[en] Alongside its well-known functions of contract or communication tool, the course syllabus would also represent a suitable evidence of teaching quality. Indeed, for the last decade, more references to syllabi is being recommended in faculty evaluation and in accreditation reviews.
This paper first discusses the use of syllabus items in documenting and increasing the quality of course planning according to the literature. Secondly, in order to inspire institutions in their choices of the most valuable syllabus items, this paper reports the result of a survey lead at the University of Liège in order to identify the most useful generic components to be included in course syllabi according to students’ opinion. Items like Assessment methods and criteria; Learning objectives/outcomes; Recommended or required readings and Learning advices appeared to be among the most wanted ones.