1
!
SYLLABI
!
ONLINE
!
Student
!
Presentation
!
to
!
the
!
Provost’s
!
Council
!
of
!
Undergraduate
!
Deans
!
April
!
16,
!
2008
!
BACKGROUND
!
Most
!
undergraduates
!
have
!
no
!
choice
!
but
!
to
!
navigate
!
published
!
course
!
books
!
or
!
Penn’s
!
online
!
resources
!
to
!
arrive
!
at
!
a
!
cursory
!
description
!
of
!
the
!
course
!
that
!
they
!
might
!
wish
!
to
!
take.
!!
Even
!
with
!
the
!
guidance
!
of
!
an
!
academic
!
advisor,
!
undergraduates
!
consistently
!
rely
!
on
!
these
!
inadequate
!
course
!
descriptions
!
to
!
arrive
!
at
!
their
!
decisions
!
during
!
pre
"
registration.
!!
As
!
a
!
result,
!
the
!
Add/Drop
!
period
!
is
!
a
!
haphazard
!
process,
!
with
!
students
!
unable
!
to
!
obtain
!
complete
!
information
!
about
!
a
!
course
!
offering
!
without
!
physically
!
attending
!
the
!
class.
!
At
!
an
!
institution
!
like
!
Penn,
!
undergraduates
!
deserve
!
access
!
to
!
all
!
information
!
necessary
!
to
!
make
!
informed
!
academic
!
decisions.
!
The
!
student
!
body
!
asks
!
the
!
undergraduate
!
deans
!
and
!
the
!
Office
!
of
!
the
!
Provost
!
to
!
commit
!
the
!
funds
!
necessary
!
to
!
complete
!
a
!
feasibility
!
study
!
and
!
development
!
of
!
a
!
four
"
school
!
online
!
repository
!
of
!
syllabi.
!
STATUS
!
QUO
!
Before
!
the
!
close
!
of
!
the
!
Spring
!
2008
!
Add/Drop
!
Period,
!
we
!
analyzed
!
SAS
!
departmental
!
websites
!
to
!
measure
!
the
!
number
!
of
!
posted
!
syllabi
!
against
!
the
!
number
!
of
!
course
!
offerings.
!!
Given
!
the
!
full
!
compliance
!
of
!
Wharton
!
departments,
!
the
!
comparatively
!
small
!
size
!
of
!
Nursing,
!
and
!
the
!
creation
!
of
!
the
!
SEAS
!
Syllabi
!
Repository,
!
we
!
restricted
!
our
!
search
!
to
!
College
!
departments.
†
!
Syllabi
!
are
!
posted
!
for
!
only
!
11%
!
of
!
courses
!
in
!
the
!
College.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
†
!
African
!
Studies;
!
Africana
!
Studies;
!
Ancient
!
History;
!
Anthropology;
!
Architecture;
!
Asian
!
American
!
Studies;
!
Biochemistry
!
and
!
Biophysics;
!
Biological
!
Basis
!
of
!
Behavior;
!
Biology;
!
Chemistry;
!
Cinema
!
Studies;
!
Classical
!
Studies;
!
Cognitive
!
Science;
!
Communication
!"!
Annenberg;
!
Comparative
!
Literature
!
;
!
Criminology;
!
Design;
!
East
!
Asian
!
Languages
!
and
!
Civilizations;
!
East
!
Asian
!
Studies;
!
Economics;
!
Earth
!
and
!
Environmental
!
Studies;
!
English;
!
Fine
!
Arts;
!
French
!
Studies;
!
Geology;
!
Gender
!
Culture
!
and
!
Society
!
;
!
Germanics;
!
Health
!
and
!
Societies;
!
Hispanic
!
Studies;
!
History;
!
History
!
of
!
Art;
!
History
!
of
!
Sociology
!
and
!
Science;
!
International
!
Relations;
!
Italian
!
Studies;
!
Jewish
!
Studies;
!
Latin
!
American
!
Studies;
!
Linguistics;
!
Logic
!
Information
!
and
!
Computing;
!
Mathematics;
!
Music;
!
Modern
!
Middle
!
East
!
Studies;
!
Near
!
Eastern
!
Languages
!
;
!
Philosophy;
!
Philosophy,
!
Politics,
!
and
!
Economics;
!
Physics
!
and
!
Astronomy;
!
Political
!
Science;
!
Psychology
!
;
!
Religious
!
Studies;
!
Romance
!
Language;
!
Science
!
Technology
!
and
!
Society;
!
Sociology;
!
South
!
Asia
!
Studies;
!
Spanish;
!
Theater
!!
Arts;
!
Urban
!
Studies;
!
Visual
!
Studies;
!
Women's
!
Studies
!
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