Simple Syllabus

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Instructions & Resources

The following instructional and resource documents are provided to assist you with Simple Syllabus: 

• Simple Syllabus Instructor Guide  

• Simple Syllabus Instructor Experience 

• Instructor Quick Start Guide (password is simple) 

• TAMU/Simple Syllabus Training Video (Faculty Affairs training on 3/19/26) 

• How to reset information that shouldn’t be in your course 

• How to create Tables in Simple Syllabus 

• How to approve courses in Simple Syllabus 

• What is a Course Master and how can I get access? 

Submissions to CARS for New Courses or Revisions to Existing Courses

To minimize unnecessary duplication of content, an abbreviated syllabus template has been developed for submissions to CARS for new courses or revisions to existing courses except for requests to inactivate a course (no syllabus is required) and actions pertaining to clinical courses (offered by professional practice doctoral degrees).

The abbreviated syllabus template is not to be distributed to students nor posted for public access as it does not include all elements of the minimum syllabus requirements. The Course Description and Course Learning Outcomes are not included in the abbreviated syllabus as these reside in CARS. Once approved, these elements (among others) will be automatically populated in each course-specific Simple Syllabus course section once the course is scheduled.

Special Topics courses (X89 courses) will need to submit a full syllabus.  Please use the Full Syllabus Template file for these submissions.

Courses that are Exempt from Using Simple Syllabus

The following courses are not required to use Simple Syllabus: 

• Clinical Electives (Health Sciences only)
• Clinical experiences for professional practice degrees 
• Standard Courses – for a complete list of Standard Courses, please see the Course Description Style Guide on the Registrar’s website

**Please note that Special Topics courses (X89) and W&C course designations are required to have a syllabus in Simple Syllabus.**

Faculty Training Fall 2026 Schedule

All sessions will use the same Zoom Link. Pick the session that works best for you. All will use the same virtual training room and there are multiple options available. Training is provided by the Office of Distance and Digital Education. For more information, contact Dr. Kelley Shaffer, 979-845-5545.

Training Schedule

Day	Date	Time
Monday	8/17/26	3-4pm
Tuesday	8/18/26	6-7pm
Wednesday	8/19/26	10-11am
Thursday	8/20/26	11am-12pm
Friday	8/21/26	12-1pm
Monday	8/24/26	6-7pm

Simple Syllabus in Canvas

Simple Syllabus has been enabled for everyone in the Fall 2025 Canvas course templates. If it is not visible on your course navigation pane on the left-hand side, you can enable it by following these steps: 

1. Go to your Canvas course 
2. Click on Settings 
3. Select the Navigation tab 
4. Locate Simple Syllabus in the list 
5. Click the three dots next to it and choose Enable 
6. Click Save 

You should now see Simple Syllabus in your course navigation, and you can follow the same steps to disable it. 

Simple Syllabus User Roles

Roles

Role Name	Permissions
Admin	Has access to all functionality, can unpublish syllabi.
Alternate Teacher	Can edit syllabi but will not show up as the instructor.
College Manager	Can edit syllabi and run reports.
Course Approver	Can approve course masters.
Course Editor	Can edit course masters.
Designer	Can edit syllabi, but will not show up in the course.
Report Admin	Can run reports but not edit any syllabi.
Section Approver	Can approve syllabi.
TA	Can edit the syllabi but will not show up in the course unless added by the instructor.
TA Lead	Can edit the syllabi but will not show up in the course unless added by the instructor.
Template Editor	Can edit the college or department level template. Requires approval.
University Template Editor	Limited to Administrators. Requires approval.

**Please note that non-faculty users cannot have a role with editing privileges and approve syllabi.**

Merged Courses in Canvas

When I merge course sections in Canvas, I’m getting an error message that reads “Sorry, we could not locate this section in Simple Syllabus.”  What can I do to see the syllabus for this course?  Texas law requires a separate syllabus for every scheduled course section, even if instructors merge them.  Simple Syllabus gets nightly feeds from Compass/Howdy where the courses are not merged, which creates this message in Canvas for merged course sections:

Below the error message, you will see a list of course sections that you are enrolled in as the instructor. Simply slick on the course section to see (or edit) your syllabus.  This issue also affects the Student View in Canvas.  It does not work for merged course sections.  However, when students click on the Simple Syllabus option in the Course Navigation menu, they see the syllabus for the course section they are enrolled in.

FAQs

When is the last date that syllabi can be edited in Simple Syllabus?

Syllabi can be edited up until the last week of the semester. However, every time a syllabus is edited and submitted, it triggers another approval.

Why are instructors required to use Simple Syllabus?

Simple Syllabus was adopted by the University to assist with compliance of Texas regulations and university policies.