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6.7 Course Syllabus

(Approved February 15, 2017)

Every NPS course shall have a complete and up-to-date syllabus. The course syllabus shall be developed by the instructor and maintained by the academic unit owning the two-letter code in the course designator. Course syllabi shall be available to faculty and NPS administration and others designated by NPS. The course syllabus introduces and explains why the course is important and outlines the methods the faculty/instructor plans to use to help students learn. The course syllabus is a principal means of communicating the purpose, content and objective of each course, and shall be provided to students enrolled in the course at the beginning of the quarter in which the course is offered.

A course syllabus should contain the following elements:

  1. Catalog Description, including the following:
    1. Course Number, title and credit hours;
    2. Course description (highlighting DoD/DoN relevance, as applicable);
    3. Time period of instruction; schedule; hours per week;
    4. Prerequisites and co-requisites;
    5. Security Classification, if any;
    6. Pass/Fail status, if applicable
  2. Statement of Course Objectives. Course objectives identify the purpose and goal of the course. The course objectives are related to the Educational Skill Requirements and program learning objectives as well as the disciplinary requirements established by the academic department.
  3. Statement of Course Learning Outcomes. Course learning outcomes are explicit and measureable statements that clarify what students will learn, know, and be able to do with course content when they successfully complete a course. Course learning outcomes articulate specific knowledge items, logical activities, or specialized skills each student will be expected to demonstrate as a result of successful completion of the course.
  4. Course Topics and Schedule. A detailed list of the modules and/or topics covered in the course. The topical organization of the course syllabus provides an overview of the depth and breadth of topical content of the course, the level of the material covered, the expected level of student performance, the amount of time devoted to each topic, and how the topics are related to the objectives of the course.
  5. Course Assignments. This section identifies and describes the major assignments in the course designed to provide students the opportunity to synthesize course concepts and practice the skills that reinforce class instruction. Examples include exercises, projects, experiments, laboratories, papers, homework assignments and other such non-lecture activities.
  6. Textbooks and other Materials. A list of proposed teaching material, e.g., textbooks, outside reading, published handouts, and/or laboratory materials.
  7. Assessment and Grading. Provide the timing, type, and topical coverage for formative and summative assessment activities (homework, quizzes, examinations, presentations, papers, reports, etc.). Provide the grading approach and standards, as applicable. Describe the types of formal and informal measures that will be used to assess the course learning outcomes.
  8. Course Policies. Include statements for general course policies – Student Honor Code, Academic Integrity, Plagiarism, Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities, Expectation of Classroom Conduct, etc. This should spell out what the instructor expects from each student and what the students should expect from the instructor.
The course syllabus and related learning/assessment activities should be adapted for resident and distance learning delivery formats, as appropriate.

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