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Simple Syllabus is a dynamic tool adopted by Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) to streamline the creation and distribution of course syllabi. By integrating directly within Canvas, it allows faculty members to design, update, and share their syllabi in a more efficient manner, aligning with FSW's commitment to enhancing educational resources. With user-friendly features and compliance with institutional standards, Simple Syllabus offers a modern approach to a vital component of the academic experience at FSW.
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Locating Simple SyllabusHelp ChevronsRequired SectionsInstructor InformationCourse InformationCourse LocationRequirements for the StudentsAttendance PolicyGrading PolicyRequired and Recommended Course MaterialsClass Schedule and Canvas ScheduleAny other information or class procedures or policies and SubmittingYour Simple Dashboard & FAQ
Locating Simple Syllabus
To access your Simple Syllabus, navigate to your Canvas course, and then click on the "Simple Syllabus" link within the Course Navigation Menu on the left-hand side of your Canvas course.
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Help Chevrons
You can always click the help arrow chevron for guided assistance.
Collapse the help information by pressing the chevron again.
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Required Sections
Required sections can be identified by the thick highlighted border and the "Required" statement in the bottom left.
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Instructor Information
Select the edit icon to add your preferred communication method and additional information. Full-time Faculty must include office hours.
Please note: This information is locked, accessible, and visible to the public. Please only use FSW issued phone numbers, email addresses, and non-personal communication methods in this section.
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Additional Course Information
(OPTIONAL) If there is specific information unique to this section, add it here (e.g. this section has 3 field trips; this section meets every other Tuesday - ask Instructor for details). Leave blank if not applicable.
For Blended courses, please include the meeting guidelines and expectations for your students. (e.g. This course meets half online and half in-person.)
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Course Location
Please state the campus and room location and/or the remote meeting location (e.g. Class or Zoom link).
If fully-online, please include a statement indicating this class does not meet in person.
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Requirements for the Students
This section must remain Public. List specific course assessments such as class participation, tests, homework assignments, make-up procedures, etc. You may include a table of assignment categories and weights here or the Grading Policy section.
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Attendance Policy
The professor’s specific policy concerning absence. (The College policy on attendance is in the Catalog and defers to the professor).
Example pictured below:
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Grading Policy
This section must remain Public. Include numerical ranges for letter grades; the following is a range commonly used by many faculty. Please enter your grading scale into the table that has been prebuilt. You may include a table of assignment categories and weights here or the Requirements for Students section.
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Required and Recommended Course Materials
Required Course Materials
This section must remain Public. Please enter the department adopted textbook and other required materials for the course. Contact the department chair for all required materials. If you are using OERs and other materials simply enter a Title and add additional information like a link.
Recommended/Reserved Course Materials
Other Special learning resources that are available at the library. If uncertain, please select the "eReserves" link in Canvas under Student Resources to see if your textbook is available.
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Class Schedule and Canvas Schedule
Class Schedule
This section should include a list of dates for major course assignments and the final exam information (date and time). If you use the Canvas Schedule, please enter a note of that in this box. Note: the instructor retains the right to modify the dates with advance notification to students.
Canvas Schedule
Instructors: If you are using this automatic schedule option, please make changes to assignments, assignment points, and dues dates within the Canvas course. Do not make changes here in the Simple Syllabus. Please Note: The schedule will not be available until the course is published. If you choose not to use this feature, toggle the visible and public options off.
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Any other information or class procedures, or policies & Submitting
Any other information or class procedures
Please add any other course specific information for your students. For example, you may choose to include a specific statement on the use of generative AI in your course and other course policies.
Submitting
If you have completed all the required areas above, you will be able to click the Submit button.
Note: each time you make a change to the syllabus, you will need to resubmit it for review and publishing. It might be a good idea to leave a comment on what you have updated and changed if you are resubmitting it after making changes.
If the Submit button is gray and can not be clicked, you might have some required areas to complete. Select the Warning message to the right of the Internal Comment area to see a list of sections that still need to be completed.
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FAQ & Your Simple Dashboard
FAQ
- Your syllabus will save automatically as you are working on it.
- Please review the help text available for each section of the syllabus.
- Boxes with a heavy border and Required note must be filled out to enable the “Submit” button for your syllabus.
- Clicking the “Submit” button will send your syllabus to your department chair for review and publishing. It will be unavailable for editing during that time. Once your syllabus is reviewed and published by your Chair and your Canvas course is published, your syllabus will become available to your students in your Canvas course.
- To share a link directly to your completed (reviewed and published) syllabus, or get a PDF, you can go to your Simple Syllabus dashboard by clicking the link in any of your syllabi in Canvas or at fsw.simplesyllabus.com.
- The “Visible” button toggles the visibility of sections of your syllabi on and off for the students in your section. The “Public” button toggles the visibility of sections of your syllabi on and off for anyone viewing the FSW Simple Syllabus Library. Sections that must remain public are noted in the help text on Simple Syllabus. Please remember that we are subject to broad open records laws, so any syllabus can be made publicly available through a records request.
- When you are in “Student View” in Canvas, you will still see the Edit button on the Simple Syllabus link.
- If you want to include Zoom links for Office Hours or your Live Online/Flex sections, we recommend you do so in the “Course Location” section of the syllabus, which can be toggled to “Private.” This will ensure that only students in your section will see the Zoom link.
Your Simple Dashboard
You can always revisit your completed syllabus and view your "To Do" list by clicking the link at the top titled "View your Simple dashboard."
You will see two columns:
(1) The syllabi you need to complete and submit.
(2) The syllabi that have been completed.
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