About Syllabi

The word “syllabus” is one of those specifically academic words (perhaps your first) that only means something in college. You did not have one in high school, though a good teacher had a lesson plan and probably a set of personal rules and regulations.

I have intentionally made our syllabus very complete, probably more complete than the ones you will meet in other courses. This is because I assume you are new to the college game and I want to give you a good overview of the sort of requirements you must face.

In a way, the syllabus is a legal contract between you (the student) and me (the representative of Ashland University). When a dispute comes up between me and a student, the first question my supervisor asks is “Was it in the syllabus?” If you have ever dealt with union contracts, a college syllabus will make more sense.

A word about audience

On your first pass through, you will notice a lot of jargon and technical language. This is because—surprisingly— the student is not the primary audience. The syllabus has several different audiences:

1. The English Department and the University. They want to know that this course is aiming to do what an English course at Ashland University does, including the requirements students must meet and the protections afforded them.
2. The Accrediting Association. The idea is that an English course at Ashland University should be at least as good as the equivalent from any other accredited college. Someone reads the syllabus to check on that.
3. Another college or university. If you want to transfer somewhere else and get credit for what you did here, they want to know whether our English course is equivalent to theirs.
4. And of course you, the student. You need to know the rules and regulations. I have had students who really thought I was a 24-hour automated help line, so a midnight email on Saturday would get a response within 90 seconds. (Were their high school teachers like that?) That line in the syllabus about email office hours is their notice that our English class functions like a normal business run by ordinary human beings.

What you should do about a syllabus

Sit down and read the thing. Take a deep breath. Numbers 1 through 3 above mean that the syllabus is written in technical language which seems more appropriate to a law office or the college of education, but do your best. And do realize that all that stuff does apply to you.

Our first few class meetings will be very tightly packed, so I will not read the syllabus to you; I expect you to know what is in there.