Sweeping the Dust Off of the Syllabus with Broadly Inclusive Teaching Strategies

W hy bother putting effort into a syllabus that the students do not read?The syllabus can be a dense, lengthy document weighed down by university and departmental required statements and expectations.But students do read the syllabus, even if only for certain sections and on an occasional, as-needed basis.Updating the syllabus beyond changing the due dates each semester likely is a low priority for instructors among many competing demands on their time, unless they are redesigning the course.However, the syllabus also can be a useful way to establish the path for the course in terms of both the logistics and the implementation.