Follow the Syllabus

(Article courtesy of AEJMC News, November 2010 issue)

“My syllabus says ‘no late papers,’ but one student turned in a paper one minute late and another turned one in five minutes late.  What should I do?” “I have a student with health issues who says her other professors help her work around the school’s attendance policy.  Should I give the student a pass?” In both cases the answers are simple—follow the syllabus.  And both cases illustrate how a good syllabus can be used as a teaching tool and to set the tone for the course.

Sometimes we as instructors think of the syllabus as nothing more than an addendum and yet, it is perhaps the most important document we’ll distribute to our students all semester. As a contract between the instructor and the student, the more specific a syllabus is the better. It lets students know what’s expected of them and what the consequences are for failing to meet those expectations. In classes with multiple sections, a common syllabus goes a long way towards ensuring equity in terms of workload and minimizes the likelihood students will “shop” for the section that has fewer assignments than the others.  A syllabus needs to be set at the very start of the semester, but the course schedule—what’s going to be covered when—needs to be flexible so the instructor can adjust what he or she is teaching to take advantage of opportunities that may pop up over the course of the semester and to the pace at which different groups of students learn.

Each semester my colleagues and I review dozens of syllabi and over time have developed, with some help from our university’s center for teaching and learning excellence, a checklist of what a solid syllabus should include. Many of the items on the list are responses to thorny questions/issues/problems that arose because a syllabus was unclear or silent on a key point.  At the top of a good syllabus is contact information for the instructor(s) and graduate assistants, office hours and whether appointments are preferred, required or unnecessary. The next section should address course prerequisites and what is expected of students at the start of the class in terms of prior knowledge of the subject.

Course goals give the instructor the opportunity to tell students what they will get from the course and what they can expect to learn.  Skills classes might include a list of the kinds of things students will know and will know how to do at the semester’s end. Text and materials, recommended readings and resources cover not only books, but also items like portable hard drives, headphones and three-ring binders. Policies on academic integrity, diversity, classroom etiquette, attendance, deadlines and the penalties for failing to meet them and whether make up work is permitted should all be spelled out in as much detail as possible. Doing so makes it easy for the instructor to address questions like those mentioned at the top of this column.

Aside from these policies, perhaps the most critical part of the syllabus is the assignments section. Here is where clarity really counts. Specifying in the syllabus the number, type and most important, weight of assignments and the scale for final course grades not only saves time later, but also drastically reduces the number of student complaints and questions about how much an assignment is worth.  The best syllabi also include the grading criteria that will be used for each assignment.

Indicating whether extra credit is available and if so how much extra credit a student can earn and what s/he needs to do to earn it will cut down on end of the semester pleas from students who are not doing as well as they would like. While writing a good syllabus that includes all of the elements outlined above takes time and careful thought, the investment is more than worth the savings in instructor headaches and student angst.

For more information visit:
http://clte.asu.edu/resources/delicious/syllabus%20checklist.pdf
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/syllabus/basic/index.html
http://clte.asu.edu/resources/delicious/syllabus%20checklist.pdf

By Marianne Barrett
Arizona State University
AEJMC Teaching Committee

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About the Standing Committee on Research

The Elected Standing Committee on Research provides annual constructive reviews of activities of AEJMC divisions and interest groups in the area of research.

Duties and Responsibilities of AEJMC Research Committee Members:

• Attend committee meetings and during the year participate in planning. Work as liaison with assigned divisions and interest groups
• Participate in the selection of the Nafziger-White-Salwen dissertation competition (for the last three years this has meant reading all of the abstracts and sample chapters from each contestant — ranges from 8 to 12 — and reading in full the top three nominee dissertations).
• Participate in the solicitation of nominees and decide upon awards for the Deutschmann and Blum awards (not given every year)
• One member takes part in the division/IG assessment process each year. This requires reading annual reports for 5 to 6 groups and participating in a one-on-one interview process at the conference.
• Participate in the planning of the plenary session (once every three years)
• Assist the Association as may be needed and show incentive in developing new ideas and initiatives.

<Elected Standing Committees

About the Standing Committee on Teaching

According to the AEJMC Bylaws, the Teaching Committee shall be concerned with:

• Standards of academic and professional preparation for teachers in the field.
• Standards of appointment, tenure, promotion, compensation, research and retirement for teachers.
• Minimum standards of equipment and facilities for instruction and research.
• Standards of faculty-administration relationships.

The committee shall represent the association in matters of accreditation. AEJMC representatives to ACEJMC are elected from, and by, the current members of the Teaching Standards Committee.

View the Standing Committee on Teaching Operations Manual 

This document provides an overview of what we do annually, including vice chair and chair responsibilities.

Duties and Responsibilities of Teaching Committee Members:

• Attend AEJMC annual and mid-winter meetings.
• Serve as liaison and maintain contact with assigned division and interest group teaching standards chairs.
• Prepare a list of potential programming activities for division and interest group teaching chairs.
• Provide divisions with goals that may be applicable to teaching standards.
• One member takes part in the division/IG assessment process each year. This requires reading annual reports for 5 to 6 groups and participating in a one-on-one interview process at the convention.
• Plan, organize and carry out an AEJMC plenary once every three years.
• Plan, organize and carry out workshops and other teaching activities.
• Review papers submitted for Teaching Committee paper competitions (when sponsored).

