Preparing Your Simple Syllabus for a New Semester

Introduction

Before the start of each term, faculty should review and update their Simple Syllabus content to ensure course information, assignment dates, grading policies, and contact information are accurate. This article explains how to prepare an existing syllabus for a new semester, understand course copy behavior, and synchronize assignment and due date information from Brightspace.

Preparing for a New Semester

Access Your Syllabus

1. Navigate to your Brightspace course and click Syllabus on the course navigation bar.
2. Log in with your institutional credentials if prompted.
3. Review pre-filled campus templates and non-negotiable institutional policies.

Updating Content for the New Term

1. Click Edit on your dashboard to fill in required fields highlighted in orange (such as office hours and supervisor contact details).
2. Use the import feature to Copy Your Syllabus from a previous semester to save time.
3. For a visual walkthrough of the interface, watch the Introduction to Simple Syllabus guide.
4. Connect your Brightspace gradebook to automatically sync your tentative course schedule and assignment due dates.

Editing Course Information

1. Open your course in Brightspace.
2. Select Simple Syllabus.
3. Choose Edit.
4. Update the desired sections.
5. Save your work.
6. Publish the updated version if required.

Tips:

• Save frequently.
• Required fields are marked accordingly.
• Review your syllabus before publishing.
• While some components auto-save, you may still need to save fields manually, such as Reading Resources and Technology Needs.

Finalizing and Publishing

1. Run the accessibility checker to resolve any missing table headers or formatting errors.
   • Please review: Accessibility Best Practices in Simple Syllabus
2. Preview the final layout before clicking Submit for department approval.

Understanding Course Copies

When copying a Brightspace course into a new semester, it is important to understand how Simple Syllabus behaves.

What Happens During a Course Copy?

• Brightspace course content copies normally.
• The syllabus is managed separately through Simple Syllabus.
• A new syllabus is generated for each course offering.

Best Practices

• Review every syllabus before publishing.
• Verify dates.
• Update office hours.
• Confirm grading policies.
• Review assignment references.

Importing Syllabus from One Course to Another

If you wish to copy content from one course syllabus to another, utilizing the import feature can help.

1. Open your new course in Brightspace and click Syllabus on the main navbar.
2. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) on your active syllabus section.
3. Select "Replace with a different syllabus?" or the Import option at the top of the publisher.
4. Use the Term drop-down menu and Search field to locate your prior course or section.
5. Choose whether to import the whole syllabus or toggle Advanced options to select specific components.
6. Review the pulled content, make necessary updates (like due dates or schedules), and click Submit

Syncing Assignments and Due Dates from Brightspace

Simple Syllabus can retrieve information from your Brightspace course to reduce duplicate data entry.

Information That May Sync

• Assignment names
• Due dates
• Course information
• Instructor information

Important Notes

• Changes made in Brightspace may not appear immediately.
• Some items require a manual refresh.
• Certain syllabus sections remain editable only within Simple Syllabus.
• Not all Brightspace content from third-party tools automatically synchronizes with Simple Syllabus. Review all imported information before publishing your syllabus.

Assignments and Due Dates

The Simple Syllabi only syncs dates from graded items created in Assignments, Quizzes, or Discussions.

Steps:

1. Ensure all activities in D2L have the correct dates set. For Assignments and Quizzes, dates are pulled from the Due Date you have set for each grade item. For Discussions, it uses the End Date.
2. Navigate to the Tentative Course Schedule section in Simple Syllabus and verify that the visibility setting is toggled to [Visible].
3. Click the two-arrow circular icon on the right to sync your Tentative Course Schedule with grading activities such as assignments, quizzes, and discussions.
4. During syncing, you will see the icon spinning for a few minutes.
   • NOTE: After selecting the sync icon, it may take some time for updated dates to appear. Even if the spinning icon stops and the page reloads, the previous dates might still be visible. Please allow24-hours for the new dates to fully update.
5. Once the dates are synced, you can manually remove any items by clicking the [trashcan] icon, or add any additional dates by clicking [Add new item]. Enabling the [Show Deleted] checkbox will reveal items that were deleted.
   • IMPORTANT: Manually making any changes to the Tentative Course Schedule in Simple Syllabus permanently break its ability to sync with D2L. This cannot be reversed. If this happens, you will need to manually maintain the Tentative Course Schedule if you wish to continue using it.

Troubleshooting Tips

If the expected information is not updating:

• Verify the assignment exists in Brightspace.
• Allow several minutes for synchronization.
• Refresh the Simple Syllabus page.
• Contact your LMS support team if synchronization continues to fail.

Additional Resources

Simple Syllabus UTRGV

Getting Started with Simple Syllabus in Brightspace

Managing Course Syllabi in Brightspace with Multiple Instructors

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Simple Syllabus required for all courses?

Yes. For compliance purposes, all course syllabi should be made available to students regardless of the course delivery format.

This includes:

• Online courses
• Face-to-Face (F2F) courses
• Hybrid courses

Faculty should ensure that their syllabi are complete and available to students in accordance with institutional requirements.

Will my syllabus automatically be added to Watermark when it is created?

No. The syllabus must currently be uploaded to Watermark manually.

Note: Simple Syllabus is working toward automating this process. Until that functionality becomes available, users should continue following the established process for manually uploading syllabi to Watermark.

Will content from third-party tools sync with Simple Syllabus?

No. Content from third-party tools does not sync directly with Simple Syllabus.

If course activities or content are maintained in an external or third-party tool, the applicable information may need to be added or updated manually in Simple Syllabus.

Do activities in Brightspace sync with Simple Syllabus?

Supported activities, such as Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions, must first exist in Brightspace for them to sync with Simple Syllabus.

Recommendation: Create and maintain these activities in Brightspace when you want to use the synchronization functionality. When activity information changes, review your Simple Syllabus to ensure that the information displayed to students remains accurate.

Is it required to add all course activities to Simple Syllabus?

No. Adding Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions to Simple Syllabus is optional.

However, including these activities is recommended. Activities synced from Brightspace can help reduce the need to manually update Simple Syllabus when activity details change.