Sample Syllabus Statements

The sample syllabus statements below are intended to help instructors think through their options for communicating course policies and norms, as well as for introducing other values or commitments that are important to them as an instructor.

How do I decide which statement to use or adapt?

When reviewing the various samples, you might decide which statement to use or adapt—and how you might want to personalize it—by considering whether or not the statement aligns with major aspects of your course:

Does the statement align with your understanding of your own role as a teacher?

Does the statement accurately reflect how you think of yourself as a teacher and the role you play in your students’ learning? Does the tone of the statement accurately communicate the kind of relationship you hope to have with students?

Does the statement align with your teaching philosophy?

Does the statement accurately reflect your understanding of how learning works and the kinds of opportunities students will have to learn in the course?

Does the statement align with your goals for students’ experience of the course?

Does the statement accurately reflect how you would like students to engage with the course, with one another, and with you?

Does the statement align with you take on inclusive teaching?

Does the statement accurately represent your approach to creating an environment in which all your students can learn, especially those who have historically been marginalized in the academy?

Does the statement align with your discipline?

Is there anything discipline-specific that you think is important to include in order to model disciplinary thinking for your students or embed the statement more deeply in the context of your course? For example, if you are including an inclusion statement, is there anything about the inequities produced over the history of your discipline that you want to specifically address?

Does the statement align with the rest of your syllabus?

If your syllabus is written in a distinctive voice, does the statement match the tone you’ve already established?

Teaching Strategies