What is Simple Syllabus?

Simple Syllabus makes the creation of syllabi convenient and efficient for instructors by providing a template with fields for all required and optional elements as required by the KU Syllabus Policy (eliminating the need to consult syllabus guidelines). Accessing and updating previous syllabi is easy, with tools to generate visually interesting syllabi that include images, audio, and video. Much of the necessary information will be centralized and automatically pre-populated into the syllabus templates.

Learn more: Simple Syllabus.

Does my course require a syllabus?

With a few exceptions, all courses must have a syllabus in the repository. The Syllabus Policy does allow for exclusions for masters’ thesis, dissertation hours, practicum, and research hours. The academic departments will be responsible for verifying that the syllabi are compliant and that all courses that need a syllabus have one on file. We rely on the subject matter experts to sign off on the compliance and what courses must have a syllabus.

Must I use Simple Syllabus to create my syllabus?

The use of the Simple Syllabus tool to create your syllabus is strongly recommended and will ensure that all required elements of the Syllabus Policy are included in your syllabus. However, the use of Simple Syllabus to create your syllabus is not required. What is required is that all instructors upload their syllabus document into Simple Syllabus—the University’s central repository for all course syllabi.

While uploading a syllabus document is the only required step in Simple Syllabus, there are several advantages to using the full syllabus tool. For this reason, we encourage faculty to try out this tool as a way to reduce their administrative burden, because the Simple Syllabus tool makes these three tasks obsolete:

Copy-and-pasting any updated required KU syllabus language each term for each syllabus. Instead of faculty having to locate/copy/paste the updates of these statements every term, Simple Syllabus prepopulates the statements automatically with no time or effort required by faculty.
Meeting disability accessibility standards for all syllabi. It is a best practice to have all syllabi in a format that meets disability accessibility standards. Simple Syllabus formats all syllabi to these standards in a digital format, and it exports to Word as an accessible document. Simple Syllabus also meets mobile usage accessibility standards.
Uploading every syllabus each term to the KU Syllabus Library. In the past, there wasn’t a centralized submission process for syllabi. Simple Syllabus automatically loads to the Syllabus Library and for a new semester, faculty can easily update only partial elements of their syllabus, if they choose. Faculty can also, with one click, roll their syllabi over from term to term. This reduces the burden on both faculty and, in many units on campus, staff who have been tasked with this work.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact itedtech@ku.edu.

If a class has a lecture and labs that are in the system separately, is it OK to just have the syllabus for the main lecture or does every lab section also have to have a syllabus?

Each section requires a syllabus to be uploaded. A single syllabus can be used for a course, Lab and Lecture, if enrollment is concurrent during the semester. This shared syllabus should be uploaded to each section in Simple Syllabus and would need to include course information and section numbers for each affiliated lab section. Information on how to copy a syllabus to a different course can be found here.

If the lab courses are independently taken, not required to be taken at the same time or semester, they would need a syllabus independent from the main course.

If a course is listed but has no enrolled students, does it have to have a syllabus?

If there are not students enrolled in a course, it does not need a syllabus.

If office hours are not yet set at the beginning of the term (particularly for GTAs) or change, is it OK to put TBA and/or change the syllabus midterm? Do we have to have office hours set in stone before classes start?

If the lab courses are required to be taken at the same time/semester as the main course and the main course syllabus holds all of the lab course information, the lab would not require its own syllabus; however, the lab section/course numbers, etc. would need to be included on the main course syllabus that is uploaded and shared with students so it is clear to students the one syllabus covers both the main course and the associated required lab.

If the lab courses are independently taken/not required to be taken at the same time or semester they would need a syllabus.

Who can access my syllabus in Simple Syllabus?

Simple Syllabus is not accessible to the public. Syllabi uploaded to Simple Syllabus can only be accessed by students who have access to your Canvas course, and by authorized university personnel, such as department chairs, departmental and school/college administrative staff, and central administration.

How can I gain access to reports for my School's or Department's usage of Simple Syllabus?

For individuals needing access to reports on the usage and adoption of Simple Syllabus within their Department or School please have your Dean contact the Educational Technology team at itedtech@ku.edu to request report admin access for your account.

I have my syllabus in a Word Document. How do I get it into Simple Syllabus?

When using the Simple Syllabus tool, you can copy and paste any information from a current syllabus document you have or you can type directly into the different component boxes. It accepts images, hyperlinks, and other rich content. If you need more sections than the preset components, you can add more by selecting "+Add" and then "Reorder" to arrange them in the order that makes sense for your course.

If you prefer, you can also choose to upload your existing PDF or Word syllabus document to Simple Syllabus using the Switch to Uploaded Files for this Syllabus option at the top of the syllabus interface. Learn more: Simple Syllabus Document Upload Process.

I’m an instructor. My course is currently cross-listed, and I cannot open my syllabus in Simple Syllabus. What do I do?

If you are teaching courses that are cross-listed, you will need to go directly to the Simple Syllabus portal at ku.simplesyllabus.com and login. From there, edit the syllabus for each course section. Learn more: Simple Syllabus for Merged (Cross-Listed) Courses. Students will be able to view the syllabus published for the "Parent" section directly from the Simple Syllabus navigation link in Canvas.

