From Fall 2000 to Spring 2002, the Center for Teaching (CFT) and the Office of Academic Planning and Assessment (OAPA) collaborated on a faculty fellows program for two cohorts of instructors teaching large General Education courses at UMass Amherst. The “Hewlett Teaching Fellows” program was funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (Grant #99-3610).
As a part of their redesign of their General Education course(s), the Hewlett Fellows reviewed their course syllabi and adapted them as necessary to coincide with General Education goals and facilitate student learning. The following resources were provided to the fellows to help inform and support their efforts:
- A summary of recommended practices in syllabus construction, based on the teaching and learning literature.
- A rubric with specific criteria to consider when reviewing syllabi. This tool can help determine alignment of syllabi with recommended syllabus construction practices and UMass Amherst General Education goals.