A change to syllabus distribution that would enable clearer communication about courses was proposed at a UF Faculty Senate meeting Thursday.
Bernard Mair, associate dean of Information Resources and Technological Programs, proposed that instructors post syllabi on a publicly available website at least three days before the start of the course and keep it posted for at least three semesters afterward.
This would make course information more widely accessible to prospective students and faculty advisers and alleviate the issue of students registering for more classes than they need during the drop/add period while figuring out which classes to keep, Mair said.
In the past, course syllabi had to be posted on student-accessible websites. For example, if the course was administered via e-Learning, the syllabus would be posted on the course's e-Learning page.
However, this policy was problematic for students seeking course syllabi when deciding whether to take the course.
"It's only useful to those students in those courses during that semester," Mair said.