If I am teaching multiple sections of the same course, can I copy content from one syllabus to another?

The content from your most recently submitted syllabus will automatically populate onto your current syllabus. If you prefer to start from a different syllabus than the one that auto-imported, you can click 'Replace with a different syllabus' at the top of the publisher to search for and import the syllabus of your choosing.

If I am teaching multiple sections of the same course, when I submit one section does it automatically update the other sections?

When you edit a syllabus, your changes will only apply to the specific syllabus that you that make the changes in, regardless of whether or not you are teaching other sections of the same course. You will need to edit each section manually, though you can choose to 'Replace with a different syllabus' at the top of the publisher to search for and import the syllabus from another section of the course.

I want to use the Canvas Course Summary. How can I do that with Simple Syllabus?

Simple Syllabus has the ability to sync items that would appear on the Canvas course summary into the Simple Syllabus component titled 'Course Assignments and Requirements'. This section lists (with hyperlinks) all published assignments, discussions, and quizzes within the course and includes due dates and point totals, much like the course summary on the Canvas Syllabus tool. As assignments are updated in Canvas, they will be updated on Simple Syllabus (you may need to refresh the component using the circular arrows). A very important note: any changes to due dates, points, assignment name, etc. must be done in Canvas first and then synced to Simple Syllabus. If you make the change in this area in Simple Syllabus first, it will break the synchronization.

Help! I get an error message view Simple Syllabus in Student View.

Student View in Canvas does not work for viewing Simple Syllabus. Because it uses permissions from those actually enrolled in the Canvas course section, and “Test Student” is not officially enrolled in your course, you will see an error message instead of the syllabus when viewing in student view. Instead, click “Preview” on the syllabus in the Simple Syllabus view to see a finalized version of it. The student’s view is the same as the preview (the instructor view minus the “Edit syllabus” button and the analytics bar).

Can I edit my syllabus after submitting it?

Yes! Once all the changes are saved, you can submit it again, and the most recent version will appear for your students and in the Simple Syllabus Library. All syllabi will display the "last updated" date.

How can I see my previous term’s Simple Syllabus?

Once you have multiple terms of syllabi in the system, you can see your previous syllabi in Simple Syllabus by logging in directly to the portal at ku.simplesyllabus.com and selecting "Published." This also provides ways for you to share your syllabus as well.

Can I tell if my students have read my syllabus?

Yes, Simple Syllabus allows instructors to track student engagement with syllabi using the student engagement feature. If you are working directly in Simple Syllabus, you can view the web version by navigating to the ‘Published’ tab, searching for your syllabus, and clicking ‘View’. If you are working in your LMS environment, you can navigate to the published syllabus in your LMS. The blue horizontal bar indicates the number of students that have viewed the syllabus (dark blue) and the number of students that have not viewed the syllabus (light blue).

What is the difference between the Public/Private and Visible/Invisible toggles when I am adding or editing content in my Simple Syllabus?

Visible means that this component appears on the finalized version of the syllabus. Invisible means that the component is not displayed on the published version of the document. Note: Leaving a component blank will also render it invisible on the syllabus.

In some documentation available online for Simple Syllabus, there may be references for options to make components (or the syllabus) Public or Private. KU is currently not using the public or institution facing syllabus repository features, meaning that syllabi are only visible to instructors and students enrolled in course sections, or KU Simple Syllabus administrators. It is is not currently possible to share a syllabus with other users unless you take steps to share the PDF version or add users to your Canvas course.

Who will evaluate my syllabus to determine if it is compliant with Syllabus Policy?

Instructors that use the Simple Syllabus tool will be prompted to include all information and links required by the KU Syllabus Policy. Thus, these syllabi are expected to be fully compliant with the policy with no additional effort or assessment.

For syllabi created outside of Simple Syllabus and uploaded into the repository, departments and schools will develop their own methods of assessing the degree to which these syllabi are compliant with the KU Syllabus Policy. A syllabus audit tool was developed in Summer of 2023, and can be used by departments to assess such syllabi.

For questions regarding the 2023 audit tool, or on who will conduct the audit, please contact your Department Chair or Dean.

Can I include a diversity and inclusion statement on my syllabus?

The KU Syllabus Policy requires that all syllabi reference or link to the KU Statement on Diversity and Inclusion, which was unanimously approved by the University Senate Executive Committee in 2010. KU’s General Counsel reviewed both policies with respect to HB2105 and found they are not in conflict. Additionally, HB2105 does not restrict what faculty say about their classroom environment. Should you also wish to incorporate an additional inclusive environment statement on the syllabi for your individual course(s) you may do so. For additional questions about HB2105 please visit the Office of the Provost website for other FAQs.

Are there additional resources I can access when creating my syllabus?

The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) maintains an extensive collection of resources to assist instructors as they develop or redevelop their course syllabi. These are available at Preparing a Syllabus. This website includes a section on University Policies and Student Resources, and provides sample language for Diversity, Inclusivity, and Class Climate statements. This site also provides sample language and required policy links for instructors that wish to develop their own syllabi (outside of Simple Syllabus) and FAQs on KU’s Syllabus Policy.