We all know about contracts, right? We sign them for car loans, insurance policies, applying for a credit card or getting reimbursed by our employers. And some contracts go into force even without a signature, such as when you download software (do you really read all those terms and conditions?) For the next four years, the most important and consistent contract for your student will be his or her course syllabus.
The syllabus is a contract of sorts that specifies the terms and conditions of a course. In this case, your student definitely should read all those terms and conditions. The syllabus also contains the course objectives, that is what students are supposed to learn or be able to do as a result of being in the course. The sad thing is few students read the entire thing. Instead, they read what they see as the important points such as meeting times, exam dates and when papers are due (usually), but don’t spend any time looking at expectations for the course, and those are really important.
So what are some of those expectations? For one thing, faculty members routinely discuss their attendance policies on the syllabus, and these vary quite a bit. Many faculty members will tell student that attendance is not required, yet they can earn points for participation. Others will give students a set number of days they can miss class before they begin to hurt their final course grade. That’s what I do: students only receive three documented absences, meaning there is documented reason such as illness, away athletic game, etc. for the absence. These are basically “freebies,” and I discourage students from taking any of them if possible. Why do I offer them at all? Well, I understand that sometimes students might be studying for an exam in a course that meets after mine and they want to maximize their time to prepare for it. I get it, and that’s why I allow them but again, missing class at all is not a good idea. You’ll find that the students with the highest grades miss very few if any classes.
Related to attendance policy is the policy for receiving late materials, such as PowerPoint presentations or papers. Many faculty simply don’t accept them and others take points off for late assignments, so it’s really important for students to be on top of their assignments from the beginning.
Another thing specified in the syllabus are all the readings required in the course. These reading assignments are usually attached to a particular class meeting day, so the reading assignment might say “September 6 — read chapter 3 of Psychology 101 text.” What students should be doing is reading chapter 3 before the class meets so they are prepared to discuss the reading on September 6.
The syllabus also tells students how they’ll be graded in the course, such as how many exams there will be, how many papers and how they all are counted to make up the final grade. College and university courses generally offer fewer opportunities for evaluations than high school courses, and there is very little homework that has to be turned into the professors, so students need to perform well on all their quizzes, exams, presentations and papers.
The syllabus also reminds students that cheating and plagiarism won’t be tolerated; they aren’t in any college or university. Submitting work that isn’t a student’s own without properly citing it, or cheating in any form is grounds for at least a failing grade on an assignment, and can lead up to expulsion from the institution. Simply put, honesty and integrity in academics matters, and professors go to great lengths to tell students what they define as cheating or plagiarism. Please urge your students to read this part of each syllabus carefully.
Finally, the syllabus tells students a faculty member’s office hours. Important? You bet: office hours are one of the best ways for students to receive help in their courses. The strongest students seek out their professors when they’re having trouble, or when they want feedback on something, such as the draft of a term paper. Your student should make time to visit each of his or her faculty members in the first few weeks of class just to break the ice. Professors aren’t used to that happening, but that might be a great way for your student to show serious he or she is about the course.
Pass it on.