The Course Outline List component allows you to display a list of course outlines from the central Course Outlines Repository. The list can be filtered by term, course level, section and more to only show specific outlines.

Note: If a course outline is not available at www.sfu.ca/outlines, it will not appear in the Course Outline List component.

When should it be used?

Use this component when you need to display multiple related course outlines on a single page. Be aware that the course outline list can get very long, depending on the filters.

Terminology:

Current - Two options, Year and Term, can be set to current, which refers to the current registration term. The current registration term will automatically rollover to the next term approximately 10 weeks prior to its start.

In-Component Editing Options

Course Outline List Tab

Title Header - Insert a title above the course outline list. (If you wish to insert a title with a different size or style of heading, use a Text component.)

Year - Filters outlines by year. If left blank, it will use the current year.

Term - Filters outlines by term. If left blank, it will use the current registration term.

Dept - Filter outlines by department. This is option is required.

Options

Click the Options toggle to reveal additional display options:

Split list - Adds a header above each course. See example 2 for a preview.

Show all sections - This option displays the outlines for all the sections, including tutorials and labs (e.g, D100, D115, D116, D118). Leaving this unchecked will display one outline for each parent section (e.g., D100, D200), regardless of how many child sections a parent may contain. This helps to reduce duplicate outlines.

CSS Class - Allows an author to provide an optional class name that will apply a style to the contents.

Filters Tab

Course Levels - Filter outlines by course level. Check each level you wish to display. If no levels are checked, the component will list all levels.

Sections - Filter outlines by sections. By default, the component will list all sections.

Columns Tab

Columns - Allows you to choose which columns to display. Please enable the “Note” column, if the “Short Note” field was filled in within the Course Outlines Application.

Examples of the Course Outline Component

Example #1

This example was set up to show outlines for all 100-level Chemistry courses scheduled for Spring 2014.

Example #2

Course Outlines and Syllabi

Course Outlines

A one-page course outline is required by university policy for every course offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences. Instructors will receive an email reminder through TRACS to upload their course outlines. Outlines must be available to students at least two weeks prior to the start of the registration period or two months before the semester begins (March, July and November). Note that the one-page outline is different than the syllabus. See below for syllabus information.

Instructors upload their course outlines online. Please follow these instructions:

Before your outline is activated online, the program assistant will review to ensure that all required fields are complete. 

If you have taught the course before, you may want to use the previous outline as a starting point and make any desired changes. The course content should correspond to the SFU Calendar description. If it does not conform closely, you must apply for approval before any changes can be published. Contact the appropriate program assistant, depending on whether you are teaching an undergraduate or graduate course, if you have not taught a course before and would like a copy of a previous course outline for your reference, or if you would like to apply for approval to upload content that does not closely conform to the SFU Calendar description.

Refer to this link to search for the archived course outlines: http://www.sfu.ca/outlines.html. The system has archived outlines starting from Fall 2015 onwards.

Course Syllabi and Syllabus Policies

Refer to the Policies and Procedures Related to Syllabi Review, Development and Distribution (this link requires your ID to login) for more guidance about drafting a syllabi and to locate a syllabi template.

All HSCI courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels must have a detailed syllabus that delineates course objectives and means of assessment. Attached to this policy is a template to help you design of a syllabus so that it outlines the appropriate level of detail in terms of content, objectives, and assessment tools. The recommended text in regards to grading distributions, student conduct, and other policies are also provided.

All new and substantively updated/revised courses must be reviewed as indicated below. Syllabi submitted for review do not need to be in the final draft.  The GSC and UGSC are generally concerned with the review of the following:  1) the statement of learning objectives; 2) an outline of topics; and 3) a list of required readings/texts.

You will receive an email from the TRACS system to upload your syllabus, in accordance with the following schedule:

For new or substantially revised courses, feedback will be provided to instructors three weeks prior to the start of the term. Notably for graduate courses, where accreditation requirements demand that courses meet certain core competency requirements, it is expected that faculty will comply with requests for revision.

The course syllabus represents a contract between the instructor and student. It is important that it clearly outlines expectations, grading and attendance policies, and appropriate student conduct guidelines to all students enrolled in the course.

 A syllabus does not need to be provided in hard copy and can be distributed through Canvas or through other online formats. The scheduling of syllabus may be changed after the start of a term, but once the syllabus has been circulated to students, it is strongly advised not to make further changes to: a) grading policies; b) policies regarding student conduct and academic honesty; or c) the timing of key exams.

