Your syllabus is one of the first ways students are introduced to you and your course. What you include and how you present the information can go a long way to demonstrating your commitment to student success. 

What does your syllabus sound like?

While it’s important for a syllabus to convey course policies, using a welcoming and warm tone where possible will help reduce student anxiety and encourage open communication.  

Here are some specific examples of how to utilize a warm language tone from Stanford University Teaching Commons

You can ask a colleague, an instructional designer, or even AI to review the tone of your syllabus and offer suggestions on where the language might need some tweaking.  

Are your course policies inclusive to all students?

Consider all the types of students you might have in your course and confirm that the policies you have put in place allow all of them to succeed. For example, strict policies around attendance and lateness may disproportionately penalize disabled students, commuters, and students with professional caretaking responsibilities.

Are a diversity of voices and perspectives represented in your course materials?

Having a variety of voices represented in course materials can help students belonging to marginalized groups trust that they belong; similarly, providing a range of perspectives can help students with diverse backgrounds connect to the material and can invite majority students to experiment with different ways of thinking. 

For an example of an approach to reviewing your syllabus watch

Is your syllabus accessible? 

Even the best syllabus will fail to create an equitable and inclusive learning environment if some students are unable to read it, so be sure to check that your syllabus meets digital accessibility standards.   

Validate Student Success  

At the start of the syllabus express your desire for all students to succeed while still acknowledging that individuals learn differently and that it is ok to reach out for help. Communicate to students that they have the ability to succeed and you expect them to succeed.

Want to learn more?

For those interested in exploring these ideas in more detail review:

• Equitizing Your Syllabus: 6 Tips from Faculty by Richard Jerome
• Inclusive Syllabus Design from the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for Teaching & Learning
• Create an Inclusive Syllabus from ACUE