Open Thread Wednesday! Sharing Syllabi?

Garry Knight

Each Wednesday, ProfHacker hosts an open thread discussion. Sometimes a specific topic is announced, and sometimes the discussion is completely open. Please remember to abide by our commenting and community guidelines. Thanks!

Today’s specific topic comes from a ProfHacker reader:

I get five or six requests a year from grad students asking for copies of syllabi for courses I have developed and teach (I teach them once every two years). I never know how to respond. On the one hand, I don’t want to impede a student’s interest or learning. On the other, I feel sort of proprietorial about syllabi: it’s taken me years to develop them, and I feel some reluctance just freely distributing them. How do others respond to such requests? And do others feel similarly proprietorial about their syllabi?

What are your thoughts? Let’s hear from you in the comments!

[Creative Commons-licensed flickr photo by Garry Knight]