Syllabus Guide

Syllabus Guide

AI Template

Syllabus Template

Syllabus Edu 227

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Syllabus Template

Hostos Community College

Sample Course Syllabus Template

*Numbers Indicate Mandatory Sections

*Letters Indicate Optional Sections

Syllabus Introduction, Course Overview and Structure

Instructor: [Instructor’s Name]
Email: [Instructor’s Email Address]
Office Hours: [Instructor’s Office Hours]
Office Location: [Instructor’s Office Location]
Additional Contact Information (if any): [e.g., phone number]

Course Description:

This section should provide a brief overview of the course, its purpose, and what students can expect to learn.
The course description should give students an overview of the course. This usually includes:
● the purpose of the course
● main concepts, knowledge areas, topics covered and/or questions explored in the class
● how the course topics relate to each other
● how the course will be structured (e.g., lectures, labs, group work, etc.)
Example: This course explores the fundamental principles of psychology and human behavior. Students will gain an understanding of key psychological concepts and their applications in real-life scenarios. Topics include cognition, emotion, social psychology, and psychological research methods.

Learning Objectives

Outline the main goals and learning outcomes for the course.

Course Goals: Specify the overarching goals and what students should achieve by the end of the course.
Learning Outcomes: List specific, measurable learning outcomes for each unit or module.

Example:

● Analyze and apply major psychological theories to everyday situations.
● Evaluate the ethical considerations in psychological research.
● Demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in psychological contexts.
● Communicate effectively through written and oral presentations.

Prerequisites

List any prerequisites for the course. If there are none, include a statement that says, “There are no prerequisites for this course.”

Required Texts and Materials

List all required textbooks, readings, software, and any other materials students will need for the course.

Required Textbooks and Resources: List all required and recommended textbooks, online resources, and any other materials.
Supplementary Materials: Include links to relevant academic journals, websites, and additional readings.

Modality description/Outline (for Hybrid or Online courses)

Offer students a clear and concise description of how the course will operate, where they can find important course information in Blackboard, Brightspace, etc. For hybrid courses, clearly lay out when the class will be meeting in person, and online, as well as whether online meetings are synchronous, or work will be asynchronous.

Course Schedule

Provide an overview of the topics covered in each class session, including important dates and deadlines. Include readings and assignments for each session.

Week	Topics	Readings	Assignment
1	Introduction to Psychology	Chapter 1: Textbook	Read and summarize Chapter 1
2	Research Methods in Psychology	Chapters 2 and 3: Textbook	Research Proposal
…	…	…	…
15	Final Review and Reflection	Review materials for final exam	Final Exam

Guiding Principles: Navigating Policies, Grading and Upholding Academic Integrity

Grading Rubrics

Provide grading rubrics for assignments and exams if applicable.

Example: Grading rubrics will be provided for each assignment and the research paper, detailing the criteria for evaluation, including content, organization, and critical analysis.

Policies

This section should outline important course policies:

● Late Work: Describe how late assignments will be handled.
● Attendance: Explain your policy on attendance, if applicable.
● Participation: Explain expectations for class participation.
● Use of Electronics: Address the use of laptops, cell phones, or other devices in class.
● Feedback and Communication: Explain how students can expect to receive feedback on their performance.
● Make-Up and Excused Absences: Describe the process for requesting and handling excused absences and make-up assignments or exams.
● Group Projects: If group projects are part of the course, describe how groups will be formed and evaluated.
● Academic Integrity: Describe the course’s policy on academic honesty and plagiarism.
● Technology Usage: Address the use of laptops, cell phones, or other electronic devices in the classroom.

Communication Plan: Explain how and when you will communicate with students regarding announcements, updates, and feedback.

Discussion Forums: Set guidelines for online discussion forums or platforms.

Assessment and Grading

Grading Policy: Explain how students will be assessed, including the weighting of assignments, exams, and participation.

Rubrics: Provide grading rubrics for different types of assignments and assessments.
Late Submission Policy: Clarify the policy for late submissions, including any penalties.
Academic Integrity: Explain the institution’s policies on academic honesty and consequences for violations. Include policy on the use of open AI by the students.

Detail the grading criteria, including the percentage of the final grade allocated to each assignment, exam, or project. Explain the grading scale (e.g., A = 90-100, B = 80-89, etc.).

● Assignments: [Percentage]
● Midterm Exam: [Percentage]
● Final Exam: [Percentage]
● Class Participation: [Percentage]
● Other Assessments (if any): [Percentage]

Tech-Infused Teaching: Exploring Technology Integration and Resource Strategies

Resources and Support

Student Support Services: Provide information on available support services, such as tutoring, counseling, and library resources.

