Simple Syllabus does not require a separate login to access and edit your syllabi; instructors can reach the platform securely through ACES login or the LTI link in their Canvas course.
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Syllabus Availability
Per Texas HB 2504, a syllabus must be available no later than the seventh day after the first day of classes for a semester (or other part-of-term) during which the course is offered.
A due date will be provided in Simple Syllabus to reflect the course start date for each part-of-term, but instructors and departmental editors are strongly encouraged to fill in their details and submit the document before this date.
When does a syllabus become available for editing?
Course syllabi are generated through information pulled from the Banner course schedule as well as updates made to syllabus templates by the District, College, or Department administrators.
Instructors will receive access to edit their syllabi approximately 4 weeks before the upcoming term. Academic Chairs, Program Coordinators, Faculty Leads, and the college's VPAS office (or designees) can also make edits to the college and department templates during this time.
When does a syllabus become archived?
For courses that conclude earlier in a semester, edits can be made to a syllabus through the term's end date. For courses that run through the end of a semester, editing access will cease at the following points of the session:
- Fall/Spring Sessions - 3 weeks before the full 16-week term concludes
- Summer Session - 4 weeks before the final summer term concludes
Syllabi from previous terms will continue to reside in the Simple Syllabus Library for at least two years from the semester's end date, if not longer.
How to Access All Syllabi through ACES
To access syllabi for the current, previous, or upcoming terms, instructors and departmental editors can connect to their Simple Syllabus dashboard through their ACES account.
To begin, navigate to either the Faculty or Employee tab of ACES and locate the Simple Syllabus portlet in the right column. Select the Simple Syllabus logo to launch the website.
The public-facing Simple Syllabus site will load in a new browser tab or window; select the Login button in the upper right to sign in to your Simple Syllabus account.
Users who logged into ACES recently will connect to their Simple Syllabus account right away, but if your ACES has timed out, you will be required to authenticate again.
Once you've logged into the web-based tool, you will have access to the following areas of the Simple Syllabus website as an Instructor:
Syllabus Dashboard
When launched from ACES, Simple Syllabus will open on your user Dashboard, and it consists of any open items that you will need to address, primarily incomplete syllabi that need to be completed and submitted for publishing.
Each item will display the name of the syllabus, the term, the course title, the status of the document ("Not Started" or "In Progress"), due date, and the instructor(s) who will have access to edit and publish the document.
Published Syllabi
The Published tab is where your syllabi go once you have completed and submitted them for viewing by the public. You will have access to "View" a web version of the syllabus, "Print" or download a PDF version of the syllabus, or "Share" the web URL, print URL, or copy an iFrame link to embed in a webpage.
You will also have access to reopen, edit, and resubmit a syllabus through the archiving date, or view the Student Engagement report.
Use the Term and Search filters to locate a syllabus you submitted for a different term.
Syllabus Library
The Syllabus Library is the central repository of syllabi that have been published for each of the five colleges in the Alamo Colleges District. The search tool allows you to filter down syllabi to a specific term, college, department, subject, course number, or instructor. Additionally, you can do a general keyword search using the Search field.
Historical syllabi from Fall 2013 to Fall 2022 will appear in the Simple Syllabus Library, but only in PDF format. See the Simple Syllabus Transition FAQs for more information.
Profile
The information you enter into your Profile will auto-fill certain fields within the Instructor Information component of each syllabus. Use this area to update your name, add a prefix or suffix, and enter your curriculum vitae (CV) that comprises your post secondary education, teaching experience, and any relevant professional publication information related to your field of study.
While you do have access to update the information in your Simple Syllabus profile, we recommend you DO NOT edit the Email field or update your password as it may result in connection errors to your syllabi.
Support
Simple Syllabus Help
Selecting the Get Help button will display a Simple Syllabus Help form that will be routed to Simple Syllabus's IT Support. The Simple Syllabus Help Desk is available Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. CST, and typically responds to support tickets within 20 minutes if they are submitted during business hours.
For faster processing, provide the following information for each ticket you submit:
- Name - Provide your name as it appears on your Simple Syllabus profile.
- Institution - Type "Alamo Colleges District" or "https://alamo.simplesyllabus.com".
- Email - List your @alamo.edu address.
- How can we help? - Provide a brief description of the technical difficulty you are experiencing with Simple Syllabus as well as the course/college acronym/section number and the part-of-term the course takes place.
Locating Term and Course Information
Term and course information can be found at the top of each syllabus. In the example below, the term is "Spring 2023 Full Term" and the course is "ACCT-2302-NLC 004."
View the following guide for more information about the parts-of-term in Simple Syllabus for Fall/Spring and Summer semesters.
The Simple Hub
The Support link located at the bottom of the site will take you to the Simple Syllabus support website, The Simple Hub. Users must register their Alamo email address with Simple Syllabus in order to access these online resources, including articles, video tutorials, and FAQs.
How to Access an Individual Syllabus through Canvas
On Dec. 11, 2022, the Simple Syllabus LTI replaced the Concourse LTI found in the course navigation link titled Course Syllabus. This link appears by default in every new Canvas course shell.
Accessing an individual syllabus through a Canvas course's Course Syllabus link [A] will connect instructors to the syllabus document for that particular section. From here, instructors can edit and submit their syllabus; view or print the syllabus; and pull up the Student Engagement report for the course.
If edits need to be made to a syllabus after it has been published, you can select the Edit syllabus button [B] reopen and make the necessary updates to the syllabus before submitting it again.
To access all of your syllabi from your Simple Syllabus dashboard, select the View your Simple dashboard link [C] at the top of the application when it is in the publisher (or editing) interface.
The Course Syllabus link is enabled by default in every Canvas course, but instructors can place it higher in the list of links so it will be more prominent to students.
For cross-listed Canvas courses, the appropriate section-level syllabus will display for students when they click on the Course Syllabus link in the course navigation menu. However, instructors will receive a "This course is not currently setup with Simple Syllabus" error message when they select the same link.
To access syllabi for cross-listed Canvas courses, you will need to log into your Simple Syllabus dashboard from ACES.
View the following guide to begin editing and publishing your syllabi. Your Academic Chair, Program Coordinator, or Faculty Lead can provide guidance for what information to include in your syllabus.
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