This past year marked the fifth anniversary of on-line syllabi. In that time, our connection numbers have risen astronomically. This is the good news. Unfortunately, the number of course syllabi submitted over the past four semesters has actually decreased:
Semester Total Syllabi Individual Course
Date -- Posted -- Connects
Fall `93 -- 385 -- --------
Spring `94 -- 361 -- 19,180
Fall `94 -- 350 -- 23,324
Spring `95 -- 310 -- 42,548
From a high of almost 400 syllabi posted in Fall `93, we have fallen to barely over 300 this spring. Meanwhile, this spring's course connects ballooned to over 40,000. The meaning of these numbers is clear: while more students are connecting than ever before, they are seeing fewer syllabi. This is, to use a technical term, bad.
Students have done their part by using the system; the onus is now on the professors. If you are teaching a course, no matter how small, no matter how specialized, submit a syllabus. If you are unclear on the submission process, read the directions on YaleInfo URL: gopher://yaleinfo.yale.edu:7700/00/Archives-Syllabi/submitinstruct, ask a colleague or email to syllabi@yale.edu. In addition to electronic mail and disks, syllabi will be accepted via drop-box on the instructional computing server. If the drop-box is easier for you, do not hesitate to use it (I much prefer to receive syllabi via e-mail or the drop-box than on disk). It is never too early to submit. I'm now accepting both fall and spring semester syllabi for next year. I hope to see your syllabi on-line soon.
If you are interested other aspects of syllabi statistics, e-mail Rob Callum at syllabi@yale.edu for more information.