It can challenge and entice. In such a description, professors are free to make a personal connection by explaining what is glorious about their individual courses. Formal Description You are obligated to teach a class that is consistent with the catalogue description of the course. If you are not going to teach something that is in the catalogue description, you must make that explicit at the beginning of the class and you should put it in writing in the syllabus. Of course, you are not limited to covering only what is in the catalogue.
Some instructors choose to include the catalogue description in the syllabus.
That is not necessary, and you are probably better advised to develop your own description that encompasses what is in the catalogue, but goes beyond that terse description in a more communicative and eloquent fashion. Rationale Students often take courses for reasons that have little to do with the intellectual content of the course. Students may be in your class because the course is required, or is offered at a convenient time or location, or because a friend is in the course. The syllabus should offer an explanation of why this course is in the curriculum and why it is important. If you don't believe in the value of your course, don't expect your students to find value in it.