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What it does

The syllabus is the official outline for your course. If you or your department has prepared an online syllabus already, you can direct the Syllabus tool to link to it. Otherwise, you can post content directly by either uploading a document or composing text to display inline. Only one item can be added to the Syllabus tool. You can designate your syllabus to be visible to the general public, to the Stanford community or just to members of your course.

Some features of a traditional syllabus are divided between the Syllabus and Schedule tools. Some instructors use the Syllabus tool to display the department's official online syllabus and use the Schedule as a detailed resource for students.

Integration with Stanford Syllabus

CourseWork is now integrated with Stanford Syllabus, a central, online repository for Stanford class syllabi. Any syllabus posted in CourseWork will automatically be added to Stanford Syllabus. The access level set in CourseWork will also control who can view your syllabus in Stanford Syllabus. You can add, revise or remove a syllabus in either Stanford Syllabus or CourseWork, and the change will be reflected in both places.

Key concepts

Item Types : You can choose between file upload, inline text, or URL. Only one item can be added to the Syllabus tool.

• File Upload – This option will display the name of the file you upload. Students will be able to download the file to their local desktop by clicking on the file name. Your syllabus must be in one of these formats: .txt, .doc, .rtf, .pdf, .htm or .html.
• Inline Text – This option will display content directly in the Syllabus page of your CourseWork site. A rich-text editor is provided to compose the syllabus content. You can use the buttons at the top of the editing window to format your content. WARNING: There is a 60 minute system timeout. If you take longer than that to add the syllabus, your data will be lost. It is recommended to compose in Word first, then copy content over to the Syllabus Content editor. To avoid formatting errors when copying from a Word document, save the document in Rich Text Format (RTF) before copying and pasting.
• URL – This option will display an external web site directly in the Syllabus page of your CourseWork site.

Access Settings: You can control who has access to your syllabus with the following options.

• CourseWork site members – Students will need to be a member of your CourseWork site, as well as having a SUNet ID, to access your syllabus in both CourseWork and Stanford Syllabus.
• Stanford community – Only those with a SUNet ID will be able to view the syllabus in Stanford Syllabus. Students will still need to log into CourseWork and visit your site to access the syllabus in CourseWork.
• Public access – Anyone with internet access will be able to view the syllabus in Stanford Syllabus (no SUNet ID required). Students will still need to log into CourseWork and visit your site to access the syllabus in CourseWork.