Montgomery College Syllabus Template
Faculty Council Approval: Spring 2022
A Word file for this Syllabus Template (password-protected) is available to download.
A Word file of MC's Inclusive Syllabus Language Supplementnew window (password-protected) for suggestions and sample language to build your own inclusive syllabus based on
the MC template.
Syllabi and Course Outlines
Course syllabi and course outlines, which provide students with information about goals, objectives, policies, and procedures, are prepared by instructors in accordance with department/unit procedures and should be distributed to students at the first class meeting. Syllabi, along with all course materials, must also be submitted to the instructional dean and department chairperson each semester along with the final course examination. If assistance or clarification is needed, the instructor should contact his or her department chairperson or immediate academic supervisor.
All full-time and adjunct faculty are strongly encouraged to include in their syllabi
the standards of college behavior found in Section VII of the Student Code of Conduct (PDF, 
) .
A detailed written syllabus distributed and discussed at the first class meeting can alleviate problems, especially if it notifies students of how to contact an instructor concerning emergency absences, assignments, and course grade concerns.
Students find it helpful when faculty include an e-mail address, or a home phone number, or coordinate a method by which messages can be left by students and retrieved by the faculty in a timely manner.
CONTENT
Chairpersons and coordinators are responsible for ensuring that course syllabi include the required information.
Information required in all syllabi:
I. Contact Information
II. General Course Information
III. Common Course Student Learning Outcomes
IV. Textbooks, Workbooks, and Supplies
V. Course Requirements
VI. Student Code of Conduct
VII. Collegewide Policies & Procedures
VIII. Additional General Information
IX. Course Schedule
FORMAT
Required information may be presented in one of two ways:
In one document: All required information is presented in one document that may follow the standard syllabus format presented below or may follow a format developed by the faculty, the department, or the discipline.
In two documents: The required information that does not change with the semester or the instructor is presented in one document, and the information that does change with the semester or the instructor is presented in a second document. This arrangement is useful for courses that have collegewide syllabi. If the syllabus is presented in multiple documents, clearly indicate that each document is part of the course syllabus, e.g. Syllabus, part 1 of 5.
STANDARD SYLLABUS FORMAT
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
Course Syllabus
Name of Division/Department
MC Course Name
Semester/Year
I. Contact Information
This section provides the instructor’s contact information including e-mail address, office hours, and office phone number. Information regarding how to access the College website, the IT Service Desk, and the MyMC portal may be included in this section.
II. General Course Information
This section should include the course title, CRN, credit hours, prerequisites, corequisites, and assessment levels. This section should also include the College Catalog’s description of the course and the class format such as lecture, lab, or other course activities that require the student to be available outside of the regularly scheduled class meeting hours. Courses in the General Education programnew window should indicate the foundation or distribution that they fulfill.
- Course policies for fully online, blended, and some web-supported courses will vary. Faculty are encouraged to include course policies specifically related to distance education, which are located on the Faculty Resource Center of the Distance Education website.
- All courses supported by Blackboard should include a link to the current Technical Requirements page at Distance Education website.
- Contact information for technical assistance with College-supported IT resources (Montgomery College IT Service Desk at 240-567-7222 or via e-mail at itservicedesk@montgomerycollege.edu) should be included.
- For courses that have online meetings that include microphones and cameras, please
include these course policies specific to the structured remote format (PDF, ) . These policies include guidelines regarding student microphone and camera use, class
recordings, participation, etiquette, privacy, and attendance.
- As technology will be a major component of your education at MC, the following hardware baseline specifications will help prepare you for online learning and ensure that all systems used will function properly.
III. Common Course Student Learning Outcomes
This section provides a list of skills and abilities that students should be able to demonstrate by the end of the semester. Course outcomes developed by the disciplines are reviewed by the outcomes specialist in the Collegewide Curriculum Committee and published in the Montgomery College Catalog website. The course outcomes on the syllabi should match those in the College catalog. Faculty members may see their department chair for more information concerning outcomes or they can visit the Montgomery College Catalog website.
IV. Textbooks, Workbooks, and Supplies
This section specifies which textbooks, workbooks, and supplies are required and which are optional. This section may include a link to the MC Bookstores.
V. Course Requirements
This section explains what the student must do in order to pass the course. Requirements will vary based on discipline.
A. Course Grade
This section should list the components of the final grade (assignments, quizzes,
tests, papers, class participation, etc.). This section also explains the formula
used to calculate the grade and the grading scale.
B. Late and/or Make-up Policy for Coursework
This section should specify whether the instructor accepts late and/or make-up course
work. If so, this section should explain the criteria and provide directions that
the student should follow.
VI. Student Code of Conduct
A. Standards of College Behavior
This section should refer students to the Student Code of Conduct (PDF, ) , which explains the specific behaviors that violate the standards of College behavior.
Faculty are strongly encouraged to discuss with students the procedures for handling
disruption in the classroom. Faculty are encouraged to include Student Code of Conduct (PDF, ) link in their syllabi.
B. Academic Honesty
This section should present general comments about academic dishonesty and may explain
the specific behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty in the course. A faculty
member may want to quote the language on this topic that appears in Section VIII Academic
Dishonesty of the Student Code of Conduct (PDF, ) . The code is available online at Student Code of Conduct (PDF, ) .
VII. Collegewide Policies and Procedures
A. Attendance Policy
This section should explain the attendance policy for the course. A faculty member may want to quote the language on this topic that appears in the Montgomery College Catalog. Recommended language includes: Students are expected to attend all class sessions. In cases involving excessive absences from class, the instructor may drop the student from the class. An excessive absence is defined as one more absence than the number of classes per week during a fall or spring semester; the number of absences is prorated for accelerated sessions.
