Course Schedule Design

The third item of your syllabus module is the course schedule. This document is designed to present your weekly topics, readings, resources and student deliverables. Instructors have different strategies for the amount of information to include, as well as how that information should be organized.

Two Basic Formats

There are two customizable formats for the course schedule-list schedule and calendar schedule.

List Schedule

Typically, the list schedule works well for instructors who have a consistent structure and want a comprehensive record of all course materials and activities.

Calendar Schedule

The calendar schedule works well when the course structure and activities are variable.

Let Your Course Structure Inform your Schedule Design

The best way to determine the content and layout of your course schedule is to begin by answering some questions about your course structure:

• What's the duration of the course? 11-12 weeks, 8 weeks, 5 weeks?
• What format is your course? Enhanced face-to-face, hybrid, fully online?
• How will due dates be organized? Same day every week, multiple consistent days, shifting days?
• How will students turn in work? All online, all in class, both online and in-class?

The format considerations are suggestions, not hard and fast rules. Some instructors find that linking both formats helps them address different students' needs.

Examples of Course Schedules

Take a look at these examples for ideas.

Online Course - Five Weeks

Calendar Format: Because of the accelerated format of this course, due dates came quickly and a calendar schedule seemed best. What to Notice: Consistent language and naming conventions help clarify a full timetable.

Online Course - Full Term

List Format: This online course with its simple, consistent structure was a good candidate for a list schedule. What to Notice: Text changes for high-stakes assignments and the use of days in due dates column. Specific dates and times are included in the Blackboard Calendar tool which notifies students through email and the mobile app.

Enhanced Course - Full Term

Calendar Format: This 11-week face-to-face course included activities that students handed in during class and some that were submitted online. What to Notice: The instructor chose a calendar schedule that included only meeting days and online due days.

Enhanced Course - Full Term

List Format: This face to face course included a variety of in-class and online activities. The instructor used the Blackboard Calendar tool to notify students through email and the mobile app. What to Notice: The due dates column days specify "before class" or "in class"

Weekly Blueprint

For many, a Weekly Blueprint helps students make a consistent plan for logging in and completing coursework. All courses with the Haystack template offer the Weekly Blueprint linked to the schedule (edit this document from the Syllabus folder in your Course Files area).

Final Thoughts

For many, drafting a schedule can help them think through the course design and development process. Others reverse-engineer the schedule once they have a good portion of the course developed. Still others adapt an existing course & schedule to an enhanced or online format, so it's just a matter of formatting current information. Whichever way you approach your schedule, know that it is a living document and can be easily updated. For many instructors, schedule tweaks are a part of teaching. (If this is you, remember not to delete the update disclaimer on page two of the syllabus module.)