Public universities exist to serve the public. That simple fact should settle the question of whether course syllabi ought to be publicly available. When taxpayers pay professors, the core materials of their teaching—the books they assign, the standards they apply, and the goals they claim—should not be treated as private property.
The University of North Carolina System’s decision to require professors to post syllabi in a searchable online database is a reasonable step toward transparency. It is neither radical nor punitive. It merely formalizes what should already be understood as a basic obligation of public employment.
Much of the opposition to public syllabi rests on exaggerated fears. Some faculty warn that making syllabi accessible amounts to “doxxing” or invites political harassment. But a syllabus is not a home address, a phone number, or a private email. It is a professional document that describes what a course covers, how students are evaluated, and the intellectual aims the instructor claims to pursue. Treating this information as sensitive misunderstands both privacy and accountability.
Syllabi, of course, vary widely in form and detail. Some offer little more than a list of readings and assignments; others provide extensive descriptions of course material and pedagogical rationale. Faculty may understandably hesitate to publish the most detailed versions in full. But there is no valid reason for a public university professor to withhold the essential elements of a course: assigned readings, grading criteria, and stated pedagogical aims.
Making syllabi publicly accessible is not an act of surveillance. It is a reaffirmation of the public character of public universities—and a reminder that higher education does not operate above the citizens who fund it.
Follow Jared Gould and the National Association of Scholars on X.
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