Technology Requirements & Technical Support

Include any necessary information about technology requirements and specific technologies/software/programs that will be used in the course.

Accessibility: Ensure that materials and activities are accessible to all students and provide information on accommodation services.

Accessibility Resource Center

The Accessibility Resource Center and Hostos Community College welcomes students of all backgrounds and abilities. If you have, or think you my have, a disability or learning difference, including medical, psychiatric, neurological, or learning challenges that impact your ability to participate in courses, ARC is here to help.

ARC provides reasonable accommodations and services for students with various disabilities. We encourage you to reach out to ARC to discuss any academic difficulties or barriers you may be experiencing and to learn more about the registration process and procedures for requesting accommodations.

Contact ARC by email at ARC@hostos.cuny.edu or by phone at 718-518-4454..

Syllabus Statement on the Responsible Use of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents both exciting opportunities and significant ethical considerations, and, thus, must adhere to a set of guidelines that align with our commitment to academic integrity and ethical practice.

AI in Our Course (give course number, name, and section)

Permitted Uses of AI

AI tools are permitted in this course as a means to facilitate and enrich your learning process. They can be used for preliminary research, concept exploration, and as an aid in the creation of drafts or study materials. However, the core of your academic submissions must be authentically yours, crafted with your critical thought and reflective of your insights.

Suggested Tools (to be listed by faculty for their own courses)

Grammarly
ChatGPT
Gamma presentations
Google Translate
Bard
Canva
Adobe Express

Guidelines for AI-Generated Content

AI may be used to support and supplement your learning, not to replace your original work. You are encouraged to use AI for tasks such as structuring outlines, generating study questions, isolating facts, or identifying and comparing concepts. However, the final work you submit must be your own, reflecting your understanding and analysis, expressed in your own words.
Any content generated by AI that is submitted for academic credit must be explicitly approved by me. You are required to disclose the use of AI and provide proper attribution, as per the revised CUNY Academic Integrity policy.
Upon request, you must be prepared to provide me with your interactions with AI, so be sure to save your chatlog.
Critically engage with AI outputs, interrogating their accuracy and relevance to our course, and understand their limitations. AI should serve as a starting point for your analysis, not the endpoint.
Be aware of biases in AI algorithms and consider the broader societal implications of these technologies.
Protect your privacy and the confidentiality of others (including your classmates and instructor) while using AI tools. Ensure that no personal data is entered into AI systems and familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of each tool we employ.

Syllabus Tips

Syllabus Guide Tips from Fellow Faculty & Staff:
Accountability and tools to continue their journey in their studies
I hope they get a sense of security – they know what to expect and how they can succeed.
The class meeting times
That we want them to succeed and that we can help them get there
Inspiration
Clarity of expectations and supports available
Importance of reading it
Answers to FAQs
Enjoy the struggle of learning
I hope students get a feeling for the type of community I want the classroom to be
A sense of that the topic is about and how they will learn that information
An understanding of the course and their role as future professionals.
Objectives
Take education seriously
A sense of community and that they are part of the classroom community!
The plan for the class.
A sense of belonging
Time line
Clear path for the course
Self-discovery and growth
What you will learn!!!
A compass for connection & success
The importance of learning, how to organize, and how to apply academic knowledge to what they are preparing to do and become.
Along with what’s been mentioned, my commitments to them.
That the objectives are aligned to the course content.
I assign teams to review specific sections of the syllabus and answer specific questions about it for the whole class
create a thread on the discussion board specifically for syllabus and navigation questions
I do a one-page graphic-based summary that has my picture, office location and hours (which I call student hours instead of office hours to sound more inviting), and the fact that I do group work at a minimum. It’s more fun with pictures and it makes me highlight the quick reference guide too
Students could be given the opportunity to review the syllabus at the end of the semester, as a feedback to instructor. Did the students find the syllabus true, as to what was promised?
I think what Angus said goes to connecting with the students and because he spends so much time going over the Syllabus the students feel they can connect
A strategy I found useful is to provide a tentative schedule for the semester and review the progress of the class with students every week.
We will include all these tips to the Syllabus Guide page in the CTL website
I do it on the 2nd day, too. That way we can really dive into content the first day
For the online classes, I have created a short course orientation that includes the syllabus and other “how to be a college student” skills.
For online, I have used Doodly (an animation tool) to make the discussion of the syllabus a little more fun with some “hand-drawn” animations in order to get my personality across online. It’s a fun tool.
Let someone else read your syllabus. Is it as clear as you assume

Resources

AI Templates

The Office of Academic Affairs organized an ad hoc taskforce during the Fall 2023 semester with the goal of creating boilerplate templates that offer a range of scenarios for the use of AI in the classroom, from allowing its use at all to being completely restricted. Instructors are free to modify and incorporate these guidelines into their course syllabus. In December 2023, these templates were also presented to the College Senate.

