The syllabus, along with a welcome email, is often a student’s first impression of their instructor and the course. Therefore, we’ve designed this page to provide support, whether you are creating a new syllabus or updating one. You’ll find sample syllabi language and sample syllabi that model motivational (see Harrington & Thomas 2018) and/or learner-centered syllabi (see Richmond 2016 (PDF)). Both approaches encourage students to see the syllabus as a resource and learning guide. These approaches help build rapport between student-instructor, clearly explain expectations in a (per their namesake) motivational and learner-centered way, and, by explaining purpose, help students build a connection to the course topic and assignments.
In addition to this sample language, which you can modify to suit your teaching approaches and expectations for your students, you’ll find the university-required course syllabus language as well. You should also check with your home department to confirm any additional syllabi requirements.
For all syllabus templates, we encourage you to check back annually in August to verify that you have the most up-to-date required and model language.
Looking for the basics? This syllabus template includes headers for optional, essential, and required language. It also includes the required language for university policies. You can easily find what must go in your syllabus here.
In addition to the required language, we have also provided resources with suggested language that can be modified to align with your teaching philosophy and approach. You may choose to borrow, edit, or model any of the language associated with optional or essential components of the syllabus listed here. Sample language has a border around it. If you choose to copy the sample language, you can remove the border.
OU faculty are required to include key university policy language in their syllabi each year. It is imperative that faculty familiarize themselves with this language each semester, as guidance and policies may have changed.
This syllabus example provides guidance on discussion board posts and other online activities.
Online instructors may also benefit from reviewing the “Syllabus” section of The Basic Guide to Online Course Design, created by Online and Academic Technology Services in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.
This visual syllabus incorporates images, columns, colors, and tables to be more visually engaging for readers. With a visual syllabus, as with any syllabus, it’s important to make sure that the syllabus is accessible for those who use screen readers.
You can easily add the required university syllabus language to Canvas by importing our resource from Canvas Commons. Search within Canvas Commons for “University of Oklahoma Syllabus Policies.” This page will be regularly updated (see revision notes).
To explore this topic further, we encourage you to attend the following CFE workshops:
(Re)Designing Your Course: Course Design Using Backward Design
Motivate Your Students from Day One: Syllabus Design
You Belong Here: Building Rapport with Students to Improve Academic Outcomes
Harrington, C., & Thomas, M. (2018). Designing a Motivational Syllabus: Creating a Learning Path for Student Engagement. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Richmond, A. S. (2016). Constructing a Learner-Centered Syllabus: One Professor’s Journey. IDEA Paper# 60. IDEA Center, Inc. pp. 1-14.
