Responsible Executive: Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
I. PURPOSE
This policy is created to outline processes for the creation and standardization of syllabi at Motlow State Community College (Motlow State). Syllabi play a role in the making of the image of Motlow State, provide a means of communicating course outcomes to stakeholders, and contribute to continuity and consistency in the courses from semester to semester. They may be used to secure approval of state agencies, to determine whether the course is parallel to one offered at a four-year institution, to achieve the best articulation and coordination in instruction, to facilitate research that deals with curricular development and accreditation reports, and to aid new faculty members in their preparations.
II. MASTER SYLLABI
- A master syllabus is to be completed for each course offered at Motlow State, and created during the semester prior to a newly developed course being taught for the first time.
- Each master syllabus is to be reviewed annually by those faculty members teaching that course and appropriate changes made to reflect textbook changes and catalog changes or to add information to make the syllabus up-to-date. A joint effort among faculty members within the department and course developer/maintainer is needed to provide consistency in content.
- In preparing a course syllabus (see below), faculty members should use the Master Syllabus. However, disciplines that undergo formal accreditation should create their own master syllabus in keeping with their accrediting body’s suggestions and/or recommendations if the discipline’s faculty feel that deviation from the Motlow State Master Syllabus Template is warranted.
III. COURSE SYLLABI
- Each instructor is to provide a course syllabus to each student enrolled in each course.
The course syllabus is the instructor’s personalized version of the course master
syllabus. This information may be distributed in a printed version; however, the
information is required to be uploaded into D2L. The information must include the
following:
- Course title (cannot be changed from master syllabus);
- Credit hours awarded Prerequisites (cannot be changed from master syllabus);
- Instructor name, office hours, and contact information;
- Required and/or supplemental materials such as textbook, lab equipment, etc.;
- Program Learning Outcomes (cannot be changed from master syllabus);
- Student Learning Outcomes (cannot be changed from master syllabus);
- Course Objectives (cannot be changed from master syllabus);
- Major assignments and the method for determining final grades;
- Grading Policies (such as Late-Work and Attendance Policies);
- Grading Criteria (personalized from master syllabus);
- Classroom Expectations (make-up policy, late policy, attendance, etc.);
- Class meeting/assignment schedule; and
- Motlow State Course Guidelines (located in D2L).
- Course Syllabi are to be distributed to the students by the second class meeting each semester, and a copy of each is to be filed in the appropriate dean’s office by the end of the first week of class.
- Instructors may choose to create Course Content links in D2L specifically for Policies, Schedule of Assignments, etc., but a personalized syllabus document must also be placed on the D2L page so that all course and Motlow State policies are available in one document as a student resource.
SOURCES
HISTORY
January 30, 2015; approved by the Leadership Council on September 2, 2016; editorial update December 21, 2016
Revised: January 30, 2023
Institutional Oversight Committee Approved: June 7, 2023
Faculty Council Approved: March 23, 2023
President’s Cabinet Approved: June 20, 2023
TBR Academic Affairs Approved: August 16, 2023
Effective Date: January 30, 2015; August 16, 2023