Syllabus

The syllabus is one of the most important communicative texts shared between you and your students. A syllabus can set the tone for a course, lay out expectations and class rules, and can even motivate learning. The careful design of a syllabus is critical to student engagement and success. You are individually responsible for developing course content and selecting pedagogical approaches for your courses; however, to ensure consistency across the university, UCF policy dictates some required elements of your course syllabi. If you have questions about creating or revising your syllabus, feel free to contact the Faculty Center at 407-823-3544 or fctl@ucf.edu.

Please see further information below, and view our brief video on Preparing Your Course & Required Syllabus Information:

Required Syllabus Components

Regardless of course modality—e.g., traditional, mixed-mode, online—syllabi are required by the university to include:

1. Information from the official Schedule of Classes

Each syllabus must include information that links the course to the official UCF Schedule of Classes in order to differentiate university course offerings and ensure that students attend the classes in which they enrolled. This includes:

Course number, section, and name
Semester and year
Prerequisites, co-requisites, and any other enrollment requirements
Meeting dates, times, and place(s) and/or description of course modality

2. Instructor and/or GTA contact information

Name(s) of instructor(s) and Graduate Teaching Assistant(s) (GTA)
UCF email addresses or Webcourses@UCF messaging
Office, department location, and phone number
Times and locations for in-person and/or virtual office hours

3. Explicit, public description of the course

Information published in Undergraduate Catalog or Graduate Catalog
Overview of the scope and purpose of the course

4. Student learning outcomes

All course syllabi must articulate student learning outcomes that:

are consistent with the scope and purpose of the course
tie as clearly as possible to course assignments and activities
reference or link with specific program, department, college, and/or accreditation standards

5. Sequence of course activity

Due dates for major assignments and exams/assessments
Method(s) for submitting assignments
Date and format of final exam

6. Assessment and grading procedures

Explanation of the grading scheme, weight of course assignments, projects, exams/quizzes, participation, and other components proportional to the overall grade for the class
Make-up exam and assignment policies and procedures, including those regarding participation in university activities and religious holidays (See UCF Policy 4-401.2 and Regulation 5.020.)
To ensure students receive prompt feedback and knowledge of their progress, faculty members must record all assessment grades in Webcourses@UCF, and follow student data classification and security standards as addressed in UCF Policies 4-007.1 and 4-008.2 when distributing any grade-related information

7. Course materials and resources

Required and optional texts and other resources
Specific information about resources such as classroom response systems, online tools, and other items that are required or recommended
Clear explanations of where and how students may access materials and resources provided by the university to all students

8. Core syllabus statements

The following four core statements must be included in every syllabus:

Academic integrity statement including definition(s) of and consequences for academic misconduct
Statement directing students needing accommodations to work with faculty and with Student Accessibility Services to ensure equal access to educational activities
Statement regarding emergency procedures and campus safety, encouraging students to be aware of their surroundings and familiar with actions to take in various types of emergencies
Statement regarding accommodations for active duty military students

The syllabus statements page contains the language for the core statements, as well as optional sample language you can use or adapt for your own.

Syllabus Template

Our sample syllabus template can give you a starting point and ideas to complete your syllabus. Use of this template is optional and not required; faculty may create their own formatting. However, the required components listed above must be included.

Course Preview

The course preview feature is an optional tool that enables you to provide a tentative syllabus to potential students who are in the process of selecting and registering for classes. Accessing an advanced and abridged copy of the syllabus may help students to select a mix of courses that will enhance their academic success.