College Syllabus?

They were routinely handed out in the 1970s.

Either your grandparents are mistaken or their particular colleges did not use them.

The syllabus was a vital piece that grouped the data that all students needed, and was routinely handed out during the first class.  Most were about 2 or 3 pages long.  The syllabus had the professor's name, contact information, office hours, the required textbook(s), the aims of the course, the grading strategy, the date of any midterm and final exams, and a week by week breakdown of what would be discussed and any required reading due that week.  

Without the syllabus, students would be lost.

My understanding is that the current syllabus, though distributed electronically, is roughly the same.

I had them in the early 70s.

my dad was in college in the 50's and I know that at least some of his classes had them