The course syllabus is an important part of understanding what will be expected of them and when things are expected to be completed. By following the syllabus and not deviating greatly from it, you will have a class that feels comfortable and they won't have to worry about things being thrown at them at the last minute. We had a situation at our school where the same class was taught in the day and also at night, but by two different instructors. It was expected that each instructor follow the syllabus and not deviate from it, however one instructor started creating a completely different time schedule that did not follow the syllabus. After a time the students became very frustrated because they couldn't plan for the future and they had only a short period of time to know when things would be due. The instructor would say that something was due on a certain day, but it was listed on the syllabus that it was due either before that time or after. The students were getting anxious and frustrated with no plan for their learning. By the end of the course some of the material on the syllabus was never covered because the instructor didn't follow the syllabus or plan for the deviations from the syllabus that she created. During a department meeting it was decided that all instructors would follow the syllabus as printed and no major deviations would be allowed. We now have no problems with getting the entire material covered and the students are not frustrated as they once were. Going over this material is imperative at the beginning of the course. We have the student sign a sheet saying they have read, understood and will comply with the syllabus and course materials presented. Does anyone do anything differently or add anything else? I am always interested in finding new methods of what is sometimes considered boring material to the students.