University 101: The Syllabus

I promised a post about my approach to my syllabi and here it is. I wanted to make sure I had fully understood all of them and knew what I was doing with the information before talking to you guys about it. That seems to be an impossible task because it’s been a month and I still feel a little lost – not as lost as the days just before school started, but, still, a little. I will keep this post short, just like the upcoming few, because it’s been very hard, trying to find the time to write, and I want to tell you all a lot about my first month. So, let’s begin.

I want to make one thing clear, though, sort of a disclaimer. The steps I list in this post may seem clear cut and organized but that is only because I’m writing this after I did them all. In reality, this experience was not at all linear. But, for the sake of brevity and clarity, I will list what I did in a few simple steps, hopefully saving you the time of trying to figure what to do with your syllabi.

Another note, something I realized halfway through this post: I’ve been familiar with syllabi all my life because almost all my teachers believed in giving us one, but that may not be the case for everyone. A syllabus is usually an outline of the course, a document that highlights deadlines, the weight of each assignment, the penalties for late submissions and/or plagiarism, and what to do if you miss class(es), like whom you should contact/what you should bring if proof is required. I say usually because, at the school I attended in Dubai, the word “syllabus” meant the material a test/exam would be assessing – we didn’t have a detailed outline (sometimes we were lucky if we got the correct information on time). So, with the understanding of the purpose, and importance, of my syllabi, here is what I did with them:

1. Downloaded my syllabi right away: My professors sent out the syllabi at varying points during the weeks approaching the first day, and, while some did that early – like for Math and Biology – some waited till a few hours before the first class to send us the one document that is supposed to save our lives during the semester. Although I’d only had my university email ID for 2 months, my inbox was always flooded with unread emails, and I knew that I would forget to check the syllabus if I didn’t download it right away, and then it would drown in the sea of said unread emails. I saved them to my desktop so I would be reminded of them every time I switched my laptop on or closed a window etc. leaving me with no choice but to take a look and figure out what I was going to with my time based on what I read.

2. Recognized/Pinpointed all the important information: By the time we started getting our syllabi, I had spoken to plenty of my seniors and they had all given me some variation of what to do with all the information. For example, the code of conduct is almost the same for all classes (at least ones on the same campus), so if you read one, you don’t have to spend too much time of the others. And pay attention to the contact information of the professor/TA for lecture related questions, the course coordinator for course-related questions and anyone else they specifically list for tech/sickness related issues. They usually list a lot of people you could contact because, in a class of 1500, professors are not going to answer questions about how to access the Zoom class on your phone. They may also list the timings of your professor’s office hours, time and space devoted to questions about almost anything course/professor related. I know a lot of students like asking my Psychology prof about his research and he gladly answers all their questions, so this is also a good time to build a relationship with your professor, maybe even good enough to later approach them for a research opportunity or reference letter.

Next, look for the list of assignments and tests. This section should give you information about what will be assessed, when it will happen and how much of your grade it’s worth. This is the most important part of the syllabus because professors aren’t keen on answering 457 individual questions about when the first test is or how much the “BIG Assignment” weighs. Lastly, look for anything extra the class may require. For example, my Politics class requires weekly participation on the discussion board and my Math class requires that we submit our homework on two different platforms, depending on the assignment (one of wasn’t free). My Biology class requires that you get at least 50% in the Lab section, which is 33% of the total grade, otherwise, you don’t pass the class, which explains why the lab has a separate syllabus. This is information that isn’t listed with the assignments, so you have to be careful not to miss it. In short, look for: i) Contact information (email IDs, office hours) ii) Assignment/test details (deadline, weight and content) iii) Code of Conduct/Rules (plagiarism, late penalties) iv) Extras (mandatory participation, where to find links to synchronous content, anything that can help you keep your mark up)

3. Noted times and deadlines down in a planner and a calendar: This is the most important thing you can do with the information you gather from your syllabi. The purpose of your professors listing almost everything about the course in the syllabus is so you can plan your semester ahead of time, while you still have the time. I will admit I was a tad bit late to this one, at least the part where I realized working with just my phone calendar wasn’t going to be enough and jotted down EVERYTHING in my weekly/monthly planner. The deadline, content and weight of an assignment or test are there to help you determine when and for how long you will work on it. If you have a 10% essay and a 2% quiz due in 3 hours, you will know you have to prioritize the essay because the weight will be staring right at you. It’s only been a month but I have had to prioritize quite a few things over the other – I usually manage to get everything done just in time, but sometimes it’s too close to the deadline for my comfort (like submitting that 10% essay at 4:59 PM when it’s due at 5:00 PM). This way, whenever you have a bit of free time, you can take a look at your calendar or planner, see what’s due soon and get to work. Writing down your “non-negotiables,” as my learning advisor calls it, helps you make time for yourself as well. If you time things right, you can relax on the weekends or sleep in on some days.

This list may seem structured, but I went, and am still going, from #2 to #3 and back to #2 a lot more than you’d expect. It feels like every time I open the syllabus, something new reveals itself. It’s definitely a good idea to read the syllabus more than once. It’s a resource your professors handed to you for your own good – utilize it.

Update on how I’m thinking I’ll begin posting: I think I’m going to make a weekly post, each about one of the classes I’m taking and talk about how a month in the course has been like. I realized that doing a weekly post about all my courses in one post was too stressful and lacklustre. Hopefully, this idea works better. Till then, toodles. - Aarushi