I have set up a course information template, helping instructors offer students all the information they need to know prior to or at the start of a course.
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\begin{document}
\begin{center}
{\Large \textsc{Modeling and Evaluation}}
\end{center}
\begin{center}
Fall 2014
\end{center}
%\date{September 26, 2014}
\begin{center}
\rule{6in}{0.4pt}
\begin{minipage}[t]{.75\textwidth}
\begin{tabular}{llcccll}
\textbf{Instructor:} & Arman Shokrollahi & & & & \textbf{Time:} & F 14:00 -- 17:00 \\
\textbf{Email:} & \href{mailto:XYZ@email.org}{XYZ@email.org} & & & & \textbf{Place:} & 107 Engineering Bldg.
\end{tabular}
\end{minipage}
\rule{6in}{0.4pt}
\end{center}
\vspace{.5cm}
\setlength{\unitlength}{1in}
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\noindent\textbf{Course Pages:} \begin{enumerate}
\item \url{http://yourWebPage1.com/teaching}
\item \url{http://yourWebPage2.com/teaching}
\end{enumerate}
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Office Hours:} After class, or by appointment, or post your questions in the forum provided for this purpose on AeLP.
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Main References:} %\footnotemark
This is a restricted list of various interesting and useful books that will be touched during the course. You need to consult them occasionally.
\begin{itemize}
\item Christopher M. Bishop, {\textit{Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning}}, Springer, 2006.
\item Peter J. Carrington, John Scott, and Stanley Wasserman, {\textit{Models and Methods in Social Network Analysis}}, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
\item Richard O. Duda, Peter E. Hart, and David G. Stork, {\textit{Pattern Classification}}, Wiley, 2nd ed., 2000.
\item Peter Flach, {\textit{Machine Learning: The Art and Science of Algorithms that Make Sense of Data}}, Cambridge University Press, 2012.
\end{itemize}
% \footnotetext{Downloadable ebook versions are available on AeLP.}
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Objectives:} This course is primarily designed for graduate students ...
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Prerequisites:}
An undergraduate-level understanding of probability, statistics, graph theory, algorithms, and linear algebra is assumed.
\vspace*{.15in}
\noindent \textbf{Tentative Course Outline:}
\begin{center}
\begin{minipage}{5in}
\begin{flushleft}
%Chapter 1 \dotfill ~$\approx$ 3 days \\
{\color{darkgreen}{\Rectangle}} ~A little of probability theory and graph theory
\end{flushleft}
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
\vspace*{.15in}
\noindent\textbf{Grading Policy:} Homework and quizzes (30\%), Midterm 1 (20\%), Midterm 2 (20\%), Final (30\%). %Four Projects (40\% = 4 * 10\%)
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Important Dates:}
\begin{center} \begin{minipage}{3.8in}
\begin{flushleft}
Midterm \#1 \dotfill ~\={A}b\={a}n 16, 1393 \\
Midterm \#2 \dotfill ~\={A}zar 21, 1393 \\
%Project Deadline \dotfill ~Month Day \\
Final Exam \dotfill ~Dey 18, 1393 \\
\end{flushleft}
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Course Policy:}
\begin{itemize}
\item Please sign up for AeLP. I will confirm your enrollment for the course, then you will be able to see the course page.
\end{itemize}
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Class Policy:}
\begin{itemize}
\item Regular attendance is essential and expected.
\end{itemize}
\vskip.15in
\noindent\textbf{Academic Honesty:} Lack of knowledge of the academic honesty policy is not a reasonable explanation for a violation.
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\end{document}