Sample Syllabus

Item

Description

Importance

Meeting Times

There are no set meeting times in a fully online course as there can be no required synchronous components in a Webster University fully online course. Your wording in this section could include your participation expectations or optional office hours, if you choose to use these.

You should also include here, or elsewhere in the syllabus, that all times listed refer to Central Time Zone.

Students who are new to online courses may be unaware of how our classes work. They may think there is a set day and time to be online or they may think they have until the end of the week to participate in discussions and submit assignments. A statement here, such as "Active participation is expected throughout the week. See below for my expectations" might be appropriate.

Contact Information

Add your name in this area and include how you would like to be addressed. Instructors should list the WorldClassRoom Inbox as the primary contact. We recommend that you keep all of your communication with students within the course. You can list your Webster University email as a secondary means of contact. Some instructors will provide other options for contact but this is not required.

Instructors are required to be responsive to students and must let students know how to contact.

Course Description

The course description will be added automatically for Walker School Of Business faculty who will develop their syllabus in Concourse. All others will be taken directly from the graduate or undergraduate catalog.

This is for the official description of the course.

Objectives/ Outcomes

The course outcomes will be added automatically for Walker School Of Business faculty who will develop their syllabus in Concourse. All others will be taken directly from the graduate or undergraduate catalog.

Required Textbook(s)

The complete name, version, and ISBN of the required textbook(s) are added to this section. In addition, the ID will add a link to the MBS online bookstore in case students still need to order their textbook.

Students may not have purchased their textbooks before the class begins so they need all of this information available so they can order the textbook immediately. The OLC will include up to two weeks of the required readings in the course for student convenience.

Supplemental Materials

Any additional readings or suggested books can be listed in this section.
Helpful websites:
Suggested books:

If there are resources available for your subject area that you think will be helpful for students, include the list here.

Evaluation Criteria/ Grading

The criteria for grading and the point/percentage breakdown should be listed in this section.
First, you should list the components of the course that will be grade and the weights or points assigned: (The amounts listed are for demonstration purposes only and in no way are a suggestion for your particular class.)

Now you should breakdown the total percentage into the letter grade range, since you will need to submit a letter grade for the final grade. Again, these are just an example:

The GRADUATE catalog provides these guidelines and grading options:

• A/A–   Superior graduate work

• B+/B/B–   Satisfactory graduate work

• C   Work that is barely adequate as graduate-level performance

• CR   Work that is performed as satisfactory graduate work (B– or better). A grade of "CR"is reserved for courses designated by a department, involving internships, a thesis, practicums, or specified courses.

• NC:  Unsatisfactory graduate work (used primarily by School of Education)

• F   Work that is unsatisfactory

• I   Incomplete work

• ZF   An incomplete which was not completed within one year of the end of the course. ZF is treated the same as an F or NC for all cases involving G.P.A., academic warning, probation, and dismissal.

• IP   In progress

• NR   Not reported

• W   Withdrawn from the course

• WF:   Unofficial Withdrawal: A student enrolled for the course, did not withdraw, and failed to complete course requirements. Used when, in the opinion of the instructor, there is insufficient completed work to evaluate academic performance. WF is treated the same as an F or NC for all cases involving GPA, academic warning, probation, and dismissal

Students want to know what they will be graded on and how much each item will count.

It is also important to include the breakdown in this spot so there can be no questions later about how many points equal an A-.

It is also helpful to include the official description of each grade, taken from the catalog.

Course Policies

Late Work:
Participation Expectations
Discussion Participation
Conduct
Communication Plan

See additional course policies: link in doc

Included here can be all of your specific expectations for students. You could include a section on how to get an A in the course, if you will accept late work and if so what penalty might be assigned, what you consider to be proper conduct in an online course, explicit details on what participation means.

University Policies

University policies are provided in the current course catalog and course schedules. They are also available on the university website. This class is governed by the university published policies. The following policies are of particular interest:
Academic Honesty
The university is committed to high standards of academic honesty. Students will be held responsible for violations of these standards. Please refer to the university academic honesty policies for a definition of academic dishonesty and potential disciplinary actions associated with it.
Drops and Withdrawals
Please be aware that, should you choose to drop or withdraw from this course, the date on which you notify the university of your decision will determine the amount of tuition refund you receive. Please refer to the university policies on drops and withdrawals (published elsewhere) to find out what the deadlines are for dropping a course with a full refund and for withdrawing from a course with a partial refund.
Special Services
Students with documented disabilities who have registered through the Academic Resource Center (ARC) may be entitled to classroom or testing accommodations. If you have a disability and need academic accommodations, please contact the ARC at (314) 246-7620 or disability@webster.edu. Contacting the ARC to complete ADA documentation is the only way to ensure you may receive reasonable accommodations. Once documented, you will need to verify with your instructor at the beginning of each class that the instructor has received your accommodations letter from the ARC.
Disturbances
Since every student is entitled to full participation in class without interruption, disruption of class by inconsiderate behavior is not acceptable. Students are expected to treat the instructor and other students with dignity and respect, especially in cases where a diversity of opinion arises. Students who engage in disruptive behavior are subject to disciplinary action, including removal from the course.
Student Assignments Retained
From time to time, student assignments or projects will be retained by The Department for the purpose of academic assessment. In every case, should the assignment or project be shared outside the academic Department, the student's name and all identifying information about that student will be redacted from the assignment or project.

These policies will come directly from the graduate or undergraduate catalog and will inform the student about certain things that are handled the same throughout the university.

Schedule

This is where a simple weekly schedule should appear. It may look something like the following:

Online students take your course for a variety of reasons and need to see a schedule of activities so that they can plan for the intersection of life, work, and school.

Description of Assignments

This is optional but you could use the space to describe what you are looking for in each of the major grading areas:

Discussions: Each week you will find 2 to 3 discussions about the designated topics for the week. Students are expected to respond to each discussion a minimum of three times: First, post your original response by Wednesday at midnight Central Time. Your response will be based on your reading of the textbook, the content notes in the module, and your experience. This will usually be the longest of your postings, generally at least 200 words. I expect graduate level writing, which means very little errors in spelling and punctuation, well-constructed thoughts, and properly cited references. Your subsequent responses can agree or disagree but must be done so in a polite and academic manner. Let the readers know why you are taking the stance you have suggested or provide additional details to the posting. You must take the discussion further with your response. Answers such as "great idea" "I agree" do not count towards your participation grade.
Written Assignments: Writing assignments will be due by Sunday 11:59 p.m. Central time. The topic of the assignment will be listed in the assignment tool but all of the following factors remain the same:

• Minimum 500 words

• APA style writing and citations

• 12 pt font, 1" margins

Exams: There will be two exams: one mid-term and one final. They will cover the readings and discussions topics up until that week. The exams will consist of 20 M/C questions and 5 essay questions.

Weekly Quizzes: There will be a short weekly quiz over the chapter readings to prepare you for the discussions. It will consist of 10 objective questions.

Final Project: The final project will be a presentation on a topic of your choice from what we have studied in the course. You will need to review the book and the course content and submit a suggested topic and presentation type(paper, video, powerpoint,etc) to me by the end of week 3. The following milestone assignments will be associated with the final project:

• annotated bibliography, due Week 5

• Outline, due Week 6

• Draft, optional, due Week 7

• Final project submitted beginning of Week 8

Anything you want the students to know about the assignment expectations should be included in this area. Think of the questions they may ask and answer them ahead of time in this area.