Constructing a syllabus is an important component of the course design process. The following materials reflect a research-supported framework to help create a pathway to success in your course. Each semester, Innovative Learning reviews the syllabus framework, identifying needed updates and resources.

The Word files linked below outline Required and Recommended components for your syllabus. Many of these components are already in your Brightspace shell. They just need updates specific to your course. The files below include language that comes directly from University policies or is suggested by the University Senate or specific units. Other sample language reflects an autonomy-supportive classroom that can influence student perception and performance (Young-Jones, Levesque, Fursa & McCain 2019). Italicized text indicates notes to instructors. Plain text provides examples of language.

Tips for creating your syllabus:

• Don’t revise what you don’t have to. Resources listed under University Policies and Statements and the Student Services widget in the Brightspace shell are updated each semester and automatically populated. You may call these resources to your students’ attention.
• Instructors cannot see the Student Services widget in Brightspace, but you can see the most latest version of it here.
• Feel free to add additional resources that might help your students to your syllabus.

Once your syllabus is complete, please also upload it to Purdue’s Course Insights syllabus archiving system. For questions related to the syllabus framework, email innovativelearningteam@purdue.edu.

Note: The Purdue syllabus guidelines are influenced by Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) and the resources available through Purdue’s Brightspace learning management system (LMS). It also addresses criteria of the valid and reliable syllabus rubric published by the University of Virginia Center for Teaching Excellence (Palmer, Bach & Streifer 2017). Components fall under five categories: 1) Essential course information, instructor contact information, and course description, 2) Specific, student-centered learning outcomes and objectives that are clear, articulated and measurable (Bristol et al 2019), 3) Assessment strategies for all graded assignments that make explicit connections between learning outcomes, activities, and content, 4) Pedagogical approaches and activities that help students achieve the course outcomes and objectives, and 5) Policies and approaches that foster engaging, student-centered learning environments.

References

Adena Young-Jones, Chantal Levesque, Sophie Fursa & Jason McCain (2019): Autonomy-supportive language in the syllabus: supporting students from the first day. Teaching in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2019.1661375.

Levesque-Bristol, C., Flierl, M., Zywicki, C., Parker, L.C., Connor, C., Guberman, D., Nelson, D., Maybee, C., Bonem, E., FitzSimmons, J., & Lott, E. (2019). Creating Student-Centered Learning Environments and Changing Teaching Culture: Purdue University’s IMPACT Program. National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Palmer, M. S., Bach, D. J., & Streifer, A. C. (2014). Measuring the promise: A learning‐focused syllabus rubric. To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development, 33 (1), 14-36.

Our office provides support, challenge and care, and creates an environment where students can explore and become all God intends them to be.

Each of the six departments in Student Development:

• Supports the whole-person development of each student
• Works to enhance students’ experience through programs, services, partnerships and connections
• Promotes an inclusive campus climate
• Helps students successfully navigate campus life

Our office is a central place for students, parents, faculty and staff to get help navigating the complex issues of student life.

We expect that every student will be committed to:

• Becoming all that God intends them to be
• Establishing relationships which respect differences
• Engaging in intellectually challenging activities
• Being accountable for their decisions

Likewise, staff members work to:

• Promote a safe, respectful, healthy and inclusive campus
• Coordinate specific programs and services
• Monitor and respond to emerging situations that impact students

BTU Rating

BTU (or Btu) stands for British thermal units and is essentially a measurement of energy—in this case, heat—generated by your pellet stove. A stove’s BTU rating is a solid indicator for whether or not the stove will completely heat your home when measured against the exact specifications of your home’s size and square footage.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a stove rated at 60,000 BTU will generally be sufficient for 2,000 sq. ft. while 42,000 BTU will heat 1,300 sq. ft. If you are not sure whether the BTU rating of your preferred pellet stove will be sufficient for the space you want to heat, check the manufacturer specifications or call the company directly.

Cost and Difficulty of Installation

Pellet stoves are easier and cheaper to install than a fireplace system, but that doesn’t mean they’re cheap. Some models can be used basically as-is once unpacked, while others might require the installation of an exhaust vent or need to be integrated into an existing fireplace system. Expect to pay between $1,500 and $7,000 to have your pellet stove professionally installed, with an average of $4,000 for a cast iron stove, heating pad and vent.

Type of Pellet Stove

Two basic types of pellet stoves are common. The first, a freestanding stove, is just as it sounds—a fully contained stove including a combustion chamber, hopper and blower in one body that requires a separate venting system for exhaust.

The second type, called an insert, is installed directly into your existing fireplace and relies on your existing chimney for venting exhaust. These stoves save floor space and increase your fireplace’s efficiency and heating capacity.

