Simple Syllabus is a relatively inexpensive platform that integrates with Brightspace and makes our syllabi more accessible and consistent, while still preserving the ability for instructors to develop customized syllabi.
Federal policy requires that our syllabi and all materials meet certain Accessibility Standards. Simple Syllabus has a built in Accessibility-checker to make finding and fixing accessibility issues easier.
Increased consistency will help students better understand expectations across all of their courses and reduce cognitive load so students can focus on achieving the learning outcomes we set forth for them.
Simple Syllabus will save faculty and staff time and energy by providing a common platform to create syllabi and manage the processes and communications needed to update and publish syllabi effectively.
Lastly, Simple Syllabus also creates Syllabus Repositories that can be shared with students, staff, faculty, administrators, accreditors, and even the general public if we choose. Currently each department is responsible for mantaining copies of all of their syllabi and granting access to those who need it. SS will automate this process and save academic staff and faculty tons of time!
We know how many things are changing at Antich right now. We hope implementing Simple Syllabus now will:
help students improve learning outcomes, by making requirements accessible, clear and consistent,
reduce employee workload so they have more time for other important work, and
help Antioch meet upcoming federal accessibility requirements.
We expect that all syllabi for courses that begin on or after June 1, 2026 will be created and approved in Simple Syllabus. So we will be working with the MFA program in May/June to test a smal yeah l group of courses first and then as each new term begins additional departments will be included:
June 1 - MFA begins their term
July 1 - GSLC begins their new term
July 1 - 2026 Summer Quarter programs in LA, SB and SE
Aug 23 - 2026 Fall Semester programs at NE and Online
Oct 1 - 2026 Fall Quarter programs
and so on...
*If your programs does not fall in one of the terms above they will go live Johnny could go sooner or later you know a few weeks following or a week following That's a 75 minute slot with 15 minutes of break so 75 with a break on the start day of the first term on/after July 1, 2026.
Yes, all courses with syllabi will need to use Simple Syllabus, so that those syllabi are a part of the AU Syllabus Repository, and to gain the ther benefits of using Simple Syllabus listed above.
This absolutely will not compromise academic freedom, though we should be on the same page about the meaning of that phrase. The Simple Syllabus tool will comply with Antioch's Academic Freedom Policy as well as the academic freedom clause stipulated in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Simple Syllabus is predicated on enacting the existing policies and requirements we already require for the syllabi templates we use that are vetted and approved by faculty via the University Curriculum Committee. Nothing about Simple Syllabus dictates that we have certain statements or policies. It just enables us to embed what we have already required in all syllabi so none slip through the cracks. And it helps reduce work for faculty and staff in the future when it comes to updating their syllabi.
We will also ensure that this new system has an embedded versioning and review process in place such that we can be responsive to these concerns and others and make the necessary changes along the way.
If you have a Brightspace course, yes. We encourage MOST courses to use a Brightspace site to support students learning regardless of whether you meet in-person, on Zoom, only at residencies and for asynchronous online courses. For instructors who teach independent study courses, dissertation, internship & practicum courses; and other courses for which a Brightspace site is not generated by Colleague, there will be an alternate way for students to access the syllabus through the Simple Syllabus repository. We are working on guidance for this type of course and will include that information as soon as we have it.
No. Antioch is in charge of who can see which syllabi. In addition, there are also settings in each syllabus that allow sections of a syllabus to be hidden from public view if desired.