The Compliant College Classroom

As the new academic year approaches, I have put the final touches on my syllabi for the fall courses. I also looked back at a syllabus of the first course I had taught as a professor in 2001—a freshman general education class in political theory. The syllabus consisted of two, typed single-spaced pages. The first page described the course, listed the readings, explained the assignments, and posted the mandatory student disability notice. The second page was a week-by-week account of what we aspired to study during the semester.

I compared this syllabus with the one I am teaching now—also a freshman general education course but in core texts. This 2022 syllabus was six, typed single-spaced pages, three times longer than the one from 21 years ago. Unfortunately, it was not triple the content material. (Actually, it was 20 percent less). Besides what was in the 2001 syllabus, it contained a detailed list of learning objectives and a set of policies required by the university concerning health and attendance, psychological and emotional counseling, technology requirements, Title IX issues, and disaster and emergency readiness procedures. Of the six pages, only two were written by me. It made me wonder what will become compulsory in my syllabus over the next 20 years.

Read Full Article »