the "things you wish you could say" thread

[San Joaquin]

Dear Leaders,
There is not enough lipstick on Earth to rehabilitate this pig. Please read up on the Sunk Cost Fallacy.

[downer]

Dear quasi-Dean (and by the way, what exactly is your job?)

Thanks for sending the school syllabus template. It is indeed different from the one I had been using, since is is 14 pages long, before I've added any info about my own course. I see there are more policies packed in there than before.

Of course, it is not possible to believe the school actually has thought about what counts as a good syllabus. It's like getting a new phone that is so packed with bloatware that it is impossible to use. The first thing I do when I get a phone like that is uninstall as many apps as possible. I'd do the same with the syllabus.

The cherry on top was you mentioning that you didn't know if there would be a further revision of the template before the fall semester starts. Obviously the rational course of action for me is now to wait until the fall semester starts. I will start working on the syllabus then.

Yours truly.

[mamselle]

Didn't someone on the Jedi tricks thread, with a similar problem, say that they posted the suggested/required pages of actual text on school policies in the same CMS folder with their own,"real" syllabus to satisfy the requirement to use it?

Maybe it was the old forum, but in any case, that would let you get on with your own syllabus as a core text, and even swap out the old for the new if a replacement showed up just before term began.

Easier to delete extraneous stuff (like suggested section headings) and post the rest, than to try to do a merge-meld with your own pertinent course directions.

And it still fulfills the intention of the template, to make policy info accessible to students.

M.

[downer]

That might be a great idea for some places, but this school actually checks what syllabus you post on the LMS.

I could have an "official" syllabus and then some kind of shortened version, but that just invites confusion.

The students will see the same filler on every syllabus so they will just ignore it. Indeed, there are parts that are not even adhered to by the administration.

I will probably just cut and paste the relevant parts from my previous syllabus into the template. That may lead to some inconsistencies, but there it is.

[chemigal]

Servant Leadership.  You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[dr_codex]

That might be a great idea for some places, but this school actually checks what syllabus you post on the LMS.

I could have an "official" syllabus and then some kind of shortened version, but that just invites confusion.

The students will see the same filler on every syllabus so they will just ignore it. Indeed, there are parts that are not even adhered to by the administration.

I will probably just cut and paste the relevant parts from my previous syllabus into the template. That may lead to some inconsistencies, but there it is.

I do the "full syllabus" / "short syllabus" thing. I keep a few of the crucial policies (ADA and Academic Honesty), and the rest goes on the LMS. Single sheet printed out on day one, and the rest online -- permanently, where it cannot be lost.

A lot of what's on the Full Syllabus is irrelevant for my students. It's information that's useful for assessment, for transfer, for external reviews, for accreditors, etc. But my students don't care about it. They need different information, and I give them that.

[downer]

Soon syllabi will be like resumes. We will give out a different version depending on who is asking.

[dr_codex]

Soon syllabi will be like resumes. We will give out a different version depending on who is asking.

My place already has them. There's an "Institutional Syllabus", as distinct from the syllabus in any particular section or iteration of a course.

[AmLitHist]

That might be a great idea for some places, but this school actually checks what syllabus you post on the LMS.

I could have an "official" syllabus and then some kind of shortened version, but that just invites confusion.

The students will see the same filler on every syllabus so they will just ignore it. Indeed, there are parts that are not even adhered to by the administration.

I will probably just cut and paste the relevant parts from my previous syllabus into the template. That may lead to some inconsistencies, but there it is.

Same at our place. Thou shalt use the bloated syllabus template, required for every class on every campus, then add thine own policies on attendance, late work, etc.  OR ELSE.  Dept. chair and secretary have to check every section's syllabus; dean spot checks about 1/3 of them; provost/secretary spot check about 1/5.  A couple of colleagues have gotten called in, protested, defended their own versions, and then been forced to make the changes anyway.

We're pretty much just high-priced graders and babysitters at this point.  Were I younger, I'd be on the warpath and fighting it.  But now, just a few years from retirement, I figure if they want to pay me $80K + benefits to fill in a few blanks and check boxes on rubrics for prescribed assignments, who am I to argue?  I'm not too proud to take their money and have more free time to myself. Rotten attitude, I know.

[Istiblennius]

I do the "full syllabus" / "short syllabus" thing. I keep a few of the crucial policies (ADA and Academic Honesty), and the rest goes on the LMS. Single sheet printed out on day one, and the rest online -- permanently, where it cannot be lost.

I do something similar - students and anyone who needs can access the full syllabus, but I also have what I call a "quick start" guide  posted prominently on our LMS course landing page. It covers the things students actually need to know to be successful and answers about 99% of the policy questions I regularly get during the semester. The irony of having to develop one document to satisfy admin and another to support student success is not lost on me.

[apl68]

Soon syllabi will be like resumes. We will give out a different version depending on who is asking.

My place already has them. There's an "Institutional Syllabus", as distinct from the syllabus in any particular section or iteration of a course.

I guess that makes sense, if the institution has that much boilerplate they want given to students every time.

14 pages of institutional boilerplate before the instructor is allowed to add actual syllabus material?  That seems awfully excessive.

[downer]

Soon syllabi will be like resumes. We will give out a different version depending on who is asking.

My place already has them. There's an "Institutional Syllabus", as distinct from the syllabus in any particular section or iteration of a course.

I guess that makes sense, if the institution has that much boilerplate they want given to students every time.

14 pages of institutional boilerplate before the instructor is allowed to add actual syllabus material?  That seems awfully excessive.

My interpretation is that it is how they make those responsible feel useful -- I guess some people got something out of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as it went down.

[Langue_doc]

We're pretty much just high-priced graders and babysitters at this point.  Were I younger, I'd be on the warpath and fighting it.  But now, just a few years from retirement, I figure if they want to pay me $80K + benefits to fill in a few blanks and check boxes on rubrics for prescribed assignments, who am I to argue?  I'm not too proud to take their money and have more free time to myself. Rotten attitude, I know.

My sentiments exactly.

[the_geneticist]

Dear quasi-Dean (and by the way, what exactly is your job?)

Thanks for sending the school syllabus template. It is indeed different from the one I had been using, since is is 14 pages long, before I've added any info about my own course. I see there are more policies packed in there than before.

Of course, it is not possible to believe the school actually has thought about what counts as a good syllabus. It's like getting a new phone that is so packed with bloatware that it is impossible to use. The first thing I do when I get a phone like that is uninstall as many apps as possible. I'd do the same with the syllabus.

The cherry on top was you mentioning that you didn't know if there would be a further revision of the template before the fall semester starts. Obviously the rational course of action for me is now to wait until the fall semester starts. I will start working on the syllabus then.

Yours truly.

Every few months we get a PANICKED email about how our course syllabi have to include things like: prerequisites, required textbook, learning goals, and how students will be graded.  Plus our contact information.  Oh and the schedule.  And maybe things like the late work policy. 
Uh, yeah.  That's what a syllabus is. 

[Langue_doc]

Eventbrite, why on earth would you include "Criminal Expungement Clinic" in your list of events chosen just for me based on my interests? Are you nuts?