Inclusivity in undergraduate STEM course syllabi: A mismatch between student needs and faculty practices.

The timing, use, and versatility of course syllabi allow instructors to set the tone of a course with (or without) an eye towards inclusivity. Syllabi design and content influence learning for all students but affects particularly students from marginalized groups as they navigate STEM courses. As we strive to attract and retain students with diverse backgrounds to fluid dynamics, syllabi can be a key way to make our courses more welcoming and inclusive. We report a study about inclusive practices in course syllabi at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a private four-year STEM institution in Massachusetts. We consider Identity Safety Cues (ISCs) as a measure of inclusivity and evaluate whether syllabi: (a) list instructors' pronouns, (b) utilize readings and materials authored by women and gender minority scholars, and (c) contain inclusivity statements. We report and compare perspectives on these three aspects from two data sets: 163 syllabi analyzed based on a well-defined rubric and results from an undergraduate student survey. The two complementary data sets provide a way to benchmark whether there is a link between student and faculty perceptions of syllabi use and desired content. We find sharp differences between students' expectations and actual syllabi content for all three ISCs of interest, with students wanting inclusive practices at the forefront of course development regardless of subject, and faculty lagging behind. We also find strong correlations between instructor gender and rank and the inclusivity of their course syllabi. We provide suggestions on how to incorporate inclusive practices in syllabi design and propose further questions to explore.