Transparent and Equitable Syllabi

TILT Your Syllabus

In addition to making your syllabus more motivational, consider making it more transparent as well. The transparency framework (also know as TILT) is an assignment design approach that not only tells students what they are supposed to do (the WHAT), but also the purpose for the assignment (the WHY) and the criteria for success (the HOW). This approach is really applicable in syllabi development as well. (For more info on TILT, see the module.)

In particular, students unfamiliar with how college works may struggle with understanding the importance of a syllabus, so it is important that you think through the following questions:

  • Where in my syllabus is there assumed knowledge about college processes? Are there topics/sections that people new to college might struggle to understand? 
  • Are any processes broken down for purpose (the knowledge and skills developed), task (dos and don’ts), and criteria for success (how they know they are doing excellent work)? For example, do you provide purposes and processes for readings/textbook materials, assignments, tests, office hours, etc.?

One example of how you can make your syllabus more transparent is how you list information about your office hours. 

 

Office Hours

In the past, I might have only included something like "Office hours: M-Th, 10:30 to 12:30." But, this doesn't let people know why they should come see me, or how they should prepare, or what they might expect to happen when they visit my office. And, let's be honest - understanding what office hours are is not common knowledge outside of higher ed. Some students have told me that they believed "office hours" meant time when faculty work in their offices and are not available. Some students have only been asked to come see teachers in their offices when they were in trouble. Coming to office hours is not widely known as a college success strategy, so being transparent about how office hours work from the very start of your course is really important. 

Here's some specific strategies that I use to encourage office hours:

1. I include this statement in my syllabus: 

Office Hours

Did you know that students who regularly visit their faculty during office hours perform better academically? All students are encouraged to attend office hours - time set aside to meet with students. Reasons to visit include questions about assignments (before or after they are graded), struggles with studying, excitement about the material, and many others. If you can visit during my regularly scheduled M-Th from 12:30 to 1:30 pm time, you don’t need to contact me in advance - just drop by (please wait if I have just stepped out - I will leave a note if I can’t be there). If that schedule doesn’t work for you, please contact me to set up an appointment - this is not an inconvenience. Come prepared with your questions or concerns, so I can efficiently provide support and feedback. Most visits will last about 5-10 minutes unless you have several questions, and I expect that you will leave with answers, resources, and ideas about next steps.

2. I show students the amazing ASU video "Introducing Faculty Office Hours," the first week of class:Introducing Faculty Office Hours Links to an external site.

 

You can do this with any part of your syllabus that you suspect students might struggle with - from reading assignments to study habits to accessing tutoring. Spend time on the things that matter most to you and your class. 

 

Equity and Engagement

Creating an equitable classroom is a worthy goal, and one approach is to make your course documents as inclusive as possible. Since the syllabus is one of the first documents that the student sees, it is worth investing time to make the document as equitable in tone and policies as possible. Some of the previous discussions of "cruelty-free" and "transparency" syllabi support diverse learners implicitly, but it is possible to go a step beyond and address equity explicitly. 

 

Establishing Inclusivity from the Start

(For more information on this topic, see the TLC page on Equity-Minded Instruction module.) One of the first documents that your students encounter in your classroom is your syllabus. Including equity-minded language and statements in your course syllabus on the first day invites all students to engage with the course and trust you from the start. 

The TLC module on the syllabus includes strategies for designing transparent, motivational, and cruelty-free syllabi.  Your syllabus might also benefit from an inclusion or diversity statement: a short statement in your syllabus that explains why equity matters to you, your classroom, your course, your discipline. ACUE's "Inclusive Teaching Practices Toolkit" provides resources on the topic, including links to sample statements. Here are a few examples from Yale's Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning :

  • “Respect for Diversity: It is my intent that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives be well served by this course, that students’ learning needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. It is my intent to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Please let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. In addition, if any of our class meetings conflict with your religious events, please let me know so that we can make arrangements for you.”

Source: University of Iowa College of Education

  • “The Department of Sociology embraces a notion of intellectual community enriched and enhanced by diversity along a number of dimensions, including race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, class and religion. We are especially committed to increasing the representation of those populations that have been historically excluded from participation in U.S. higher education.”

Source: Brown University, Department of Sociology

 

Additional Syllabi Equity Topics

The Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning identifies the kinds of topics that you might cover. For example, there are equity topics that connect to our disciplines and courses, and addressing those issues in your syllabus can help set the stage for discussion of these issues later in the course. The list includes these suggestions: 

  • "Giving explanations of why certain authors from marginalized backgrounds or identities are present or lacking on the syllabus reading list.
  • Providing personal stories of how the instructor has been affected by the lack of diversity in their field.
  • Giving examples of how the instructor struggled with the course material as a student because of challenges tied to background or identity.
  • Acknowledging the history of exclusion of people with diverse identities, backgrounds, or ideologies from the field.
  • Providing ground rules for discussing hot topics, such as national politics or campus controversies.
  • Explaining how teaching practices are meant to address the learning needs of diverse students."

Syllabi Equity Review

If you are interested in reviewing your syllabus from an equity lens, I will (once again) encourage you to see the “Syllabus Review Guide” from Cuesta College https://www.cuesta.edu/about/documents/vpaa-docs/Syllabus_Review_Protocol_CUE.pdf (Links to an external site.). The protocol was developed by University of Southern California's Center for Urban Education, Rossier School of Education (2017), and it provides a framework for evaluating your own syllabus and samples of supportive statements.

The TLC Director is available for a confidential, one-on-one syllabus review.