What is a course outline?
A course outline (sometimes called a syllabus) is essentially your guide to the course. It provides you, the student, with information on what you will learn in the course (learning outcomes), the materials to help with meeting these learning outcomes (textbooks and handouts), and the methods by which your knowledge will be assessed (assignments, tests and midterms). These documents provide a lot of key information that you’ll want to review throughout the course.
Where can you find a course outline?
Course outlines are typically made available in two ways:
- It will be posted on the course D2L site.
- It will be posted on the department website in the Courses section. This section is arranged by semester.
What kinds of information will be course outline include?
- Learning Objectives or Outcomes: These short phrases refer to the knowledge and skills that students will have gained by the end of the course. These objectives can be a great framework to start thinking about the course. For example, consider reviewing these outcomes before every exam and while completing an assignment to see which of the objectives you have achieved and which of them require more attention.
- Instructor Office Hours and Office Location: Rather than handing your Letter of Accommodation to the instructor at the end of the lecture, we recommend that you arrange to go to the instructor’s office hours instead. This one-on-one meeting is a great opportunity to meet your instructor, review your accommodations, and ask any questions you may have about the course.
- NOTE: For Science and lab-based courses, sometimes the Instructor Confirmation Sheet will need to be signed by the course coordinator or lab coordinator rather than the instructor of the course. If that is the case, this will be listed on the course outline too.
- Required Texts: This will tell you the text(s) that your instructor will be using during the semester. It is especially important to identify these required text(s) right away if you will require any alternate format versions.
- Assignments and Due Dates: Pull out your agenda or enter these due dates in your phone at the start of the semester so that they don’t sneak up on you. If you do this for all your courses at the beginning of the semester, you’ll identify your crunch times well in advance so that you can prepare accordingly.
- Quiz, Test, and Exam Dates: Test and mid-term dates will be listed on the course outline. Book any tests you wish to write in the Exam Centre through the ClockWork Student Portal at the start of the semester so you never miss the 7 day deadline.
- NOTE: Science, Engineering and Business courses may have a common exam for all sections of the course (meaning every student in the course writes at the same time, regardless of which lecture section they are enrolled in). These tests are often written in the evening or on a Saturday.
- Registrar-Schedule Final Exams: The course outline will let you know if the course includes a final exam, to be written during the final exam period. For Fall 2018, the final exam period is scheduled for December 10 to December 20 – don’t confirm any travel plans for this time until your final exam schedule is posted!