Back To School: Getting to Know the Syllabus

by Jenna Schmidt

With school back in session, students are having to acclimate to new schedules and new professors. Each professor determines how the final grade for their class is calculated. The light loads of syllabus week are behind and assignments are rolling out, but how important are they? This depends on the professor and potentially even the class they are teaching. Most professors make the importance of assignments relative to the student's final grade obvious in the grading evaluation section of their syllabus.

Gilbert Newton (Jenna Schmidt)

Gilbert Newton, a coastal ecology professor, breaks up the final grade into four equal parts. Two 10-essay-question tests make up 25 percent of the final grade each. He provides the students with the questions beforehand and allows the use of notes, so they can prepare their answers ahead of time and know what is most important to review. Written work and field assessments make up another 25 percent of the final grade. The last 25 percent comes from the final exam, composed of short answer questions. He does not give these questions out ahead of time but tells students what areas of study to focus on as they will be the ones that appear on the test.

George Bent (Jenna Schmidt)

George Bent is a math professor teaching both elementary statistics and mathematical reasoning and problem-solving. For his statistics class, there are three tests throughout the semester, each worth 20 percent, and students can bring in one sheet of notes. The final is worth 30 percent and is open note and book. The other 10 percent of the final grade is based on being hard-working, diligent, and enthusiastic. He also specifies on the syllabus that there will be no makeup exams, so attending those days is the only time to earn any credit for the tests.

Rebecca Griffin (Cindy Pavlos).

Rebecca Griffin is an English professor, teaching four different classes this semester. The syllabus for her creative writing and American Literature Since 1890 classes show how different one professor can grade based on which class they are teaching. For creative writing, the final grade is broken down into 10 writing assignments all ranging from 5 percent to 15 percent.  

“Creative Writing has more writing assignment elements because it is a writing class. For American lit, we focus more on reading and discussion—so the papers are part of the final grade, but other elements figure into it as well,” says Griffin.

For her American Literature Since 1890 class, the final grade is broken down into seven categories, all ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent. The first two literary analysis papers are worth 15 percent each, while the third is worth 20 percent. Student-prepared presentations to introduce the readings, and participation are each worth 10 percent. The final exam and annotations of the reading are both worth 15 percent.

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