Your Career: Does your syllabus need an upgrade for next semester?

It’s winter break but the new term is not that far off, which means it’s time to tinker with your syllabus. ADVERTISEMENT [Your Career Logo]( You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. Or, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, [unsubscribe](. It’s winter break but the new term is not that far off, which means it’s time to tinker with your syllabus Even if you don’t need to write a new course syllabus, there’s never a bad time to re-examine and rethink the current version. As much as you exhort students to “read the syllabus,” you ought to make sure you’re giving them something that’s actually worth reading. As the cliché goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. The syllabus sets the tone for the course. Every syllabus should include the following essential elements: basic course information; instructor information; course goals; course materials and requirements; course policies; grading and assessment guidelines; and the course calendar. Our guide on syllabus design has advice on all of those sections. It also features tips on a new topic that may be missing from your syllabus or need refinement: your course policy on ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. Professors will not win an arms race with AI tools, and attempting to do so is both unrealistic and unsustainable. That is a key consideration to keep in mind as you write. Your course policy should be clear-cut, but be mindful of how lengthy it is compared with other policy language on your syllabus. Be specific enough that students understand the rules but not so in the weeds that they stop reading. Among the instructors who have already integrated ChatGPT into their teaching, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Some ask students to engage critically with AI tools, using them in particular tasks with the aim of assessing their strengths and limits. Other instructors seek to pre-empt cheating by explicitly incorporating these tools in assignments. Still others eschew AI entirely, and devise assignments that students must complete without the aid of external content generation. Whatever approach you choose needs to be conveyed to students transparently on your syllabus. Continue reading: “[How to Create a Syllabus]( by Kevin Gannon Happy Holidays! This is the final issue of Your Career for 2023. We hope you have a relaxing and safe holiday season. We’ll be back in your inboxes on January 8. Share your suggestions for the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. NEWSLETTER [Sign Up for the Teaching Newsletter]( Find insights to improve teaching and learning across your campus. Delivered on Thursdays. To read this newsletter as soon as it sends, [sign up]( to receive it in your email inbox. LATEST CAREER ADVICE, OPINION, AND NEWS ONE YEAR IN [ChatGPT Has Changed Teaching. Our Readers Tell Us How.]( By Beth McMurtrie and Beckie Supiano [STORY IMAGE]( One year after its launch, this new tech has professors rethinking assignments and students experimenting in the classroom. SPONSOR CONTENT | The University of Queensland [From Waste to Wonder: The Science of Mitigating Environmental Risks From Mining]( ADVERTISEMENT ADVICE [Instead of a Writing Marathon, Why Not Try a Sprint?]( By Dana M. Polanichka and Aubrey Westfall [STORY IMAGE]( How to organize an on-campus meetup for faculty members looking for a burst of progress on a manuscript. ADVICE [How to Jump-Start Your Industry Job Search]( By Jennifer S. Furlong and Stacy M. Hartman [STORY IMAGE]( Winter break is an ideal time to prepare your résumé and cover letters for nonacademic positions. 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FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [The Unionized Campus - The Chronicle Store]( [The Unionized Campus]( The number of graduate-student unions has increased more than four-fold since 2019. [Order your copy]( to learn what’s at stake as union membership grows, and explore effective strategies for colleges to build relationships with new and existing unions. What we’re reading Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? [Let me know](mailto:denise.magner@chronicle.com?subject=Your Career feedback). - An [essay]( on The Scholarly Kitchen explores the stresses of “winter break,” and how it’s not much of a break for researchers “entangled in a web of deadlines” and academe’s publish-or-perish culture. - [Advice]( in the Harvard Business Review on “eight essential qualities of successful leaders.” - On The Daily, [a podcast]( of The New York Times, reporters offer “the story behind a congressional hearing that ended the career of one university president and jeopardized the jobs of two others.” MORE CAREER RESOURCES DATA [What Do Americans Say About College? That Depends on What — and Whom — You Ask.]( By Brian O’Leary [STORY IMAGE]( Explore the nuances of public views of higher ed in 15 findings from Chronicle polling data. 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