TEMPLATE 1

Syllabus Statement on the Responsible Use of AI

AI in Our Course (give course number, name, and section)

Permitted Uses of AI

Suggested Tools (to be listed by faculty for their own courses)

Grammarly
ChatGPT
Gamma presentations
Google Translate
Bard
Canva
Adobe Express

Guidelines for AI-Generated Content

AI may be used to support and supplement your learning, not to replace your original work. You are encouraged to use AI for tasks such as structuring outlines, generating study questions, isolating facts, or identifying and comparing concepts. However, the final work you submit must be your own, reflecting your understanding and analysis, expressed in your own words.
Any content generated by AI that is submitted for academic credit must be explicitly approved by me. You are required to disclose the use of AI and provide proper attribution, as per the revised CUNY Academic Integrity policy.
Upon request, you must be prepared to provide me with your interactions with AI, so be sure to save your chatlog.
Critically engage with AI outputs, interrogating their accuracy and relevance to our course, and understand their limitations. AI should serve as a starting point for your analysis, not the endpoint.
Be aware of biases in AI algorithms and consider the broader societal implications of these technologies.
Protect your privacy and the confidentiality of others (including your classmates and instructor) while using AI tools. Ensure that no personal data is entered into AI systems and familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of each tool we employ.

TEMPLATE 2

Syllabus Statement on the Prohibited Use of AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents exciting opportunities for the workforce and our personal lives; however, its use in this course can counteract genuine learning and your acquisition of important communication and research skills.

For these reasons, the use of generative AI tools such as but not limited to ChatGPT is prohibited on all assignments and assessments in this course. Submitting content that has been generated, created, or assisted by a computer application or tool, including artificial intelligence (AI) tools, is a violation of the Hostos Academic Integrity Policy.

The consequences for using AI tools (give course number, name, and section) are as follows:

Please feel free to consult me if you have any questions about this policy.

TEMPLATE 3

Syllabus Statement on the Restricted Use of AI

You may use AI in (give course number, name, and section) only when and how the instructor specifically allows it.

AI tools are permitted in this course as a means to smooth and enrich your learning and practicing skills. AK can be used for (faculty choice) preliminary research, concept exploration, and as an aid in the creation of drafts or study materials. However, the core of your academic submissions must be authentically yours, crafted with your critical thought and reflective of your insights.

Suggested Tools (to be listed by faculty for their own courses)

Grammarly
ChatGPT
Gamma presentations
Google Translate
Bard
Canva
Adobe Express

Guidelines for AI-Generated Content

You are encouraged to use AI for these tasks: ____________________ (faculty must spell out acceptable uses). AI may be used to support and supplement your learning, not to replace your original work. However, the final work you submit must be your own, reflecting your understanding and analysis, expressed in your own words.
Any content generated by AI that is submitted for academic credit must be explicitly approved by the instructor. You are required to disclose the use of AI and provide proper attribution, as per the revised CUNY Academic Integrity policy.
Upon request, you must be prepared your instructor with your interactions with AI, so you are required to save your chatlog. You must be prepared to answer questions about your research and the ideas that went into your work.
You need to critically engage with AI outputs. You must check their accuracy and relevance to our course and your views and values. We all need to understand their current limitations and recent changes to the constantly changing technology. AI may serve as a starting point for your analysis, but it is never the endpoint.
Be aware of biases in AI algorithms and consider the broader societal implications of these technologies.
Protect your privacy and the confidentiality of others (including your classmates and instructor) while using AI tools. You must ensure that no personal data (faculty must include concrete examples here) for anyone else is entered into AI systems, and you must familiarize yourself with the privacy policies of each tool we employ. You need to decide how much data you will share with AI about yourself, but you cannot share other people’s data ever.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the members of the taskforce: Jacki DiSanto (chair), Matthew Balousek, Carl Grindley, Linda Hirsch, Ana Marjanovic, Krystyna Michael, Felipe Pimentel, and Alisa Roost.