This study evaluated syllabi (N = 87) from introductory advertising and public relations courses to examine to what extent and how stated course goals and assignments signal the overall learning orientation of a course and which type of learning orientation--mastery or performance--was most common. Mastery orientations emphasize intrinsic rewards, whereas performance orientations emphasize extrinsic rewards (Ames, 1992; Ryan & Deci, 2000). The authors suggest matching syllabi objectives and assignments and providing a detailed explanation of assignments for syllabi improvement. Additionally, they stress the importance of student autonomy, responsibility, and failure as part of the learning process to be incorporated in the syllabus and classroom in order to maximize the use of mastery orientations, which ultimately result in a higher level of learning.