The course syllabus is a student’s primary guide to an instructor’s plans and expectations for a course. It also serves as an official description of that course in cases of questions from outsiders, student grade challenges, and the like. Each semester the Academic Affairs Office needs the current syllabus for each course being taught.

All new course proposals, as well as requests for substantive change in an existing course (reduction of credit hours, change in course level, etc.), must be accompanied by a comprehensive syllabus. Syllabi should begin with the following information:

• Name of the university
• Catalog course identifier (WXYZ 123)
• Name of course
• Credit hours
• Applicable Linfield Curriculum designations
• Name of instructor
• Office location, office hours, phone number, Linfield e-mail address

Following this standard “header, course-relevant items listed on course request forms should be added. These include:

Educational goals

The catalog description may be sufficient, or you may want to be more elaborate. Students should be able to connect the goals of the course to the overall goals of the major to which the course is pertinent. If the course serves the Linfield Curriculum, the syllabus should make evident how the course meets the relevant catalog criteria.

Major papers or projects should be briefly described as they relate to course goals. The type of testing, if any, should be described, as should other methods of evaluation.

If student journals count for part of the course grade, explicit expectations for journal content must be apparent in syllabus.

Topical outline and/or Timeline

Normally presented in the form of a tentative calendar (daily or weekly), this should tell what topics are to be covered and roughly the amount of time to be spent on each. Except for pop quizzes, approximate dates of exams (including final exam if any), and due dates for papers and projects, should be clearly shown.

Relevant texts

List required texts and other supporting materials (which may include supplies) which student must obtain. Also list materials to be supplied by the instructor or the library. The Resource Bibliography, if there is one, might be appropriate here.

Pedagogical approach

Tell the student how you would like the course to operate, including the level and kind of student participation, and what teaching methods a student may expect.

Grading method and criteria must be clear

Specify whether you will use letter grades or pass/fail (must match catalog description). Generic achievements corresponding to grades of “A,” “B,” etc. are listed in the catalog. Students, however, generally appreciate more specific information (e.g., how letter grades correspond to numeric scores or to specific qualitative performance on papers or projects). Other important information that should be clear in the syllabus: Do certain parts of the course count more heavily than others? Are there penalties for late or missing assignments? Are there opportunities for extra credit?

Academic integrity

There should be a clear statement that you "adhere to the university policy on academic integrity, as published in the Linfield University Course Catalog." Refer to page number in the current catalog if possible.

Disability Statement

The official university Disability Statement must appear somewhere in the syllabus (please see the Annual Supplement for a current version of the Disability Statement).

Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence and Title IX Syllabus Statement Options

Faculty must include one of the two approved options for the “Sexual Misconduct and Relationship Violence and Title IX” statement in their syllabi, depending on which option best fits for each of their courses.  See the Linfield website for the wording of these options.