Spring 2027 Syllabus Updates and Reminders
The Syllabus Is Available Earlier Than Ever
Previously, syllabi and Canvas course shells were created about 90 days before the start of the term. However, we heard from many that they’d like even more time to get their courses and syllabi ready for the new term. For all you early birds, you will be happy to hear that we teamed up with I.T. to ensure that syllabi are available as early as possible. Now, all syllabi will be created and available for editing as early as 133 days before the start of a term. This is the earliest courses can be encoded and aligns with Canvas course shell creation. This gives everyone the most time possible to meet the 45 day deadline required by the state for credit courses.
Keep in mind that though we have the system configured to allow syllabi to be created 133 days early, the actual creation date depends on when the courses are encoded. Instructor access also depends on being assigned to a class.
Spring 2027 courses have started to populate Canvas and Simple Syllabus this week, so feel free to get your Spring courses ready now!
New for Spring 2027: Required Text Component Does NOT Auto-Import
We noticed there were many courses that still listed old Follett and book information in the syllabus due to copying over previous term content. To ensure that the syllabus aligns with current textbook adoptions, the Required Text/Materials component will no longer auto-import. This means that if you previously made edits in this area, you will need to copy/paste from a previous syllabus if you want to keep that content.
By default, the syllabus will populate information based on the textbook adoption for the course. For example, ACCESS courses display a pre-populated message about ACCESS. Courses that have no textbook will have a pre-populated message about no materials being required. Courses that adopt textbooks through BibliU will have a bookstore link for students to view and purchase textbooks.
Speaking of BibliU links…
BibliU Links Are Active 45 Days Before Start of Term
Even if you work on your syllabus 100 days before the start of the term, BibliU does not populate information about materials until ~45 days before the start of the term. This means that the bookstore link in the syllabus will direct to a page that may say that textbooks are not available yet. The link will direct users to the correct textbook adoptions closer to 45 days before the start of the term, so please don’t worry if the link displays an unavailable message before this time.
Known Syllabus Issue: Canvas Discussions with Multiple Due Dates
Canvas Discussions with multiple due dates will display NO due date in Course Calendar. Simple Syllabus is aware of this issue and is working on a fix. If you use the Course Calendar and have Discussion assignments with multiple due dates, then consider adding a note about the due dates to the Course Outline.
Remember: Course Learning Outcomes are Auto-Populated for Most Classes!
The Course Learning Outcomes automatically pull into the syllabus from the catalog. This means that instructors no longer need to copy/paste them from the FSCJ Curriculum site.
Note: if you teach a course that does not have any Course Learning Outcomes in the catalog, then you can add a new component by clicking +Add and input your own. Adult Ed should already have a blank “Learning Outcomes” component to add their outcomes link.
Remember: Do NOT link to the Curriculum Sharepoint Site
We have noticed that some instructors link to the Curriculum Sharepoint site that houses full course outlines rather than adding content directly to the Course Outline component. Students do NOT have access to the Curriculum Sharepoint site, so please do NOT put that link in the syllabus.
Though it has the same name, the course outlines housed by FSCJ Curriculum are not the same course outlines asked for by the syllabus. In fact, the syllabus asks for far less information. We recommend credit courses using the Course Outline component to detail the following State requirements:
List of topics covered in the course
Student assignments, including assignment title, brief narrative description of title, and any required readings associated with the assignment.
If you have any questions about what should be included to meet the state requirements for credit courses, please reach out to your dean or supervisor.
Use the Accessibility Checker!
The accessibility checker in the bottom right will indicate if there are any accessibility issues in the syllabus. Please review before submitting! If you have any digital accessibility issues, please submit an ADA Support for Digital Accessibility ticket through the Help site.