Ohio University Syllabus Guidelines: Appendix: Course Syllabus Tool Pilot

Appendix: Course Syllabus Tool Pilot

During the Spring 2025–26 semester, the Concourse course syllabus tool was piloted with six faculty members across 40 separate course sections. The pilot aimed to evaluate usability, Canvas integration, alignment with compliance requirements, and the overall faculty experience in preparing and publishing course syllabi.

Overall, faculty successfully implemented the tool across their sections and reported that copying and adapting existing syllabus content into the platform was manageable. The tool supports centralized syllabus management and consistency, particularly for programs using a common syllabus across multiple sections.

Faculty also identified areas for improvement. For example, faculty identified limitations with table formatting controls, noting inconsistent behavior when adjusting cell widths and layout. Similarly, printing and exporting syllabi to PDF resulted in formatting loss, making hard-copy distribution less practical. Technical constraints related to the Canvas LTI integration prevented the use of the “View as Student” preview feature, requiring enrollment of a test student account. Additionally, cross-listed course sections create challenges with syllabus headers, public visibility, and metadata display—particularly for multi-campus offerings.

Faculty also recommended clearer guidance within the tool to distinguish public-facing versus student-only sections, identify required versus optional components, and provide warnings about unsaved changes. 

Overall, the Spring 2025–26 pilot demonstrated that Concourse can effectively support consistent, compliant syllabus management across multiple Canvas course sections. Faculty feedback points to a few improvements that would make the tool easier to use and strengthen its potential for wider adoption.