Finally, I’m able to plug every assignment and exam into my calendar. I get my first look at all the projects that make up the course. And I learn my professor’s policies. It’s my first chance to see what the course is really about. And all this valuable information is enclosed in a single document.

For this reason I had no problem accepting “Excellence starts with the syllabus” when we crafted the Syllabus Institute tagline. I understand that a good syllabus is almost worthless without solid course design. And a strong syllabus is no substitute for a professor’s passion and style. All too often a truly thrilling syllabus precedes a rather lack-luster course. But when done right, a syllabus can compress course design and passion into a single piece that fuels my excitement and perseverance for the course that follows.

When the Syllabus Institute was launched on June 27th, the tagline wasn’t exactly accepted without question. However, the controversial tagline sparked debate that I believe will help us learn much more about the syllabus in the end. I’ve learned a ton about syllabi over the past few months as I helped prepare the Syllabus Institute for launch, but I can’t hope to ever gain the same perspective as a professor or administrator who is personally involved in the syllabus management process. That’s why I’d love to hear your side of the story.

Do you believe excellence starts with the syllabus?

Kelsey Day is currently interning for Intellidemia as a Multimedia & Communications Specialist. She is an incoming senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, majoring in Communication with a Concentration in Graphic Design.

In Kind of Screwed, Andy Baio describes his recent battles with copyright infringement. Biao created Kind of Bloop, an 8-bit tribute album to Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue, and for the album cover, Biao used a pixel art version of the Miles Davis cover. Jay Maisel, the photographer who shot the original album cover, sued for damages, and Biao was eventually forced to pay $32,500 and lost the use of his artwork. The line between copyright infringement and fair use continues to be unclear, and the war between artists continues on.

It seems the academic world is setting itself up to quickly become a similar battlefield.

Statement: Syllabi should be shared.

Pros:

• Helps instructors improve their syllabi: Shared syllabi are a great resource for teachers structuring courses for the first time, professors revising outdated syllabi, or academic administrators attempting to provide syllabus templates to their staff. Instructors who have access to these resources are going to create better syllabi, and better syllabi help ensure students get the most out of their courses. Shouldn’t improving students’ education be the ultimate goal?
• Helps students make informed decisions: Syllabi can help prospective students pick universities that offer unique and interesting courses. Syllabi also help current students choose courses. Earlier this year, two students at Washington University released Syllabi Central where faculty and students can contribute to a syllabi database. The students had originally launched Syllabi Central as a private site but the university asked it be taken down since they were using intellectual property of the university. The resource currently resides on a Washington University site and requires institution credentials to log in. Perhaps this solution is a good medium.
• Ensures consistency: Shared syllabi allow administrators to ensure standards are consistent across sections and between courses.

Cons:

• Gives instructors less control over their intellectual property: Professors spend a ton of time creating their syllabi each term, and usually feel more than a little proprietorial. “Why should other instructors get to freeload off my hard work especially if my course is unique?” But does a syllabus really constitute intellectual property? After all, syllabi are rarely created from scratch—often incorporating outside resources instead—and syllabi only contain a portion of a course’s design and a professor’s teaching style.
• Takes away an academic commodity: Universities and professors who hold on to the syllabi for unique courses have an academic commodity—their syllabi can be sold in the marketplace.
• Can lead to violations of academic freedom: In one instance, a faculty member was teaching material that didn’t precisely align with the ideals of the religious group sponsoring their college. The faculty member feared they could be dismissed when they were asked by administration to post all syllabi online.

More on the syllabus as intellectual property from the Syllabus Institute. The argument on intellectual property is far from over. How do you feel about sharing syllabi to improve the academic community? Let us know in the comments section below.