Main Takeaways
Your syllabus sets the tone for the class and for your relationship with your students
You can use the syllabus as the first chance to express your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion
Course practices and policies should be equitable and responsive to the different needs and lived experiences of students
Being explicit about policies up front can help to avoid inequities among students
Tangible Changes
We recommend starting with this syllabus template from the UCSD Teaching + Learning Commons Engaged Teaching Hub. Below we outline some specific ways that you can address and model anti-racism and inclusion in various places in your syllabus.
Course Overview and Learning Objectives
Highlight how your course will engage with themes of diversity and inclusion in the written summary of your course
Include objectives related to anti-racism and inclusion among the stated objectives or goals for your course to highlight their centrality to the desired learning outcomes
Course Format
Provide asynchronous options for accessing course content or completing assignments whenever possible to make the course as accessible as possible
Include captions for recorded class content and note how and where students will be able to access captioned materials
Expectations for Class Conduct and Community
Explicitly set expectations for inclusive engagement in the course to set the tone for the classroom community (UCSD Principles of Community, Inclusion statements for syllabus)
Revisit and revise these expectations with your students at the beginning of the course
Course Materials and Tools
Consider financial cost to students when selecting materials and tools and try to pick free or low cost options where possible (this includes considering whether required software is compatible with mobile devices or Chromebooks)
Provide information about accessing materials and tools including whether there are on-campus options for students to access or loan materials or devices if they don’t have their own (Remember that the Language Lab has computers and other resources)
Invite students to discuss any barriers to access with you and express a commitment to ensuring that students can fully participate in the course
Assignment Types and Grade Breakdown
Include varied assignment types or multiple options for assignment formats to allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in ways that work well for them
Consider having a no-fault final exam or lowering the impact of the final exam on the overall grade to avoid a situation where a single day’s performance significantly affects the course grade
See the Assessment & Grading page for more information about designing and grading assignments
Deadlines and Late Work
Be explicit about your policy on extensions or late work to avoid inequities among students
Note how and when students need to request extensions to minimize miscommunications or misunderstandings
Consider allowing short extensions (24-72hrs) without justification or documentation since these can present barriers for some students depending on their reason for needing additional time
Time assignment deadlines in a way that allows for a flexible extension policy with minimal reworking to your planned classroom content
Clearly outline how you will work with students who need more significant extensions or make up assignments and note how students should request this
Attendance and Participation
Consider whether attendance is necessary for students to meet the learning objectives in your course or whether there are other ways to encourage them to engage
Offer opportunities for participation and engagement outside of class such as through discussion boards or short lecture quizzes
Implement a very flexible attendance policy if you have one at all since strict attendance policies can create issues for some students, including disabled students, students with caregiving responsibilities, or students with Covid symptoms or suspected exposure (see the Accessibility page for more information about how attendance policies can create inequities and access issues)
Be clear that justified absences can be accommodated outside of the normal attendance policies and avoid requiring documentation for things like health-related absences
Offer make up options for any graded components of the course that require attendance in particular classes
Instructor Info
Consider including your pronouns as a way to normalize this practice (Note: Students should never be pressured to share their pronouns publicly. See the Getting to Know Students page for suggestions for appropriate ways to ask for student pronouns.)
Include a positionality statement as a way to be explicit with students about your social position in relation to the course content (Positionality in the classroom, Positionality statements: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
Accessibility and Accommodations
Express a commitment to accessibility and outline ways that you plan to make the course accessible
Invite students to share their accessibility needs with you whether that is in the form of an AFA letter or a conversation about their needs
See the Accessibility page for more information about making your course accessible
Communicating Feedback
Share how you will communicate feedback with students and how they can engage with you about that feedback
Emphasize that feedback goes both ways and that you would also like students to share with you how the course is going for them
Mention any planned opportunites for student feedback such as mid-quarter evaluations (Collecting and Responding to Early Student Feedback)
Provide multiple avenues for students to communicate with you including office hours, email, and potentially anonymous options, such as an anonymous Canvas Survey or Google Form where students can note issues that arise or class-related interactions that made them feel uncomfortable
Content Warnings
Offer content warnings in advance for any content that you will be covering that contains material that some students may find to be distressing (An Introduction to Content Warnings and Trigger Warnings)
Carefully consider whether potentially distressing content needs to be included or whether there are alternatives that can meet the same learning goals while lessening the potential for negative impact on students
Be sensitive to the fact that not all students will be affected by content in the same way and some students may find certain types of content to be significantly more distressing than you do given their lived experience
Note whether any assigned readings or other materials contain potentially distressing content along with that resource in the syllabus and be specific about where the content is located (a page number, time stamp, etc.) if only a portion of the assigned material contains the content
Indicate whether any class periods will be devoted to discussion of potentially distressing content in the course schedule in the syllabus
Consider explicitly giving students the option to skip portions of the material or class discussion or to avoid the assigned material entirely if they are concerned about the negative impact
Provide reminders of content warnings where relevant during the course
Land Acknowledgement
Consider including a Land Acknowledgement in your syllabus or at the beginning of your class to acknowledge the Indigenous peoples of the region (Native Land Digital)
Land acknowledgement from the UCSD Intertribal Resource Center: “The UC San Diego community holds great respect for the land and the original people of the area where our campus is located. The university is built on the un-ceded territory of the Kumeyaay Nation. Today, the Kumeyaay people continue to maintain their political sovereignty and cultural traditions as vital members of the San Diego community. We acknowledge their tremendous contributions to our region and thank them for their stewardship.”
Linked Resources
Syllabus template from the UCSD Teaching + Learning Commons Engaged Teaching Hub
Inclusion statements for syllabus
Positionality in the classroom
Positionality statements: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Crystal N. Steltenpohl, organized by the editors of Applied Psycholinguistics.
Collecting and Responding to Early Student Feedback