B. Withdrawal and Refund Dates
This section should include a brief statement on the collegewide policy on withdrawing
from a course. Recommended syllabus language includes: “It is the student’s responsibility
to drop a course. Non-attendance of classes or failure to pay does not constitute
official withdrawal. It is recommended that faculty either specify the drop deadline
date on the syllabus or provide the student with the following directions. To view
specific drop deadlines, log into your MyMC account:
1) Click on “My Class Schedule” under Student Quick Links
2) Select the current term
3) Click on “View Drop Deadline Dates” at the bottom of the page”
C. Audit Policy
This section should include a brief description of an “audit” course. A faculty member may want to quote the recommended language: All students registered for audit are required to consult with the instructor before or during the first class session in which they are in audit status, and students are required to participate in all course activities unless otherwise agreed upon by the student and instructor at the time of consultation. Failure to consult with the instructor or to so participate may result in the grade of “W” being awarded. This action may be taken by the instructor by changing the “AU” to “W” before the drop with “W” date.
D. Disability Support Services
Your success in this class is important to me. If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or exclude you, please let me know as soon as possible. If you have a disability that may impact your access and learning in this course, please contact me to discuss your specific needs. An accommodation letter from Disability Support Services (DSS) authorizing your accommodations will be needed. Please note that accommodations needed for an online course may be different from those needed in a traditional classroom setting, so it is important to work with DSS to determine appropriate accommodations for this course as early as possible. Since accommodations are not retroactive, it is strongly recommended that you notify me as early as possible in the term.
E. Veteran’s Services
Recommended language for this section includes: “If you are a veteran or on active or reserve status and you are interested in information regarding opportunities, programs and/or services, please visit the Combat2College website.”
F. Delayed Opening or Closing of the College
Because of inclement weather or utility failure or for other reasons, it may be necessary to delay opening or suspend all operations of the College or an individual campus. This section should present general comments about the closing of the College and explain what is expected of the student regarding continuation of coursework in the event that the College is closed due to unforeseen circumstances.
It may be helpful for faculty to include the following closure-related information in their syllabi:
Montgomery College will always operate on its regular schedule unless otherwise announced. Depending on the nature of the incident, notifications of emergencies and changes to the College’s operational status will be communicated through one or more of the following means:
- College emergency responders: Security Officers, Campus Response and/or Support Teams
- Montgomery College ALERT. Registered users receive text and e-mail messages
- Montgomery College Emergency Desktop Notification. Scrolling messages are broadcast on College computers
- Montgomery College website
- MyMC website
- Montgomery College student e-mail systemnew window
- Montgomery College employee voice mail. From off-site, dial 240-567-1701
- Montgomery College employee e-mailnew window.
- Montgomery College main phone number at 240-567-5000
- Montgomery College cable channel 10 in Montgomery County
- Commercial radio and TV stations including:
| Television | Radio |
| Channel 4 WRC Channel 5 WTTG Channel 7 WJLA Channel 9 WUSA News Channel 8 |
WTOP (103.5 FM) WFRE (99.5 FM) - Frederick WAMU (88.5 FM) WFMD (930 AM) - Frederick WMAL (630 AM) |
All inquiries from the news media regarding an emergency event should be directed to the College’s Office of Communications.
How Closing and Delays Impact Classes
If a class can meet for 50% or more of its regularly scheduled meeting time OR if the class can meet for 50 minutes or more, it will meet. Montgomery College will always operate on its regular schedule unless otherwise announced. Depending on the nature of the incident, notifications of emergencies and changes to the College’s operational status will be communicated through one or more communication methods including the College’s website. For the most up-to-date information regarding College openings, closings, or emergencies, all students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to sign up for email and text alerts via Montgomery College ALERT. For registration information, please visit the Montgomery College Public Safety website.
G. Communication
This section should note that the Montgomery College e-mail account is the official means of communication between the faculty member and the student. Faculty are encouraged to include language in the syllabus that stresses a student’s responsibility to check his or her MC e-mail for College and class information. Recommended language includes: “It is recommended that you check his or her account routinely for official communication or as directed by your instructor(s). Some items you may find there are: course announcements, invoices, important admission/registration information, waitlist status. To check your e-mail, log into your MyMC account and locate the e-mail icon in the upper right hand corner of the page.”
H. Sexual Misconduct
Montgomery College’s Sexual Misconduct Policy & Procedure (31001-CP) (PDF, ) and Federal Title IX law prohibit discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex
in College programs and activities. Any student who is impacted by sexual harassment,
sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking, gender discrimination, pregnancy
discrimination, gender-based harassment or retaliation should contact the College’s
Title IX Coordinator to make a report and or/access supportive measures and resources. For more detailed information (PDF, ) about the College’s response to sexual misconduct or to make a formal complaint visit
the College's Title IX webpage.
I. Pregnancy
Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including pregnancy and related
conditions. The College must give all students who might be, are, or have been pregnant
the same access to school programs and educational opportunities as other students.
For guidance and obligations (PDF, ) related to academic adjustments, accommodations, and support, please see the College’s Title IX webpage.
VIII. Additional General Information
This section might include comments that are specifically related to a course or discipline. The name of this section and its content can vary with the faculty member. A faculty member may note in the syllabus that he or she reserves the right to alter the content to provide the best educational experience for the student. Alterations of the content must remain consistent with the College Catalog’s course description, and the faculty member must notify the students of changes to the schedule or other elements of the syllabus in writing before the changes are implemented.
IX. Course Schedule
This section provides a daily or weekly schedule for the course, along with due dates for assignments. A faculty member may note that assignments and dues dates are subject to change.