Metasyllabus Responsible

Welcome,

Here you will see a demo of the use of the metasyllabus tool, through which you can create, modify, consult and publish a metasyllabus for a subject taught in one or more programs.

Keep in mind that a metasyllabus is the syllabus model for a subject, aiming to establish a homogenization of teaching policies and criteria for all professors. This tool improves the professor's experience completing the syllabus, reduces manual work repetition and speeds up the syllabus validation process.

The creation of the metasyllabus content is led and supervised by the Area Director, who may designate a person responsible for creating the metasyllabus for a given subject.

As the person in charge of the metasyllabus, you can specify the level of detail deemed appropriate and the content in each of the sections. This content will be understood as a suggestion for the professors teaching the subject. This allows you to complete all sections or just those you consider relevant.

The metasyllabus of the subject will be transferred to the syllabus of the professors teaching the subject. Professors may modify said content, exercising their academic freedom, except in two sections: Subject Description and Learning Objectives, where they may add, but not modify, the content coming from the metasyllabus. Changes made to the original metasyllabus by the professor will be reported to the subject coordinator during the syllabus validation flow.

The metasyllabus is timeless as it is not linked to any specific term. The current version will be transferred to the subject syllabus and all professors teaching it will have access to the reflected content. If a new version of a metasyllabus is created, it will be transferred to all new syllabi created from the date of publication of that version.

A metasyllabus must be created for every program in which the subject is included. Even if the subject is identical (same name, number of sessions, credits, etc.) across multiple programs, the metasyllabus must always exist within the respective program. This ensures the proper establishment of the connection with the subject syllabus.

The metasyllabus is useful for stable subjects, so it is not a tool to be used in electives and seminars, because in these types of subjects the content varies constantly.

To access the metasyllabus system, the first thing you must do is log in to Blackboard ultra with your Faculty credentials.

In the Institution Page you will find the option MANAGE METASYLLABUS.

Clicking on it will lead you to a space with two tabs at the top: Syllabus and Metasyllabus. Click on Metasyllabus.

A list of subjects in your area will be displayed.

To find the subject for which you want to prepare or consult the metasyllabus, you can type its name or subject ID in the search box at the top right.

If you face difficulties locating your subject, please contact us at documentacion@ie.edu; we will help you finding the details needed.

Subjects display a circle with a number inside when there are one or more metasyllabi for them already.

Once you find your subject, click on it.

If metasyllabi have already been created, you will find the list of metasyllabi, arranged by program and published version. You can also see the number of sessions, language, credits, date and the user who published each metasyllabus.

To access a metasyllabus from the list, click on the “edit” button.

You will access the metasyllabus space, which you can distinguish by its blue background. You will see that it differs from the syllabus in that you do not see the status flow at the top, nor the asynchronous session control box. Instead, a green strip indicates whether the metasyllabus is already published or not.

As soon as a metasyllabus version is published, its content will be transferred to all subject syllabi created thereafter, creating a one-direction link. Previously created syllabus versions will remain linked to their original metasyllabus version, not to newer ones.

Even if a metasyllabus is published, you can edit it. Any modification in it will be reflected in its linked syllabi.

To create a new metasyllabus, go to the subject metasyllabi list and click on “Nuevo”. The system will request: the program, number of sessions, credits and language of the subject. Once you provide that information, click on “Crear”. The new metasyllabus will appear in the list, being accessible trough the “Edit” button.

Once inside, you will find the empty metasyllabus template, whose sections and style are the same as the ones you are already familiar with in the syllabus.

By clicking on “Activate edit mode” you will be able to fill in each of the sections. The process is the same as those you are used to in syllabus.

With the edit mode activated, “Import Metasyllabus” and “Delete Metasyllabus” buttons are displayed at the top.

Import Metasyllabus option:

It allows you to import from one metasyllabus to another metasyllabus of the same subject, if they already exist. This functionality is quite useful for identical metasyllabi in different programs. Once you finish it for one program, you can import it to another one.