For more resources and guidelines, refer to the links below:

FHS course planning and syllabus checklist

Sample course syllabus

Syllabus template

Dr Mylene Lagarde COW 3.02

This course is available on the MSc in Global Health Policy, MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing, MSc in International Health Policy and MSc in International Health Policy (Health Economics). This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Randomized trials have long been used in the clinical world to test the efficacy of medical treatments. Increasingly, social scientists have used the same approach, randomly assigning groups to different interventions, in order to determine which policies are most likely to address the key behavioural problems faced by health systems, from inadequate provider performance to low adherence to treatment or risky health behaviours. 

This course proposes a hands-on and intuitive approach to designing and conducting a randomised evaluation of a behavioural health programme. The aim of the course is to provide students will the skills required to design and implement a successful randomised evaluation. By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Explain the reasons for undertaking randomised evaluations;
• Design and plan a randomised experiment to ensure it answers relevant questions, informed by a conceptual framework;
• Understand the technical aspects of the randomised evaluation, including be able to perform and understand simple trial size calculation;
• Explore potential threats to randomisation, and implement strategies to mitigate them;
• Determine how to best measure the outcomes of interest, including reflecting on the accuracy of survey instruments;
• Understand the best practices in how to conduct and manage fieldwork, and follow ethical principles to conducting research.
• Understand the best practices to analyse data from different types of randomised evaluations.

Seminars will be designed to encourage students to critically engage with the syllabus and apply the technical skills taught in lectures. Each seminar will be closely aligned with the lecture content to provide students the opportunity to apply the new knowledge. Case studies will be chosen from various cultural backgrounds, to allow the presentation of a diverse range of settings and issues. Throughout the courses, but more extensively in the second half of the term, seminars will be dedicated to discussing issues and problems raised in lectures in relation to the project chosen by students in their group for the research protocol.

This course will be delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars totalling a minimum of 20 hours during Lent Term. Students will have access to lecture material delivered either in person or as short online videos. Seminars will take place in small groups and consist of a mix of case studies  and discussions/presentations of the students’ own work. Ahead of the seminars students will work in small groups on structured learning activities set by the course lead. Each seminar will also be a forum for discussing, presenting and receiving feedback on students’ research protocols.

There will be a departmental reading week in week 6 of term.

A draft protocol. Students will be asked to submit a short 1,500 word draft protocol by week 5. While some aspects of their work may still be work in progress (e.g. using bullet points), students will be expected to write up the start of their protocol in a detailed way. Detailed feedback will be given to each student. 

The main textbook that will be used throughout the course is:

• Glennerster, R., & Takavarasha, K. (2013). Running Randomized Evaluations: a Practical Guide. Princeton University Press.

Other useful resources include:

• Gerber, A. S., & Green, D. P. (2012). Field Experiments: Design, Analysis and Interpretation. New York, NY: Norton.
• Duflo, Esther, et al. (2006) Using Randomization in Development Economics Research: A Toolkit.
• White, Howard (2009) ‘Theory-based impact evaluation: principles and practice’, Journal of Development Effectiveness 1(3)
• Drost, E.A. (2011) Validity and Reliability in Social Science Research. Education Research and Perspectives, 38, 105- 123
• Olken, B. A. (2015). "Promises and Perils of Pre-analysis Plans." Journal of Economic Perspectives 29(3): 61--80.
• Rachel Glennerster and Shawn Powers Balancing Risk and Benefit: Ethical Tradeoffs in Running Randomized Evaluations
• Dupas, P., & Miguel, E. (2017). Impacts and Determinants of Health Levels in Low-Income Countries. In E. Duflo & A. Banerjee (Eds.), Handbook of Field Experiments: North Holland.

Other general interest books that discuss randomised evaluations (applications, challenges) include:

• Halpern, D. (2016). Inside the Nudge Unit. London, Penguin Press.
• Leigh, A. (2018). Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Are Changing Our World, Yale University Press.

Research proposal (100%) in the LT.

The objective of the research protocol (4,000 words max) will be to plan the randomised evaluation of a particular health programme. Students will be asked to choose an intervention to address a particular behavioural problem from a proposed list (e.g. increasing health insurance uptake, improving doctor performance or quality of care; reducing risky health behaviours; increasing patient adherence to treatment etc.). Students will also be given the option to choose their own Topic (pending agreement by their seminar leader).