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What Students Expect from the Syllabus

28Aug’25

Syllabus Languages & Policies

CETLI has conducted focus groups with students across campus to find out what they expect from a syllabus, and which elements they find the most helpful. Generally, students use the syllabus as an academic planning tool. In particular, they look for key dates for assignments and exams to help them better prepare for the workload of the semester.  

This page includes specific elements of the syllabus that students find useful and some resources to help you draft your own syllabus, including links to relevant sample syllabi language from Penn faculty. 

If you have a syllabus that has been particularly useful for students that you would like us to consider sharing on this page, we invite you to send it to us. 

Lead with Critical Information

Students appreciate a syllabus that provides clear information about how to succeed in the course. For students, this information includes:  

  • Course description – Describe the topics covered in the course, any prerequisites, and how the course fits into the larger curriculum. 
  • Learning goals – State the skills and ways of thinking that students will practice in the course.  
  • Grading policies – Provide a clear outline of the grading system and specify if grades are curved. 
  • Attendance policies – Define how many classes a student can miss and how it will affect their grade if they miss more.  
  • Due dates — Include assignment deadlines, exam dates, etc. Students also appreciate a week-by-week schedule of topics. 
  • Contact information — Provide contact information for both the professor and TAs. In courses with a teaching team, it can also be helpful to specify when students should reach out to their TA and when to contact the professor.  
  • Office hours — Provide times and locations. Having a variety of different office hour days, times and modalities can help students whose schedules can be complicated. 

Additional Information that Students Find Helpful:  

  • Advice from former students about how to succeed in the course. It can be particularly helpful to have an undergraduate TA or LA write this section. 
  • A sense of how much time they should expect to spend on coursework outside of class and what that workload might consist of. 
  • Page numbers for the readings. 

  • A learning environment statement. The Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE) has shared that students find it valuable to see a statement that encourages a learning environment where every student feels welcome to thrive, as well as specific instructions for how students should contact your teaching team if they have questions about the learning environment. 

Use Logical and Accessible Structure

Students appreciate when the document is easy to navigate as a reference document. In particular, students value:  

  • Consistent, clearly labeled structure – Consider using a table of contents, clear headers, highlighting key items in bold and providing information in bulleted lists when possible. If the syllabus is digital and includes a week-by-week schedule for reading assignments, students also find it helpful when assignments are linked.  
  • Accessible format – Consider using an accessible PDF format and include the syllabus on Canvas. If you include your syllabus on Canvas, it can be helpful to provide a direct link to the most up-to-date Syllabus on the overview page.  
  • Concise document – While length expectations vary, students generally expect a length between three and six pages. Students are less concerned with length as long as the document is functional.  

Communicate Transparent Course Policies

When it comes to course policies, students value clarity and some (not unlimited) flexibility. It may be especially useful to define the following policies:   

  • Participation - Explain in detail what students need to do to get full credit for participation. For example, define whether they need to attend office hours or participate in online forums to fulfill participation expectations. Students also find it helpful if you provide some sense of your attitude toward cold calling. 
  • Generative AI policies – AI policies vary by course, so clearly defining what is acceptable use and what is not acceptable use for your course is extremely useful for students.  
  • Attendance – In addition to defining how many class absences are allowed and how absences will affect their grades, it can also be helpful to outline what happens if students have to miss an exam.  

Syllabus Language & Policies

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