Four years after it was first proposed by the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, the online-syllabi initiative is finally moving forward. It could not have happened sooner. At Penn, the online-syllabi initiative has been in the works since 2005 but was continually delayed. As recently as last semester, administrators said it would not be possible until 2010. Happily, they moved to correct the delays, which were becoming more ridiculous with each passing semester.
The concept is very straightforward - professors upload syllabi during early registration so students can gain a better understanding of the course's rigor - and similar programs have been introduced at schools such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Having syllabi available online will likely decrease the number of students switching into and out of classes at the beginning of the semester, which currently puts them at an automatic disadvantage compared to the rest of the class.
The program is not mandatory for professors, which could limit its effectiveness. In some cases, the lack of a syllabus is unavoidable - for instance, when the class is being taught for the first time or by a new professor.
But beyond these sporadic occurrances, we urge all professors to take part in the program and, at the very least, post the last-semester version of the syllabus, even if they might want to make minor tweaks. The program has great potential, and we encourage all professors to participate and all students to take advantage of it.
