anti-calendar,  courses,  hard,  tests

i want my syllabus!

Hey,

I’m trying to plan out my timetable and select courses for the upcoming school year. I’ve already referred to the anti-calendar and
ratemyprofessor.ca to make sure I select the right profs so that’s not the issue for me.

The issue rears its ugly head when I attempt to find the course syllabus for each course. The reason I’m looking for course syllabi is because I’m trying to get some insight on what the workload will be like for each course (how many tests and/or assignments there will be and what they will be weighted, if I will be graded on tutorial attendance, etc).

When referring to the anti-calender, it seems like the workload is always rated ‘average’ by students, so that does not really help me. I’ve also referred to the exams and course collections database, but that yielded no results either (many courses are password protected, only have one outdated syllabus from the 1800’s, or are not even listed at all). I’ve even tried going on portal and clicking on “browse course catalogues” … but most, if not all, of the courses are restricted and don’t let me view the course pages.

It seems I’ve exhausted all my options at this point. All I want to do is skim over the course syllabus for each course and such a seemingly simple task appears impossible to accomplish.

Do you have any suggestions or am I just going to have to wait and receive the syllabus on the first day of classes?

Thanks.

Amanda

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Hello Amanda, the keener.

It seems like you’ve really done your homework – and the class hasn’t even begun! Sometimes, old syllabi pop up on former course or program websites, but sometimes they’re under lock and key. Though most profs tend to go AWOL during the summer, you might get lucky if you email the professor who’s listed in the timetable for the syllabus (perhaps they also taught the course last year?), or a quick and friendly email asking about courseload. Depending on the course, Aska might know some people who might be able to give you a bit of detailed advice about the work schedule.

In the meantime though, don’t sweat it. I understand your angst, given that the class might have too much workload and by the time you know it you might want to drop it and then there might be no other spaces in the other classes you might want. (LARGE DEEP BREATH.) But in the first week of classes, many students go shopping – not just for fancy U of T hoodies – but by examining the syllabi of their new classes and decided whether or not they’ll drop them.

The first day of your class is usually when you’ll get the syllabi, featuring all the assignments, readings and due dates.

So for now, hold tight, lemme know what courses you’re looking for in particular, and I’ll see what I drudge up.

xoxo, Askastudent

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