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Professional societies in religious studies negotiate academic practices and confessional commitments. Here, Lester narrates one episode in the Society of Biblical Literature's understanding of "critical" biblical studies.

We hold students accountable for academic integrity, but rarely offer acknowledgements in our own syllabi. Katherine D. Harris recommends that educators "Develop syllabus citations practices"; "Use Creative Commons licenses on syllabi"; and "Build an archive of remixable syllabi." Many linked examples and resources.

Emory College of Arts and Sciences describes its rollout of its version of "A Domain of One's Own," a University of Mary (Washington) initiative whereby students craft their own web presence into a portfolio that they control and can take with them after graduating. This ECAS page includes a description of the program, and links to extensive documentation for faculty, students, and support staff.

Hampton University General Counsel Faye Hardy-Lucas, writing for the Center for Teaching Excellence, offers advice concerning the construction of legally sound syllabi. For example, "Insert disclaimers in your course syllabus regarding your right to modify the class schedule when necessary and your freedom to cover course topics as you wish.

Information, web links, and videos explaining "A Domain of One's Own," the University of Mary (Washington) initiative whereby students craft their own web presence into a portfolio that they control and can take with them after graduating.

The developer of the University of Mary (Washington) project "A Domain of One's Own," explains the program’s innovative and expansive understanding of student e-portfolios in a TEDx talk.

How to extract "big picture" open-ended discussion questions (what Understanding by Design calls "Essential Questions") from one's stated learning goals, and to embed them into the syllabus and the course activities.

Grant Wiggins, one of the developers of "Understanding by Design," proposes standards for course design and offers "prompts" toward a purposefully-designed course. Part of a series of blog posts on the topic.

Info page, with files and web links, on Understanding by Design, and approach to "backward course design" developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.