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Syllabus

The syllabus is one of the most important communicative texts shared between you and your students. A syllabus can set the tone for a course, lay out expectations and class rules, and can even motivate learning. The careful design of a syllabus is critical to student engagement and success. You are individually responsible for developing course content and selecting pedagogical approaches for your courses; however, to ensure consistency across the university, UCF policy dictates some required elements of your course syllabi.

Posting, Submission, and Retention Requirements

To learn more about Simple Syllabus, when to post your syllabus, and how it will be retained, visit the Simple Syllabus page on the Provost’s website.

Simple Syllabus

A tool in Webcourses called Simple Syllabus makes syllabi visible by default to all UCF stakeholders when logged in with NID.  It is the required method of posting syllabi for all UCF courses. Faculty must build the elements manually using the Template builder, rather than upload a PDF. In fact, Simple Syllabus completely replaces the need for any PDF/DOCX version of a syllabus. Students will ONLY read Simple Syllabus.

  • This 21-minute video walks faculty through the basic set up of Simple Syllabus, from the top of the page all the way to the “Submit” button.

The Simple Syllabus tool must be published by the first day of class and remain visible during the entire semester. Additionally, GEP courses need to have “public” visibility to comply with Florida law, and they need to be posted earlier.

Other Caveats and Notes:

  1. Simple Syllabus only works with live/production courses. If the course is in development or is a blueprint course, Simple Syllabus won’t register it in the system.
  2. Only instructors of record can edit the Simple Syllabus syllabi. Designers should be able to see them in the system after the syllabus has been published but will not have access to them prior to that time.
  3. The interactive syllabus feature in Webcourses is not a substitute for Simple Syllabus, but may be used to prepare syllabus content for future courses, making it easy to paste into Simple Syllabus when the time comes.
  4. Courses like dissertation hours, independent study, MD clinical, and other unstructured courses do not have to use Simple Syllabus. See the UCF Policy 4-403.3 for additional information.
  5. For now, the College of Medicine is not using Simple Syllabus.
  6. Once created, a Simple Syllabus can be duplicated into other courses where you are an instructor, including in a future semester.
  7. If linking to Simple Syllabus from a Canvas “page,” you need to select “external link” rather than “course link” (and obtain the URL by re-submitting the Simple Syllabus and receiving the URL via popup).

Public Repository

Some syllabi are visible to the general public, if the instructor has configured it that way. These can be viewed here. This is where students can view the repository of archived syllabi from previous terms.

Required Simple Syllabus Components

The Simple Syllabus tool automatically imports some information (such as course details found in the Schedule of Classes, such as instructor information). Other required elements are marked as such.

  • Core syllabus statements that apply to all UCF courses will automatically appear in Simple Syllabus and are not editable by individual faculty members.

One of the required sections is Course Policies. Our syllabus statements page contains the language for optional sample policies you can use or adapt for your own.

Recommended Enhancements to Simple Syllabus

While Simple Syllabus is pre-populated with the components that are required, it also includes functionality to add additional components. We at FCTL recommend that you DO include additional components, because students will use your archived syllabi as a way to gauge what your upcoming courses may be like. Previously, we viewed syllabi only as contracts (or perhaps a way to inspire students who are already in the class). Syllabi still do those things, but now they can also serve to “market” your course to students who haven’t yet enrolled.

With this idea of marketing in mind, here are several ideas we recommend:

  • Add an image to the top. Without you inserting a class-relevant image, the top of the syllabus looks formal rather than inviting. You could create a new component, title it the same title of your course, and use the edit box to upload an image rather than type any text. You’ll need to move the new component all the way to the top manually.
  • About the Instructor. There is a required section called Instructor Information where you provide your office hours and contact information, but no place to add a brief bio about yourself. So, add this new component, and consider including a photo of yourself as well, to help set a welcoming tone, and help students connect with you as a person.
  • Add more under Course Description. This section will auto-populate with the catalog description, but there is a text box below to add more information. This is your opportunity to augment the catalog description with language that is warmer and more approachable, and with your particular inflection on the material. You could use this space to let students know what to expect in the course – a chance to really sell the course as valuable for their future careers and get them excited to begin.
    • One great way to accomplish this is to map your deliverables or assignments to NACE competencies, which are skillsets employers value in alumni. Of course, this is another great section to add photos to drive visual interest.
  • How to succeed in this course. Not all courses are alike. Your students may benefit from hearing your suggestions for effective study habits for this course, and what their expected weekly workload looks like.
    • It can be beneficial to link to videos (or handwritten notes) of previous students who were asked to provide tips for future students on succeeding in your course.
  • Add more to the Grade Breakdown. While you’re required to input the categories and grade weights that add up to 100%, there is space below to add more detail. If you already know what your major assignments will be, it’s helpful to prospective students to see as many details as you can add.

Each time you add a new component, it will appear at the bottom of the syllabus. We view all the recommended additions above as tone-setting components that work best when near the top of the document, so you will have to drag each component up as you add it. Details on this process are on the Provost’s website.