Syllabus

A syllabus is basically a contract between a student, or a set of students, and a faculty member.  The syllabus may include the following (Fink 2003):

• General management information—the teacher’s name, office hours, phone, e-mail address, and so on
• Goals for the course
• Structure and sequence of class activities, including due dates for major assignments, tests and projects
• Text and other required reading material
• Grading procedures
• Course policies: attendance, work turned in late, make-up exams, penalties for academic misconduct, and the like (p.144)

Different schools and departments may have additional requirements to be included in the syllabus.  Please check with your department to see what, if any, are the requirements for your courses.
One example of a very detailed syllabus is seen at the following:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/syllab-4.htm

A slightly different view of a syllabus is seen on page 171 of Peer Review of Teaching: A Sourcebook, Second Edition (Chism, 2007).

References:
Chism, Nancy Van Note. (2007). Peer Review of Teaching: A Sourcebook (2nd ed.).  Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc.
Fink, L. Dee. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.