August 2023
In This Edition:
- A Fresh Start
- You Can Lead a Student to the Syllabus…
- Feature Spotlight - Readability Level Report
- Concourse Community Webinars
A Fresh Start
Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash
We’re back with our second edition of the newsletter that brings you news, information, and topics for discussion about syllabus management and higher education at large. As you get ready to launch into fall term, we hope it provides some food for thought. The start of a new academic year can be busy and stressful, but it’s also an opportunity for a fresh start, a new beginning that doesn’t come around as often in the same way in other professions. And of course - one way to take advantage of that is by refreshing your syllabus, whether it be with a new reading or assignment, a tweak to your policies, or a fresh welcome message to your students.
You Can Lead a Student to a Syllabus...
![A blue t-shirt that says "It's on the syllabus" with the Concourse logo](/syllabus-sentinel/unnamed%20-14-.jpg "A blue t-shirt that says "It's on the syllabus" with the Concourse logo")
But how do you make them read it? The repeated refrain of “it’s on the syllabus” is so all-pervasive that it’s literally on our t-shirts. And of course, we wouldn’t have to say that so often if students just read it end to end and retained what they read. A recent Inside Higher Ed article provides some timely tips on getting students to “read, reference and remember a course syllabus” that you can incorporate now - and maybe save yourself from this scenario later.
Feature Spotlight - Reading Level Report
Feature Spotlight - Reading Level Report
Another key to getting students to read and retain information is making sure that it’s written in language that is easy to understand. Higher ed communication and policy and scholarly research tend to have their own language and style that, while designed well for what it’s intended for, isn’t always the easiest for students to follow, especially early in their educational journey. Concourse’s Reading Level report uses two different formulas - the Gunning Fog index and the Flesch-Kincaide readability test - to analyze your syllabus and help you ensure that you’re writing in a way that is accessible to students. To find out more about the readability report as well as the rest of our robust reporting suite, schedule a demo for you and your team!
Concourse Webinars - Launching this September!
Concourse Webinars - Launching this September!
We’re excited to announce the launch of our new Webinar series next month! We want you to hear from current Concourse users about the ways they’re leveraging the system to improve outcomes, streamline processes, gather data, and generally make life easier for everyone at their institutions. We’ll also be bringing you insights from our team of experienced higher ed professionals. Check out the schedule on our website, and check back often as we will continue to add additional dates. And remember - even if you can’t attend on that date and time, you can STILL register and receive the recording afterwards!
