Athens Technical College uses Simple Syllabus by Simple Higher Ed as our syllabus management system. This cloud-based program allows faculty to create digital syllabi that students can access from within their Blackboard course.


Detailed information about how to use Simple Syllabus and College expectations is available in the solution article series.


College administrators, program or department chairs, and faculty collaborate to add information to separate levels of the syllabus, working together to build the course syllabi for students. Syllabi are built in three layers:

  • Level-1: College-wide
  • Level-2: Master Syllabi
  • Level-3: Course Syllabus


Information is added at each level and submitted for approval and publication. Once approved, the syllabus is published and all registered students are notified by email. Any changes made after the initial publication must be reviewed and published again. Each time the syllabus is edited and approved, registered students will receive an email notification.

 


Training

The Master Syllabus Editing and Approving Training (22:41 total time) is a recorded webinar provided by Simple Syllabus. Access is granted by the CTL. Submit a Blackboard Support Request from OKTA to request the password.


Individual and small group training is also available from the CTL. Schedule a meeting with any member of the Center for Teaching and Learning team by submitting a CTL Meeting Request.



Accessing Simple Syllabus



Administrators, division deans, program chairs, and department chairs access the Simple Syllabus by clicking the app in OKTA.

 

www.athenstech.edu >Student & Staff Login > Simple Syllabus App






There are two ways for instructors and students to access the course syllabus (Level-3).


1. All syllabi can be viewed from the Syllabus Library (OKTA login required). 


2. Instructors and registered students can view the course syllabi from the Start Here module inside the Blackboard course. 

 




Building the Syllabi


The Simple Syllabus Homepage will show the syllabi that are assigned to the user, separated into categories: 


Not Ready

To Do

Awaiting Approval

Completed


  • When faculty log in to Simple Syllabus, they will see their To Do list. All of the courses listed here need attention.
  • Program/department chairs and deans will see a list of submitted syllabi awaiting approval.
  • Once the syllabus is approved and published, it will appear in the Completed column.


Click the Edit button to complete the needed actions.




Navigating the syllabus.


1. Click the gold circle at the bottom.

2. A list of sections that require editing appears on the right side of the screen. Click on each section in the list to navigate directly to that section. Enter the required information into each section.

3. When all sections have been edited, click the Submit button at the bottom of the page to submit the syllabus for review.




Directions for Editing. When clicking through the sections to edit (#2 above), faculty will see corresponding directions and suggestions on the right side (see image below). This information serves as a guide to understanding the types of information that can be entered in the available field. Some fields will only be displayed for online classes, while others will only be included in the student view if information is entered in the available space. The help text will give the necessary directions.



Accessibility Checker. Simple Syllabus has a built-in accessibility checker. To ensure that all students can access and use the course syllabus, click the accessibility icon in the lower-right corner of the screen before submitting the syllabus for approval. If any issues are present in the syllabus, the checker will guide you through making the needed corrections.


Submitting for approval. After all required information has been added to the syllabus, the instructor submits the syllabus to the program or department chairperson for review and approval (#3 above). Once approved, the syllabus is published, and all registered students are notified. Any changes made after the initial publication must be reviewed and published again. Each time the syllabus is edited and approved, registered students will receive an email notification. 



Timeline and Reminders. The final syllabus should be available for students before the start of the semester. Therefore, the Level-3 course syllabus approval deadline is three days prior to the first day of the semester, which is typically the Friday before the start of classes. Using this date as a guideline, the timeline below was established to outline the completion of each level. The syllabus creation process will begin about 2 months before the start of the semester. Reminders are automatically sent from Simple Syllabus to the instructor of record in Banner for outstanding syllabi in each level.

 

Syllabus LevelResponsible PartyDeadline for Submission
Level-1 College-wide (creation)AdministratorsTwo weeks before the Level-2 Master Syllabi (creation) deadline.
Level-2 Master Syllabi (creation)Program / Department ChairsOne month before the first day of the semester.
Level-2 Master Syllabi (approval)
Division DeanTwo weeks before the first day of the semester.
Level-3 Course Syllabus (creation)
Course Instructor
One week before the first day of the semester.
Level-3 Course Syllabus (approval)Program / Department Chairs or Division Dean
Three days before the first day of the semester (usually the Friday before the start of class).

 



Tracking Student Views in Simple Syllabus


Students can view the course syllabus in two ways: inside the course or through the Syllabus Library. Most students will use the Simple Syllabus link in the Start Here Module of each Blackboard course to view the syllabus. When the syllabus is published, registered students will receive an email with a link to the Syllabus Library, allowing them to view the syllabus. Either way, Simple Syllabus tracks students who view the syllabus and records how much of the document each person views. Instructors can review the student statistics from the Track Icon of the Simple Syllabus Dashboard.



Technical Support




Submit a Blackboard Support Request from your OKTA Dashboard with questions about Simple Syllabus 





 

More information


Detailed information is available in the Simple Syllabus solution article series: