Essential Components: The Requirements and Suggestions

General Checklist

If you are looking for a great list of possibilities to including on your syllabus, consider this checklist that SCC Biology faculty Holly Campbell gathered from several resources on syllabus creation. Please review it, remembering that you will need to decide what makes most sense for your students and your courses. 

Requirements

The requirements of a syllabus are rather limited. Of course, you absolutely should have your contact info and your course outcomes; communicating this information is a significant reason for sharing a syllabus. But, there are additional requirements. 

Requirement 1: Disability Accommodations

Students need to know that reasonable accommodations will be made for those with disabilities.  

Sample Language:

If you have a disability, health condition, or think you may have a disability, you may want to connect with Disability Access Services (DAS) to discuss an official accommodation plan and a range of options to remove accessibility barriers. As your instructor, I am committed to working with you and DAS to address the barriers to your participation and learning in this course.

Please contact DAS at any point in the quarter as soon as you recognize the need. Accommodations will only apply moving forward, not to events that have already happened. If you had an IEP or 504 Plan in the past, this information does not transfer to SCC. There is no cost for accommodations if you qualify, and DAS will work with you while you are getting documentation.

For questions/to set up an appointment:

Where: Student Services Building (Building 15), Room 113

or go to the Disability Access Services Website Links to an external site. for a full list of resources.

Additionally in Fall of 2024 DAS updated a longer example syllabus statement Download example syllabus statement if you want to provide more context.

 

Requirement 2: Faith and Conscience Absences

A 2019 WA State bill requires a statement or (at minimum) a link in syllabi stating that reasonable accommodations will be made when students miss class for faith- and conscience-related reasons.

Sample Language: “Community Colleges of Spokane will grant reasonable accommodation so that grades are not impacted for students who are absent for reasons of faith or conscience, or for an organized activity conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or religious organization. Such absences must be requested in writing on the Class Absence Request form within two weeks of course start. There are no additional fees associated with this request. https://scc.spokane.edu/About-Us/Public-Disclosures/Right-to-Know/Faith-Conscience-Absence-Policy Links to an external site.

OR: “For more information about the Faith and Conscience Absence Policy, see this site: https://scc.spokane.edu/About-Us/Public-Disclosures/Right-to-Know/Faith-Conscience-Absence-Policy Links to an external site. Links to an external site.

 

Additional Suggestions

Supporting Basic Needs: During Fall Quarter 2019, SCC participated in the The Hope Center's #RealCollege Survey about students’ basic needs outside of the classroom. Here's the results:

  • 45% of respondents experienced food insecurity in the prior 30 days 
  • 54% of respondents experienced housing insecurity in the previous year 
  • 19% of respondents experienced homelessness in the previous year 
  • 64% of SCC respondents experienced at least one of these forms of basic needs insecurity in the past year 

“Compared to other community colleges across the nation, SCC respondents reported higher rates of food insecurity (45% vs. 42%), housing insecurity (54% vs. 50%) and homelessness (19% vs. 17%).” (Selway)

Our students need help with their basic needs in order to have the cognitive bandwidth to focus on learning. Consider adding this statement to your syllabus to promote the services and de-stigmatize asking for help. 

“We learn as whole people. To learn effectively you must have basic security: a roof over your head, a safe place to sleep, enough food to eat. If you’re having trouble with any of those things, please talk with me. The faculty and staff on campus are here to help.” (Developed by the Holistic Student Supports Subgroup for the Guided Pathways Steering Committee, April 2020)

Make available the Canvas module for SCC Campus Resources (already built into every course- just need to be made visible for going to the Setting link, under the Navigation module), and/or share the resources in class and online. 

Additionally, consider adding a statement that normalizes experiencing mental health challenges like anxiety and depression, reinforces help-seeking behaviors, and connects students to resources:

“Another requirement of learning is basic physical and mental health. If your health is making it difficult for you to concentrate on learning, talk to me about free resources like the Health Clinic, social workers, mental health counselors, and the attached resources.”

If possible consider adding the Download list of resources

complied by the National Council for Behavioral Health. 

Phrasing Your Policies: Consider carefully how to phrase course policies and procedures to make sure that you have some flexibility in how you run the course.

    • Example: If you state: “Assessment of skills WILL take the form of exams.” There is not a lot of flexibility in the form of your assessment. If you change your approach, students may challenge you. 
    • Instead, you might consider using a phrase like: “Student skills MAY be assessed through exams, practical applications, and/or essays.”

Connecting Students to Resources: Also, consider including SCC resource information on your course syllabus. Some of the offices or resources that you may add links/contact information for include:

Remember that you might also use the "SCC Campus Resources" link available in all the Canvas courses. 

All these examples are available for you to use, adapt, or remix from your own documents - some should just inspire you to think about what additional topics might be useful for you and your students. 

I highly recommend our amazing eLearning office's resources on this topic as well, see their sample syllabus language repository.