First day of class slides for a university course
The first-day deck of a university course does one job: by the end of the hour every student knows what the course is for, how it runs, how they will be assessed, where things are, and what to do before next week. Eight to twelve slides in that order, policies on one slide, a real first task at the end; a course introduction template with this shape is on this site.
This guide gives the slides, the reasons for the order, what to leave out, and the one activity that makes the first day a class rather than a briefing.
The slides, in order
- Title: course code and name, your name, contact line, office hours. On screen as people arrive.
- Who you are (one slide): what you work on and why you teach this course. Thirty seconds; it makes the rest sound like a person.
- What the course is for: the question the course answers and what a student can do at the end, as verbs ("read a scheduler, explain why it looks like that"). This is the course's spine; say it and leave it up.
- How the course runs: the weekly rhythm (reading before, lecture, lab), the tools, and where everything lives (course page, forum, handouts). Two columns.
- The schedule: a table of weeks, topics and readings. Students photograph this one.
- Assessment: components, weights, dates. A table. Say aloud what a passing student does each week.
- Policies in one slide: attendance, collaboration, late work, AI tools, accommodations. One line each; the long form is in the syllabus. Say the accommodation line out loud and invite conversation in week one.
- What we will do today (optional): the first content, if the hour has room. Even twenty minutes of the real subject beats an hour of logistics.
- Before next week: the reading with sections, the setup task, one question to post on the forum. Dated.
Why this order
The purpose comes before the rules because rules without a purpose are a contract read aloud. The schedule comes before assessment because students weigh the workload first. Policies come late and short because a room that has just heard why the course matters accepts them without argument. The task comes last so it is the last thing on the screen.
The one activity
Ask the room to write one sentence: "By week 14 I want to be able to …". Collect three aloud, note them, and bring them back on the last day. It takes four minutes, it turns the briefing into a class, and it gives you the room's expectations in their words. Put it after the purpose slide or at the very end.
What to leave out
- The full syllabus text on slides; it is in the syllabus.
- A slide per policy; one slide, one line each.
- Your publication list; one line on slide 2 is enough.
- A long history of the field before the purpose; students want to know what the course does for them first.
- Slides you will not have time for; a first day that runs over sets the tone for a term.
The deck as a file
Keep the introduction deck in the course folder as week 1 and copy it forward each term: the schedule table and the dates change, the purpose and policies rarely do. In Lecture Studio a course carries a syllabus.md beside the decks, so the schedule table and the assessment table have one source; the Course policies slide text starter in the course chat writes the policies slide from the syllabus. The course introduction template has the nine slides above with placeholder content.
FAQ
What should be in first-day-of-class slides?
Title, who you are, what the course is for, how it runs, the schedule, assessment, policies in one slide, an optional first piece of content, and what to do before next week.
How many slides for a course introduction?
Eight to twelve. The schedule and assessment tables carry most of the information; everything else is one slide each.
Should the first lecture cover content or only logistics?
Both, if the hour allows: twenty minutes of the subject after the logistics shows students what the course is like.
Where can I get a course introduction slide template?
The course introduction template on this site is a Marp deck with the nine slides; open it in the editor or download the Markdown.