Teaching Committee members are required to attend one meeting during the AEJMC fiscal year, which runs from October 1 through September 30. The meeting that new members will attend occurs during the annual AEJMC Conference in August and is typically held the morning of the second day of the convention. This meeting usually lasts 3 hours.

Although the first official meeting of service on the Teaching Committee following the March AEJMC elections occurs with the December meeting, new members are encouraged to attend the upcoming August meeting during the conference. This provides valuable insight into the workings and activities of the Committee prior to full-time involvement and assignment of responsibilities.

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About the Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility:

AEJMC PF&R: Who We Are, What We Do and Where We’re Going
The AEJMC Elected Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility (PF&R) focuses on five core areas: Free Expression; Ethics; Media Criticism and Accountability; Diversity and Inclusion; and Public Service.

AEJMC PF&R selects annual winners of the AEJMC Equity and Diversity Award and the AEJMC First Amendment Award; provides nominations for the Dorothy Bowles Award for Outstanding Public Service; advises the AEJMC President in drafting presidential statements on important issues that are central to AEJMC’s mission; and sponsors hearings of resolutions during the annual conference.

In addition to coordinating professional freedom and responsibility activities across all AEJMC divisions and interest groups, the AEJMC PF&R Committee provides annual constructive reviews of activities of AEJMC divisions and groups in the five core areas of professional freedom and responsibility. AEJMC PF&R encourages all AEJMC divisions and interest groups to cover all five core categories over a period of a few years. No division or interest group is expected to emphasize all five PF&R categories every year, but each AEJMC unit is encouraged to make general improvements and maintain a high level of PF&R activity.

Duties and Responsibilities of Professional Freedom & Responsibility Committee Members:

• (Fall) Serve as liaison to two or three divisions, working most closely with the division PF&R chairs. Make sure each divisional PR&R chair has a copy of “Tips for PF&R Division Chairs.” This liaison work should begin early in the academic year, preferably at the August conference but certainly in early fall. Make it clear that the PF&R standing committee is there to help by suggesting activities and encouraging innovative projects.
• (Spring) Continue contacts with PF&R chairs of assigned divisions.
• (Summer before conference) One member takes part in the division/IG assessment process each year. This requires reading annual reports for 5 to 6 groups and participating in a one-on-one interview process at the conference.
• (Second day of conference) Committee sponsors a Resolutions Hearing. The committee also meets later that day. In recent years, a vice chair and resolutions chair for the coming year are elected. The vice chair will advance to chair a year later. The resolutions chair will serve for the next year’s annual meeting. The PF&R Committee chair attends the opening AEJMC Board of Directors’ meeting and reports to the membership at the business meeting. The incoming committee chair attends the second AEJMC Board of Directors’ meeting. The newly elected committee vice chair might attend to observe and get an idea of what he/she will do the following year.

PF&R Committee Standards for Evaluation of AEJMC Activities:

(March 1986, revised August 2010, August 2020)
Definition
The Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility – like the two other standing committees on Teaching and on Research – has been charged with providing annual constructive reviews of AEJMC activities. The focus of this committee can be understood by a close examination of its title.

This is the committee charged with focusing on the standards and work environments of the professions that are the focus of our teaching and research. The term “professional” in the committee’s name refers to professional communicators who work in journalism; public relations; advertising; digital media; communication research; the non-profit, government and health care sectors; and entertainment media. Therefore, “professional freedom” refers to the freedom of communicators to express themselves. “Professional responsibility” refers to the standards that should exist in media and communication professions. < Download the complete document >

PF&R Committee Expectations for Divisions/Interest Groups:

1. The committee expects PF&R activities both during the annual convention and during the year between conventions.
2. Each division/interest group need not emphasize all five categories every year. However, divisions/interest groups should devote effort to most of the five categories over a period of a few years. The committee believes that all AEJMC divisions, for example, have interests in all five areas, although some of the categories fit the interests of a single division more than others.
3. The PF&R committee encourages multi-division activities. The committee needs to know the contributions of each division. The comprehensive and accurate reporting of PF&R activities is in itself a service to AEJMC. Accuracy of the reports is extremely important. Check evidence presented in the report with appropriate persons in the division. The PF&R committee reserves the right to ask for further information.
4. Only reported activities can be evaluated. The committee cannot give credit to those activities it does not know about, and the only way to insure that knowledge is through the written annual reports. We need to know the division contribution, the number of members involved, and what concrete action was taken.
5. PF&R activities of divisions must reflect work of the divisions rather than only that of individual division members. Divisions are encouraged to exploit appropriate personal activities so that they do become part of the division’s activities and involve more people. Divisions must make clear the division’s participation.
6. The quality of activities is as important as the quantity. A few activities of high quality are preferred to a long list of activities requiring little effort and producing few results. Quality, of course, is difficult to assess and describe. Any evidence of quality is helpful. Divisions and committees should explain the purpose and objectives of their projects. Evidence of success or completion of planned activities makes reported efforts more convincing.
7. The PF&R committee attempts to omit from consideration those activities which are more appropriately evaluated by one of the other standing committees. It helps to have annual reports clearly designate the appropriate committee. However, if there are activities that clearly apply to PF&R as well as at least one other committee, that should be pointed out in the PF&R section of the report.

<Elected Standing Committees