Beginning Spring 2024, NewView will be enabled for the Alamo Colleges' Simple Syllabus website and user dashboards. Benefits of this new user interface includes:
- Access to all open items and published documents from one spot on your dashboard; and
- Search for syllabi and course templates in more than one part-of-term, including within the Syllabus Library.
While functionality for template editors and report admins mostly remains the same, navigation within the site has changed. Select a link below to jump to a section of this article for more information about navigating Simple Syllabus New View as a template editor:
Navigation in NewView
To begin, log into Simple Syllabus through ACES to connect to your dashboard. Navigation links are now listed vertically on the left side of the site and remain static as you move through the system. Click the arrow to expand and collapse the menu, or hover your cursor over an icon to view its destination.
Home
If you are an instructor, the Home tab serves as your dashboard and combines all of your open and published items into one space. View the following guide for more information about navigating NewView as an Instructor, or expand the following header link for more information about navigating NewView as a Course Designer.
Course Designer access is only provided to users at the request of their department administrator. Please see this guide for more information about using course templates.
Course Designers will access course templates from the Home tab, and if you have syllabi assigned to you, you can filter for just course templates using the document type picker in the top right of the page:
A To Do column [A] on the left displays these documents for current and future terms, and once a syllabus or course template is submitted, it moves the item to the Completed column [B] on the right.
You can switch the view from "Column" to "List" within the View picklist [C] so the two fields display vertically on the Home tab, or you can click the arrow in the top right of each section [D] to collapse/expand the field from view.
Locating a Course Template in NewView
Course templates will be labeled with a Course Template tag [A] and the part-of-term [B] the template propagates information onto section-level syllabi. If you have requested access to course templates for more than one term, you'll want to Edit [C] the template for the earliest part-of-term; this will ensure content rolls forward to other course templates (and syllabi) for subsequent sessions. The course template editing experience remains the same as before, and the publisher interface will display the document in a pop-up window, allowing you to focus on inputting content one template at a time.
The syllabus due date [D] will appear on the template card, but it is recommended you fill in and submit information well ahead of instructors, otherwise you risk overwriting the content they enter into syllabi. If more than one designer is assigned to the course template, you can hover your cursor over the user's initials (or image) in the bottom right to quickly view who has editing access to the template [E].
If you make edits to a published course template without submitting your changes, it will move the item back to your To Do list and show as "In Progress" until you re-submit it:
A course template will be removed from your Completed items section once the part-of-term concludes or editing access is disabled by account administrators. However, you can use the Term picklist to locate the template again within the appropriate Historical term.
To locate a course template that you've requested access to (past or present), use the available Term picklist and Search field/Filters button to refine your search.
Term
Select the Term picklist to filter for syllabi within specific parts-of-term. Term options include:
- Current - Displays syllabi for parts-of-term that are currently in session.
- Future - Displays syllabi for parts-of-term that have not yet started. (Once a term starts, it will move to the Current term.)
- Historical - Displays syllabi for parts-of-term that have concluded, including parts-of-term that ran earlier in the session. (For instance: Wintermester, Maymester, Flex I, Summer I, etc.)
By default, the list will display all syllabi for the current and future terms, but you can select the drop-down arrow to the right of each term to view a list of the available parts-of-term to include/exclude from your search.
Search and Filters
You can locate specific syllabi by using the open-entry Search field and Filters button which will provide you options to narrow down your search by subject, college (or department), and instructor (or designer).
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. View the following guide for more information about navigating the Syllabus Library in NewView.
College and Department Templates
College and department template editors will continue to access their templates from the Templates tab in NewView, now available in the left-hand navigation menu. Select the earliest part-of-term from the Term picklist to enter your changes so the updated content will roll forward to the templates for subsequent parts-of-term.
The Edit button now appears to the right of the template, and you will also be able to view who has access to edit the template from the Editors column by hovering your cursor over the user's initials (or image).
The template editing experience remains the same as before, and the publisher interface will display the document in a pop-up window, allowing you to focus on inputting content one template at a time.
If no changes are required to a college or department template from the previous semester, there is no need to re-submit your template for the upcoming term.
If there is additional information you would like to enter into your department template, please see this internal guide for adding adding components to a template.
Reports
College and department template editors also have Report Admin access which can be launched from the Reports tab in the left-hand navigation menu. Here, you'll have access to run a variety of reports such as:
- Document Status - View whether syllabi for your department or college are pending completion or published to the Syllabus Library. Include additional data columns in your reports such as CRNs or Instructor Emails which can be exported as a CSV file and used to help you quickly contact instructors with outstanding items.
- Syllabus Collection - Collect samples of syllabi from across the institution to export as a CSV or individual PDF documents within a compressed folder.
- Content Comparison - Compare two syllabi or templates side-by-side to view updates or differences between the documents.
- Content Export - Export specific components of syllabi (e.g., the Schedule, Materials, or Instructor Information) to see how instructors for your area are providing required information to students. Options include links to the content on the site, just the content itself, or both.
Currently reports cannot combine data for multiple parts-of-term into a single report.
My Profile
If syllabi are assigned to you, clicking the My Profile icon in the upper right will provide access to your Simple Syllabus Profile where you can update your name, add a prefix or suffix, and enter your curriculum vitae (CV). This information will auto-populate into the Instructor Information component for any syllabi that have not been started.
DO NOT edit the Email or Password fields as it may result in connection errors to your syllabi.
Contact Support
To receive technical assistance in NewView, select the Contact Support link [or question mark icon] at the bottom of the left-hand navigation menu. A Simple Syllabus Help form will slide out on the right for you to provide information for the technical issue you are experiencing, and it will be routed to Simple Syllabus's IT Support. View the Simple Syllabus Help guide for more information about using this feature.
If you notice extra instructors or incorrect/missing information on components that are auto-filled with data from the Banner course schedule, please contact [email protected] to report the issue.
NOTE: Banner feeds run twice a day at 1 AM and 1 PM, so changes in the course schedule may take up to 12 hours to reflect in Simple Syllabus.
For more information about getting started with Simple Syllabus, view the Faculty Training module or step-by-step guides. Template editors can also reference the following internal guide for adding components to templates and setting conditional logic.
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