College logistics
Extract a semester deadline calendar from syllabuses
Paste each syllabus into the request and ask for a list of tasks with dates, times and the place in the document where each appeared. Keep tentative dates apart from confirmed ones, and send anything unclear to the instructor.
A text to start with
Below are the syllabuses for my courses this term, one course at a time with its name: [pasted text]. List every assignment, exam and graded event with its date, time, time zone and the section or page where it appears. Mark any date described as tentative, approximate or subject to change. Do not fill in a date that is missing.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Semester deadline list
Term: [ ] Syllabus version or date posted: [ ] Course: [ ] Task or exam: [ ] Date: [ ] Time: [ ] Time zone: [ ] Where it appears (section, page, footnote): [ ] Confirmed or tentative: [ ] Wording that signals uncertainty: [ ] Conflicts with another document: [ ] Question for instructor: [ ] Reply and date: [ ]
Dates that hide in the details
Footnotes and fine print at the end of a syllabus can change dates stated earlier. Look for phrases like to be announced, weeks of, or dates that depend on class progress. Exam dates may be set by the registrar rather than the instructor, so confirm the source. A due date without a time may mean midnight or class start, and the syllabus may not say which. Check that a week-based schedule uses the right start date for the term. If two documents disagree, keep both and flag the conflict.
Ask another agent to check the result
Check the footnotes and final pages of each syllabus I pasted for dates that change or add to the main schedule. Report every date marked tentative, approximate or to be announced, and list those apart from confirmed ones. Name the document location for each.
Turn the list into a working calendar
Compare each extracted date with the original syllabus text before relying on it. Email instructors about tentative or missing dates and record their replies with the date. Enter only confirmed dates in your own calendar, and keep tentative ones in a separate list. Recheck the syllabuses after the first week and whenever an instructor posts a revised version.