You will see a list of existing metasyllabi for each program and its version. Select one and click on the “eye” to display it. By clicking on the subject name you will access the import screen where you can select the sections you wish to import.

Another import alternative, which can be useful when you want to make a first metasyllabus, is to look for an existing subject syllabus and import it following the same steps, in order to use it as a base for the metasyllabus.

Option “Delete Metasyllabus”:

This option will reset everything you added in the sections, leaving the metasyllabus blank.

Relevant information about sections

The content you include in the “Subject Description” and “Learning Objectives” sections will be preloaded in the professors' syllabus in a fixed way, meaning that they will not be able to modify it. All other sections can be edited by the professor.

In the section “Learning objectives”: You can add the objectives using the drop-down menu. From the Documentation Department, we will pre-load each of the objectives to be added to the subject. Please contact us for this upload. You can add more information in the additional text box.

In the “Learning Methodology” section, an introductory text will be preloaded, which you can modify, if you wish. You can add the suggested weighting of each learning activity. In the case of undergraduate programs, you will be able to set the hours for each activity. The system calculates the percentages automatically.

Remember that AI Policy is always mandatory.

In the "Program" section: You will be able to group the sessions including different blocks with their title and description. Also, it is possible to combine sessions into double, triple, etc., just as you do in the syllabus. In each session you will be able to fill in all the information you consider relevant: type of session, sustainability topics, text about the content, etc.

When adding materials, they can be set as suggested or as mandatory, identified as such in syllabus.

Professors will not be able to remove mandatory ones when filling the syllabus. 

As for the suggested ones, they will be grouped as "suggested material" in the syllabus and Professors may or may not add them.

You can add more descriptive text and you have a specific field for planning information or notes for professors, which will not be visible to students.

In the "Evaluation Method" section, section, you can add a name and a suggested percentage range for each criterion. 

If the subject is a not graded one, you do not need to fill in this table.

You can also link each criterion to its proper learning objective from those added above identifying which one is evaluated in each evaluation criterion.

This data will be used to obtain important information for the Accreditations.

You can include any text you wish in the other text fields in the section.

The "Bibliography" you include will be grouped as "Suggested bibliography in metasyllabus" and professors may or may not add it to the syllabus.

Publish metasyllabus

Once the metasyllabus is finished, you must publish it so that it is automatically transferred to the subject syllabus.

Remember: You will know the metasyllabus is already published when this green stripe appears at the top.

When the syllabus is published, you will only be able to make changes if the associated syllabi are still in validation stages, meaning, at the stage of the professor, coordinator and program director. After this stage, whenever you try to edit a metasyllabus, the system will warn you with a pop up.

You will have to create a new version that will be applied from the next intake of the program.

What does the metasyllabus look like within the professor's syllabus?

When a professor accesses a syllabus linked to a published metasyllabus, all those sections completed in that metasyllabus will be shown merged into said syllabus. They will be displayed in blue background, as we see in this case.

Even if there is metasyllabus, the professor must complete and review the content of the sections, activating the syllabus edit mode and then clicking on the edit button on each section.

Keep in mind that the subject description and learning objectives coming from the metasyllabus cannot be edited in the syllabus, but text can be added in the additional text box. In all other sections of the syllabus, the professor can modify the information coming from the metasyllabus.

When edited, the entire box background will change from blue to white, indicating that there is information overlaid by the professor. 

In the session description, the professor will find the list of suggested materials by the metasyllabus, if any. For these materials to be added to the syllabus, the professor must click on the add button, so that they are incorporated to the area of materials within the syllabus.

This also happens with bibliography. Professors must click on the add button, so that it is included in the syllabus.

If the professor wants to reset the content of the metasyllabus, he/she can do it using the delete syllabus button. Clicking it will remove all the information added except for that coming from  the metasyllabus, which remains untouched.