in your syllabus, you assign 15% of the final grade to student participation in class discussions, classroom group work, etc., you could reasonably assign a lower grade to a student who was not present to participate in discussions or other participatory work compared with a student who was present.
Any
questions concerning an appropriate statement for your syllabus should
be directed to the Office of Academic Affairs.
---John Petersen, Academic Affairs (2002)
Notice of Syllabus Revision Requirement for Fall, 2005, in compliance with SACS Standard
The
institution identifies college-level competencies within the general
education core and provides evidence that graduates have attained those
competencies.
The syllabus for the General Education course must contain:
1) an explicit statement of General Education goals and objectives
that the course helps to fulfill;
(In courses with multiple sections, there must
be a shared identifcal statement of goals and objectives.)
2) an explicit statement of specific course goals and objectives that
are linked to the General Education goals.
The General Education Program is a set of requirements for all students seeking the baccalaureate degree at Western Kentucky University. It is designed to help students develop understanding, appreciation and acceptance of multiple bodies of knowledge and cultures, aesthetics and appreciative faculties, and diversity. It promotes intellectual growth, lifelong learning and informed global citizenship for all Western graduates. The ten specific goals identified as essential to the general education program are listed online at http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Support/AcadAffairs/gened.htm
From the Office for Student Disability Services
Required
for all syllabi:
“Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic
adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must
contact the Office for Student Disability Services, Student Success
Center, DUC A200. The OFSDS telephone number is (270)745-5004; TTY is
745-3030.”
“Per university policy, please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.”
ADA
Guidebook for Faculty/Staff is available at:
http://www.wku.edu/Dept/Support/Legal/EOO/sds.htm
Get Your Course Calendar for Your Syllabus from TopNet
Rather than calculating the days of your classes for a schedule for activities or course calendar, visit TopNet.
Under Faculty Services choose Course Calendar.
Select the term for the course. You'll see a list of the courses you are teaching.
Click on Course Calendar and a window will appear giving the course dates. You can download an Excel file that you can place in your syllabus.
Vital Information for Student Learning
Your students will be in a better position to learn the course material if you include three to five learning objectives on your syllabus. Beginners often experience the course content as undifferentiated and may be unable to understand the purpose of activities without more explicit guides. As a start for writing learning objectives, complete this sentence: “At the end of this course, students will be able to/know, understand, and appreciate...” Try different action verbs.
To learn
more about objectives visit: http://www.wku.edu/teaching/db/teachingtools/
Use 'Clear Goals' in the keyword search box.
by Jo-Ann Albers, Journalism & Broadcasting Department, 1994
I view the syllabus as the contract between the students and me. My aim is to make everything clear. In the first class I give them a homework assignment for the second class that asks each to:
1. Read the syllabus, review the textbook and write a paragraph or two describing his/her expectations for the class and telling me of any special needs as a learner.
2. Describe
any concerns raised during reading of the syllabus and any assignment
or area of study to which the students look forward; and
3. List three questions about the class he/she would like to have answered.
I make comments and provide information individually in writing and select
several for sharing at the beginning of the third class.
In essence, my introduction to the course is spread over three class meetings.
Calendar
Idea
by Barbara Kacer,
Teacher Education,1994
Barbara Kacer creates a calendar for each month which shows assignments, due dates, and all other pertinent items for each class. The calendar for a given class is distributed in addition to a syllabus. The syllabus includes: course policies and procedures for the class; description of course portfolio; any fieldwork components; description of major assignments; grading; and a student information sheet.
The student information sheet asks for the usual personal information about majors and minors, phone numbers and addresses. In addition, Dr. Kacer also asks whether the student has had certain courses that may be prerequisites for this course and includes a course schedule card to find out the student’s schedule for this semester.
Items
to include:
• assignment due dates
• tests
• out of class activities
The very first day of class, I give the students a copy of the syllabus itself and class policies. That gives them a very complete description of the kind of class I am going to lead. From that very first day, they know what is expected of them, what work they must do, how often and when they are going to have a quiz or exam, what they have to do before, during and after each class, and so on. Several people drop the class that same day in view of the work. But I want them to know what is ahead of them, to be prepared and to do their work, with no excuses.
