Course Design Tools

Course planning is a multi-stage iterative process that requires faculty to:

• construct a vision,  
• identify competencies that students can expect to develop during the course,  
• write measurable learning outcomes, 
• integrate high-impact practices, 
• plan the course in a way that effectively communicates to students how they will achieve the learning outcomes,  
• evaluate the course plan for alignment with those outcomes, and 
• create a syllabus that communicates this plan to students.

Below are tools instructors can use to assist in this process.

Course Planning Tool

Eastern's Course Planning Tool was originally developed by Dr. Courtney Broscious to support faculty interested in designing ELAC courses—but the tool is useful for planning any class. The tool is a step-by-step resource for building a course and communicating goals effectively to students. It utilizes backwards design to support instructors in aligning their course learning goals with assignments and course activities.

• View a .pdf of the course planning tool.
• Download an editable, Word version of the course planning tool. (For best formatting results, download the document and open on the desktop version of Word.)
• Coming later this academic year: Thanks to support from the Davis Educational Foundation, Eastern is currently in the process of developing an online version of the course planning tool that will automatically create a personalized, editable syllabus based on the information instructors enter into the course planning tool. Once developed, the link to the online tool will be available on this web page.

Syllabus Template

Eastern has a syllabus template that is aligned with the course planning tool. Instructors can copy text from the planning tool into the corresponding section of the syllabus template—or start with the syllabus template.

• View a .pdf of the syllabus template.
• Download the template from the Designing Courses for ELAC Folder. (For best formatting results, download the document and open on the desktop version of Word.)

Syllabus Statements

The CTLA maintains a page of statements that are required to be on all course syllabi at Eastern, as well as language recommended for syllabi related to university policies, course policies, and resources and supports for students. In addition, the CTLA has a sample of other policies that instructors may wish to include on their syllabus (e.g., AI policy, use of devices during class, attendance policies, etc.). Visit the syllabus statements page.