Simple Syllabus at Ohio State

Simple Syllabus is a centralized software platform that enables instructors to quickly personalize and publish interactive class syllabi. Simple Syllabus uses a university-wide template, allowing instructors and/or course coordinators to enter information into the template components and then publish the syllabus.

Students and instructors can access Simple Syllabus from within CarmenCanvas or via the Simple Syllabus “library” page. Using this tool enables the university to make these syllabi available on a public-facing website in compliance with state law.

Is Simple Syllabus required?

Yes. The university requires that instructors of every undergraduate course use Simple Syllabus to post their course syllabi online, so it is publicly available.

What information is included in each course syllabus?

All undergraduate course syllabi will be posted online and include the following:

•    Instructor name and qualifications
•    Course schedule
•    Required or recommended readings and other course materials

What qualifications are to be listed for instructor qualifications? 

The Ohio Department of Higher Education has provided some guidance to include the instructor’s degree title(s), discipline(s), and institution(s), as well as other pertinent credentials or experience that establish that the faculty member meets the faculty qualifications specified in the ODHE Guidelines and Procedures for Academic Programs and in the Ohio State  Faculty Appointments, Faculty Workload, Tenure, and Retrenchment Policy (Section II.M). Only the qualifications relevant to teaching the course need to be listed.

What needs to be included in the course schedule? 

The course schedule should include the topics and when they will be covered. Only a title of the topic needs to be given, not the readings or assignments for that topic. Several examples of providing a course schedule as a table are provided in Simple Syllabus template that you can copy and adjust to your needs.

What needs to be included in the “Required or recommended readings and other course materials” section? 

Any material a student is expected to engage with as part of the course is to be listed in this section. This includes all readings (e.g., books, book chapters, journal articles, websites, etc.) as well as any multi-media resources (e.g., videos, podcasts, audio recordings, etc.). If required or recommended readings are added during the course, they should be added at that time, and Simple Syllabus will update immediately.

Should fictional case studies, in-class example problems, exam readings, etc., be included as required or recommended readings?

No, these unpublished resources that the instructor creates to support learning and assessment in their course can be shared in the Course Details section or elsewhere in Carmen Canvas as appropriate.

How will instructors and students access Simple Syllabus?

Simple Syllabus will be integrated with CarmenCanvas. All courses will have a Simple Syllabus tab in the navigation which will allow instructors to edit and view the syllabus for that course. The same tab will allow students to view the syllabus.

Instructors and students can also use the Simple Syllabus library page to see all syllabi to which they have access.

What will instructors need to do to add their syllabus to Simple Syllabus?

Instructors will need to complete the syllabus template for each undergraduate course they teach. Some information (like course number and location) will automatically populate, but instructors will need to complete the remaining areas like instructor qualifications, required or recommended readings, and the course schedule.

Instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course can copy the first syllabus details to the other sections. Syllabi can also be replicated for a new term the next time an instructor teaches that course.

The Office of Technology and Digital Innovation’s Learning Systems team will work with course coordinators to enable them to pre-populate areas of the syllabus that need to be common across sections. Instructors should email syllabi@osu.edu for assistance.

Will there be options for customization of the template syllabus?

A single university template will be provided for Autumn 2026. In the future, colleges and departments will be able to request some customizations to the university template that will apply to courses in their area.

The Simple Syllabus template does not include everything I want to share with my students. Where do I put that information?

Within Simple Syllabus, there are multiple sections to provide additional course details including one entitled “Course Details – Other” that can contain as much information as desired. It is also permissible to provide additional details for students within Carmen Canvas. For colleges that desire additional structured fields to be added to the template for their courses, please contact syllabus@osu.edu with your request.

What is the implementation timeline?

Pilot testing began March 4, 2026. Broad access for all instructors was made available beginning April 23, 2026, to allow time to prepare for Autumn 2026 courses.

Ohio State’s Simple Syllabus repository will be open for public access by the start of Autumn 2026 semester. In compliance with state law, syllabi for all courses 5000-level and below must be published in Simple Syllabus by the first day of the semester.

For how long will syllabi be available on Simple Syllabus?

State law requires that the mandated areas of syllabi remain available for two years.  Beyond that, university records policies require that syllabi be retained for at least five years.

What support will be available? 

Simply Syllabus is supported by Learning Systems in the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation. Workshops are now available and technical documentation is being developed.

Support can be reached by calling 614-688-4357 and choosing the option for the Carmen Learning Systems team or by emailing syllabus@osu.edu.