Hopper Capacity

Burn time is an important consideration regarding the convenience of your pellet stove. Large-capacity hoppers can hold up to 130 pounds of pellet fuel to provide multiple days of heat before needing a refill. However, large hoppers require more space for your stove which could make them inconvenient for smaller spaces. Smaller hoppers are commonly found on insert models and freestanding pellet stoves designed to heat smaller homes.

Heating Area

Closely related to a pellet stove’s BTU rating is the amount of space the model can effectively heat. Generally, the higher the BTU rating, the more space the stove can heat. However, that’s not the whole story. Blower capacity, the heat distribution system and the installation location all affect the overall heating area estimate. Typically heating area sizes range from a few hundred square feet to over 3,000 square feet.

Energy Efficiency

The energy-efficiency rating of a pellet stove is an average of three figures, including its heat transfer, electrical and combustion efficiency ratings stated as a percentage. Typical efficiency ratings for pellet stoves range from 70% to 83%, with some models exceeding or falling below that threshold.

Features

Among several advantages pellet stoves have over other heat sources are added convenience features that simply aren’t possible with a traditional fireplace or wood-burning stove. Features such as the following make maximizing your pellet stove’s potential simple.

Electronic controls allow you to easily switch between heat settings and blower fan speeds to customize the comfort level in your home.

LED display relays information about the pellet stove’s operation to the user. Information can include a thermostat setting, room temperature reading, error codes should something go wrong and basic stove functions.

Glass windows on pellet stoves are a convenience feature that provides real-time feedback on the condition of the flame inside the combustion chamber.

EPA Certification

Pellet stoves that meet stringent emissions regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency display a certification tag on the product itself. Although the vast majority of pellet stoves for sale in the U.S. are EPA certified, ensure the model you choose includes the certification emblem to know that it’s safe for indoor use with proper ventilation.

Warranty

A manufacturer warranty speaks volumes about a company and the product. A comprehensive and long warranty protects you and your investment while also proving the maker’s confidence in their pellet stove. Look for pellet stove warranties of one year or more when making your selection.

This luxury complex was meant for multimillionaires — but is now a ghost town. 

In China’s northeast, in the hills surrounding the city of Shenyang, a project called the State Guest Mansions still sits half-finished, although its developer long ago threw in the towel on the venture. 

Now, more than a decade since 2012 when, just two years after breaking ground, the Chinese real estate behemoth Greenland Group abandoned the 260 villas it once planned to build on the plot, nature, cows and farmers are taking back the land, according to AFP.

“These [homes] would have sold for millions — but the rich haven’t even bought one of them …They weren’t built for ordinary people,” a 45-year-old farmer named Guo told the outlet while searching for sustenance beneath a large fence shielding the unfinished paradise from a highway. 

Elsewhere on the site, feral dogs and cattle roamed between the European-style chateaus and fellow farmers plowed property once intended to be lush lawns.

Urban explorers and graffiti artists, too, have taken to the compound, many of them tagging walls and posting pictures of the dusty, derelict furnishings online. 

“It feels quite creepy,” a drone-flying individual who declined to provide his name told the publication, while lounging beneath a corroded chandelier in one of the buildings.

Guo blames “official corruption” for the State Guest Mansion’s failure, telling AFP, “They cut off the funding and cracked down on uncontrolled developments, so it was left half-finished.”

The situation is not unique to the State Guest Mansions — in fact, it is so common there’s a Chinese phrase for similar would-be luxe residences which have instead become eyesores: “Rotten-tail” homes.

Indeed, according to one officially affiliated Shanghai research group, under 4% of housing projects across China, or the equivalent of 2.5 billion square feet or real estate, have been left half-built as of this past June, AFP reported. 

The Syllabus area of the myCourses course template is organized into the following sections:

1. Course Information and Expectations
2. Instructor Contact Information
3. Course Requirements and Resources
4. Activities and Assignments
5. Assessment and Grading
6. Course Policies
7. Course Schedule

Much of the information needed for the Course Information and Expectations section—particularly the all-important learning outcomes and assessment methods—should be taken directly from the official Course Outline Form for your assigned course(s). Your department chair or program head can provide you with the form(s) and guidance on what is and is not modifiable in the transition to a course syllabus. If you are designing a new course, however, you will need to successfully complete the RIT course proposal process. 

Before completing the Course Policies section, we encourage you to first consult our companion webpage, RIT Policies for Your Syllabus. The External Resources section (below) provides helpful information, advice, and examples for developing the remaining sections of your syllabus.

Regardless of where you are in the syllabus-design process, you can always request one-on-one consultations with a CTL staff member.