Purdue Syllabus Guidelines
The Word files linked below outline Required and Recommended components for your student-facing syllabus in Brightspace. These documents are not templates or forms but content guides to constructing your own course syllabus in whatever modality/format works best for your course and all your students. Major changes from previous semesters are highlighted.
Student-facing syllabus resources
Winter 2025 student-facing syllabus guidance
Fall 2025 student-facing Required syllabus guidance
Fall 2025 student-facing Recommended syllabus guidance
Public-facing vs student-facing
NEW: For guidance on your public-facing syllabus in Course Insights, follow the directions in the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning memo dated Aug. 18, 2025, and these Frequently Asked Questions – Syllabi. For additional syllabus assistance:
- See the Tools and Resources tab on the Innovative Learning website or email innovativelearningteam@purdue.edu for assistance with Brightspace or other educational tools.
- For questions related to your syllabus content, email the Center for Instructional Excellence at cie@purdue.edu.
- For assistance with Course Insights, email Student-systems-course-insights-support@LISTS.PURDUE.EDU.
Each semester, Innovative Learning reviews the syllabus framework, identifying needed updates and resources. Language in this guidance comes directly from University policies or as 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).
Tips for creating your syllabus:
- Don’t revise what you don’t have to. Student resources listed on the right-hand side of the Brightspace homepage are updated each semester. Call these resources to your students’ attention and add any specifics for your course.
- Feel free to add additional resources that might help your students be successful in your course. For example, you might include a Start Here section in your course Brightspace.
To see other resources and information go to the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning website.
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.