26 Information about Courses

The structure of course syllabi may vary slightly across differing post-secondary institutions, but it is important to understand that most syllabi will highlight the same important components, such as course description and contact information, learning outcomes, required and supplementary materials, and a prospective schedule of the course over the term.

Course Syllabi

What is a syllabus?

• Syllabi are important text summaries that outline and highlight specific information, usually directly pertaining to the academic course objectives and expectancies for the specific course.
  • Oftentimes it will highlight course assignments, due dates, exam dates, curriculum outlines, required course readings, and genetic post-secondary resources and information on academic integrity, assignment submission or exam policies, and any specific classroom rules and regulations from the professor.

Where can you find course syllabi?

• The course syllabus will be provided to you by your professor or course instructor. They may provide a hard copy on your first day of class, but it is more likely that the syllabus will be provided in an electronic format on your course site. The syllabus may be under its own subsection, or it may be found in the course resources section. Read over your syllabus as soon as it is available, this will help give you an idea of what the course expectations are.

Using this Chemistry syllabus from Western University as an example, explore the different components of a syllabus to familiarize yourself with the structure and content.

Course Information

Enrolling in a Course

• Step 1. Determine when you are able to enrol in courses. Your school will provide you with enrolment times, which are a specific date and time that you will be able to enrol in your courses. These are often called enrolment appointments.
• Step 2. Prior to your course enrolment appointment time, determine what courses you need to take. Depending on your program, you may have very specific course requirements for your first year of school. Determine what courses are mandatory for you to take.
• Step 3. Pick elective courses. Depending on your program you may have some room for electives. Determine which elective courses interest you.
• Step 4. Use a timetable generator, such as this schedule maker to organize your courses and make sure that the course times fit together.
  • TIP: Lectures are often separated by a 10-minute break period to get to your next class. White it may seem short, this is often enough time to walk through campus and reach your next class.
• Step 5. Place the courses and specific sections you want to enrol in, into your course “shopping cart”. This is a space where you can organize your courses, and when it comes to enrolment time, you can easily go into your “shopping cart” and select the courses you will be enrolling in.
• Step 6. Enrol in your courses! When your appointment time arrives, try to enrol in courses as quickly as possible. This will give you the best chance to get the courses you want and need. If a course fills-up before you can enrol, add yourself to the waitlist. When someone drops the course, you will move up the waitlist until you are able to enrol.

Changing a Course

• In the first couple weeks of school you are generally able to swap courses. Check the deadline for swapping courses that your school has. Prior to the start of courses, you should also be able to swap courses as long as there is room open in the course you are trying to get into.

Dropping a Course

• When deciding to drop a course, it is beneficial to talk to an academic advisor first. They can help you figure out if the course you are dropping is mandatory, and check if it is a course you will need to take at a later time. Academic advisors can also often help with the process of actually dropping the course, either by guiding you through the steps or going through the course drop process themselves.
• In general, in order to drop a course you need to determine the add/drop date. This is the last day that you can drop a course without academic penalty.
• Many schools provide steps for how to drop courses online.

How to Check Degree Requirements

• Each program has unique degree requirements. These are the courses and credit requirements needed in order to graduate. Many schools offer an Academic Calendar that outlines the specific course requirements for your degree. A new Calendar is released each year, so follow the guidance of the Academic Calendar year that you first began school. For example, if you started in Fall 2021, you would look at the 2021-2022 Academic Calendar.
• To check your degree requirements, you can use an online tool provided through your school.
  • This tool may have a name like “Degree Explorer” or “Academic Progress”. While these tools may give you an idea of your program progress, it is important to double check as sometimes information displayed online may not be updated accurately.
• Search online using keywords like “[Your school’s name] Academic Calendar [Program start year]”, “[Your school’s name] degree requirement check”.
• It is recommended to meet with a program or school academic advisor to make sure you are on track to completing your degree requirements. If possible, it is a good idea to meet with them prior to the next enrolment period to make sure you are on track, and to discuss any changes you may want to make.
• When in doubt, reach out. Employees of your school are available for help, make sure you are taking advantage of the resources available to you.

Chapter Progress