Assignment Design Days: Enhancing Curriculum Alignment (Deadline Extended)

Syracuse University is committed to enhancing undergraduate education through its six Shared Competencies, which serve as Universitywide learning goals. To support faculty in integrating these competencies into their curriculum, the University is offering Assignment Design Days.

Assignment Design Days are dedicated sessions that provide faculty with the opportunity to (re)design assignments that align with the University’s Shared Competencies. These sessions focus on creating transparent assignments that help students develop knowledge and skills related to the University’s learning goals.

Goals of Assignment Design Days

• Engage in iterative teaching and learning practices.
• (Re)Design assignments to align with competency outcomes.
• Create transparent assignment prompts that connect competency learning outcomes, course learning objectives and assignments.

Eligibility and Participation

All Syracuse University faculty members teaching courses tagged with one or more Shared Competencies, or those wishing to tag their  courses, are eligible to participate. Participants will receive a $300 stipend for participating. During the sessions, faculty will map their course assignments to the Shared Competencies rubrics and create transparent assignments using the Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework.

Session Schedule

Assignment Design Days are organized by competency:

• May 27, 2025
  • Ethics, Integrity, and Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion: 9:00 a.m.–noon
  • Critical and Creative Thinking: 1–4 p.m.
• May 28, 2025
  • Scientific Inquiry and Research Skills: 9 a.m.–noon
  • Civic and Global Responsibility: 1–4 p.m.
• May 29, 2025:
  • Communication Skills: 9 a.m.–noon
  • Information Literacy and Technological Agility: 1–4 p.m.

All sessions will be held in person at 400 Ostrom Ave., Executive Conference Room. Faculty interested in participating are encouraged to apply by May 9, 2025.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated; the previous application deadline was listed as May 1.

Story by Naimah Rahman