Write Your Syllabus Right

The most effective syllabi communicate essential information about the course and instructor, learning objectives, required materials, and assessments, and a link to a course calendar.

Along with essential information, syllabi communicate teacher presence, attitude, and orientation toward student learning. Saville et al. (2010) found that detailed syllabi inspired higher perceptions of instructor effectiveness than did brief syllabi. The Montclair Syllabus template below provides instructors with an outline of the elements to be included in the syllabus.

Consider the tone of your syllabus as well. Using positive and transparent language to convey information and expectations for student behavior helps students feel welcome and sets the stage for better classroom engagement. See Warming up Your Course for strategies.

Three students sitting at a table on laptops in a cafe.

 

Montclair Syllabus

Montclair Syllabus is the default syllabus template option in Canvas and should be used by all instructors. The template is updated each term. It ensures instructors provide all the essential information for their students in a consistent way so that students understand the expectations for each course they are taking and can find the information they need more easily. The Montclair Syllabus also contains links to campus resources that are updated regularly so that you can direct students to them without needing to research them yourself–or copy and paste bad links from past terms.

To work on your syllabus in a Google Doc in advance, use one of these writable google doc templates:

If you’d like more help in planning your course and your syllabus, you may find OFE’s Guided Course Planning template helpful. This template follows a backward design framework to support creating a well-aligned, organized course and syllabus.

Montclair Syllabus

Creating A Weekly Schedule Calendar

See Montclair’s academic calendar and OFE’s Teaching FAQs webpage for scheduling details. For details of the scheduled terms upcoming, see the add/drop calendar on the Registrar’s website. For administrative deadlines for students, see Important Dates. For a religious observance calendar and policy information, please visit the Religion Department’s Multifaith Religious Observances Calendar webpage.

Full Term Calendar (14 weeks)

Beginning Spring 2025, a regular full term “Session A” course is 14 weeks in length. Due to holidays and other irregularities, to reach 14 full weeks for classes regardless of what days classes are held, the calendar runs for 15 calendar weeks — for example, from August 28, 2026 to December 16, 2026.

Half Term (7 weeks) and 4-week Calendars

In addition to regular full terms, the University now also offers 7-week half terms: “Session B” (first half term) and “Session C” (second half term), along with 4-week summer sessions (Sessions D, E, & F) .

Fall 2026

  • Friday, August 28: First day of Sessions A (14-week courses) & B (7-week courses)
  • Monday, September 7: Labor Day - No classes
  • Friday, October 16: Last day of Session B (7-week courses) **All classes meet on a Monday schedule**
  • Saturday, October 17 – Sunday, October 25: Fall Break - No classes
  • Monday, October 26: First Day of Session C (7-week courses) 
  • Wednesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 29: Thanksgiving Break - No classes
  • Monday, December 14: **All classes meet on a Thursday schedule**
  • Tuesday, December 15: **All classes meet on a Friday schedule**
  • Wednesday, December 16: Last Day of Sessions A (14-week courses) and C (7-week courses)

Submitting Final Grades: FAQs (including deadlines)

Fall 2026 Dates: Academic Calendar 2026-2027

Weekly Schedule Templates

Self-enroll in OFE’s Sample Course Material Canvas course to find weekly schedule templates to use for your courses. Or contact OFE at faculty@montclair.edu to request a template. Use Rice University’s Generic Syllabus Maker to quickly populate your course schedule dates.

Adapting a previous 15-week or 8-week course to a 14 or 7-week schedule? Visit Planning a Compressed Course webpage for assistance.

 

Additional Resources

Resources

Fuentes, M. A., Zelaya, D. G., & Madsen, J. W. (2021). Rethinking the Course Syllabus: Considerations for Promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Teaching of Psychology, 48(1), 69–79.

Gurung, R. A. R., & Galardi, N. R. (2022). Syllabus Tone, More Than Mental Health Statements, Influence Intentions to Seek Help. Teaching of Psychology, 49(3), 218–223. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628321994632

Harnish, R., & Bridges, K. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: students’ perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14(3), 319–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4

Harnish, R. J., McElwee, R. O. B., Slattery, J. M., Frantz, S., Haney, M. R., Shore, C. M., & Penley, J. (2011, January 11). Creating the foundation for a warm classroom climate. Association for Psychological Science. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/creating-the-foundation-for-a-warm-classroom-climate.

Saville, B. K., Zinn, T. E., Brown, A. R., & Marchuk, K. A. (2010). Syllabus Detail and Students’ Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness. Teaching of Psychology, 37(3), 186–189.

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