Importance of a Syllabus

I have always wondered what the true purpose of a syllabus was as I have thrown many away in my educational journey, but after reading the text I found why they are an essential piece of the curriculum. In the syllabus a contract is created that covers not only the expected behavior such as being to class on time and what the goals are for the class are but also the strategies for teaching in the class. No matter what learning style, the student has this contract to refer to that lets them know what is expected and gives a sense of purpose not only to the student but to the teacher. Sometimes I think that maybe I take for granted that students will know what I expect out of them for class but in very intense programs were there are a lot of changes that occur throughout their curriculum ,such as different clinical times , I now can see where the lines become blurred. I know that with every class I have ever taken in college the most frustrating thing is when I could not figure out what the instructor really wanted out of me.

With this being said I know many teachers who hate writing a syllabus and only write what is absolutely required. I think that this a disservice to themselves and the students. Students cannot be made to understand what we want just by a class schedule or new rules week to week and I am going to update my syllabus to include what is required for each rotation for the student and what is expected for the end goal which is graduation. Also if the student can see that there are many different assignments that involve many types of learning at the start of the course they will become more excited and hopefully have more confidence with each assignment giving them a chance to do well in the course. I now see the importance of a specific set of goals for students and teachers and I feel a syllabus creates a great starting point for college courses.