The syllabus package includes old exams for their own preparation, self study tips and guides, songs and other activities that I plan to do during the semester. There is also a breakdown sheet so that they can have a pretty good idea of what their grade is at any time. As you can see, not only do they get an idea of the kind of person and professor I am, and what kind of class mine is going to be, but they also have all the material together. They cannot say they did not get it because they were absent, or that they left some material at home and the like.
In essence, I want my students to feel comfortable in the class, aware of what is to come, with no sad surprises. Besides, I believe that an organized and well-prepared syllabus encourages students to do better, to organize themselves and to follow my example. I hope I am correct.
Each semester,
when points of confusion are raised by students, I make a note on my copy
of my syllabus. The following semester I incorporate material into the new
syllabus to avoid that problem.
Sometimes
I’ll write pertinent questions on the syllabus instead of topic titles
to increase student curiosity about the reading material.
Include
your e-mail address and your web page. I include my home phone number for
graduate students with a request not to call after 10:00 p.p. unless there
is an emergency with a client.
Explain
- explain - explain the way the grade will be calculated.
I’ve asked students (at evaluation) to write advice for students taking the class next year. I’ve also asked them what they’d tell students about ‘managing’ me. These are included in the syllabus for the next class.
One faculty
member included a self-description because his shyness/quietness was often
taken by students to be coldness.
Make
special mention of any tasks (self-disclosure, volunteer work, etc. which
may make some students uncomfortable.
Be sure to include any special functions the student may have to attend: films, panel discussions, concerts, observations, etc.
Posting a Syllabus to the Internet
by Sally
Kuhlenschmidt,
FaCET & Psychology, 2002
Making your Syllabus and Handouts available 24/7
WKU Faculty can easily post their course materials on-line using Blackboard, a course software. It takes about a half hour to become initially acquainted with the software. It can use your Word documents as they currently exist. Contact Academic Technology 5-2914 or 5-8834 for training. You will want to make a few changes to your syllabus if you move it on-line. You can also post your exam or syllabus using TopNet, under Faculty Services.
Posting a syllabus on-line provides advertising for your course when students are registering for classes. It relieves you of having to provide a copy for the student who lost theirs. It provides you with a copy you can access from anywhere. But you need to add a few steps to adapt it to this new environment.
A web page or electronic copy is both maximally flexible, and subject to minimal maintenance. As a result, a web syllabus may easily drift out of date, or be changed more quickly and easily than a print syllabus.
Maintenance Issues
If the syllabus drifts out of date then students may be led astray with regard to the nature of your course. To protect you in case a student tries to use an outdated syllabus for course activities, I recommend placing a statement like this at the top of each web syllabus:
“This syllabus is a sample formatted for general information and to be accessible via the WWW. This sample is subject to modification for any particular semester although the general activities and requirements are likely to be similar. If you register for the course, you will receive the current version from the instructor.”
I then rewrite my syllabus with an eye to it lasting a long time without maintenance on my part. I remove actual Office Hours, for example. I also recommend adding a Last Modified date so students can tell how long it has been since you last examined it. To see a sample of a syllabus I have revised for the web visit: http://www.wku.edu/~sally.kuhlenschmidt/psy361/p361.htm
Change Issues
The syllabus has status as a legal contract. A web page is created to be changed. Some faculty have chosen to use only a web-based syllabus, and those teaching an on-line course may have no choice. In these circumstances it is very important to clearly indicate the official syllabus. I recommend giving a copy to the department head on the first day of the term. From that point on I do not change the actual syllabus, even if I spot a typo, without getting signed, private, permission from all the students. I do this in the spirit of full disclosure/clear communication although it also serves to protect the teacher in the event of a dispute. The course is “our” course, not “my” course.
For those with face-to-face classes, the print syllabus distributed on the first day of class should be clearly identified as the legitimate syllabus for the semester and the on-line version should reflect it as closely as possible but still have the cautionary statement above.
Other Policies for On-line Teaching
You may wish to add policies clarifying intellectual property and state the limits to privacy for on-line work. Because students may assume an on-line syllabus means an on-line course, describe the geographical and time constraints for course activities. Say, for example, that the course meets 3 times weekly, face-to-face.
