Sweeping the Dust Off of the Syllabus with Broadly Inclusive Teaching Strategies

Why bother putting effort into a syllabus that the students do not read? The syllabus can be a dense, lengthy document weighed down by university and departmental required statements and expectations. But students do read the syllabus, even if only for certain sections and on an occasional, as-needed basis. Updating the syllabus beyond changing the due dates each semester likely is a low priority for instructors among many competing demands on their time, unless they are redesigning the course. However, the syllabus also can be a useful way to establish the path for the course in terms of both the logistics and the implementation.