You may add these student requirements: an e-mail address they are willing to share with others, software that can read your on-line documents (e.g., Word, or Adobe Reader), and reliable access to a computer that can access the Internet.
You may
wish to make hyperlinks to WKU’s libraries: http://www.wku.edu/Library/
and to the Kentucky Virtual Library: http://www.kyvu.org/.
Clarifying Classroom Expectations
by Niki
Young, Director,
Center for Teaching and Learning , Western Oregon University.
Posted to the POD Digest, July 13-14, 2005.
Dr. Susan Rice, Professor of Social Work at California State University, Long Beach, an expert on nonviolent conflict resolution, observes that making expectations explicit is an important way of preventing misunderstandings that can lead to conflict. Following her advice, I now include Expectations in my course syllabi (see below) and engage students in a discussion about expectations -- the expectations teachers have of students, and the expectations students have of teachers -- on the first day of class. I focus on two areas: Best Effort and Respect.
Best Effort
In this
class the expectation is that everyone is putting forth their best effort.
Examples of ways students put forth best effort include:
• Attending class sessions.
• Arriving to class in a timely manner.
• Doing the reading before class.
• Arriving prepared to class.
• Asking questions and actively engaging the material in class.
• Doing the assignments required in the class.
• Doing one's own work.
• Turning in assignments on time.
The instructor
puts forth best effort also. Examples of this effort include:
• Attending class sessions.
• Maintaining knowledge of the material.
• Clearly communicating expectations for the course from day one.
• Providing a clear syllabus and outline of the course. (The syllabus
and course materials are also available Blackboard.)
• Preparing instruction before class.
• Offering ways to engage the material in class.
• Structuring assignments to fulfill the learning objectives.
• Encouraging questions in class.
• Offering feedback on assignments.
• Being available outside of class. (Students can reach me via phone
or email during office hours and by appointment.)
• Providing additional resources to the class.
Respect
In this class the expectation is of mutual respect. The instructor will show respect for students. Students will show respect for the instructor. Students will show respect for one another.
Examples
of ways to show respect for others include:
• Listening when others talk.
• Listening means that you are not talking or engaging in side conversations
with your neighbors.
• Listening means one person talks at a time.
You may
not always agree with the opinions others express in class, but as a professional
you will need to learn to listen to others whose opinions differ from yours.
Differences in opinion are inevitable and to be expected. Differing opinions
can be expressed in ways that communicate respect.
Communicating respect for others means treating others the way you would
like to be treated.
Working
to diminish or eliminate the following communicates respect:
• Limiting interruptions communicates respect. This means turning
off your cell phone when you come to class or putting it on the vibrate
mode.
• Entering the room quietly when you are late communicates respect.
• Exiting the room quietly if you must leave early communicates respect.
Include in your syllabus:
Academic Integrity
Include a statement in syllabi such as: “Student work may be checked using plagiarism detection software." This is phrased broadly enough to also include use of Google.The feeling is that such a warning may prevent some level of plagiarism as students know the odds are increased of being identified. Similarily, if your unit has access to TurnItIn (plagiarism detection software) tell students in writing. As of 2006, if you, your department or your college wish to have access to TurnItIn software, Instructional Technology has offered to pay half the price. Contact Josh Marble, at 745-3755 for more information.
Special
Functions or Off-Campus Sites
“Although I do not currently anticipate any trips, students may need
or choose to make trips to off-campus sites in partial fulfillment of the
requirements of this course in order to meet program accreditation standards.“
Student Signature
“Please read, sign, and date the following statement: I have a copy of the xxx Course Syllabus and understand and accept its contents. I also understand that work in this course must be my work and all required assignments, projects, and tests must be completed to receive a passing grade for this course.”
Discussing
Grades via E-mail
“You will be able to check your grades in an on-line grade book. You
can ask me about grades via e-mail, but I am not allowed by law to reply
in any detail using e-mail, unless I have your written signature. (This
is to protect your privacy as e-mail is not a private form of communication).
Read, select one, and sign:
‘I give my consent to the instructor to discuss my course grades with me via e-mail.’
OR
‘I prefer the following method for discussing course grades (e.g., phone call, wait for registrar’s notice at end of term).’
Choice is subject to negotiation of a mutually acceptable method.”
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