At NMC, all instructors are required to post their syllabus in Canvas. Fortunately, Canvas provides a dedicated syllabus feature in the course navigation panel that includes several helpful elements to enhance syllabus clarity and course functionality. The NMC Educational Technology team has also pre-populated each course’s syllabus with a template that reflects best practices for syllabus creation. As you prepare your course in Canvas, you can either use this template as a guide or delete it and paste your existing syllabus into the designated space.

Why is Canvas’s syllabus feature superior to a standard syllabus? Here are the key reasons:

Consistent Placement Across Courses and Departments: The syllabus in Canvas is always in the same place in every course. A few years ago, when the Ed Tech team surveyed students, one of their top requests was easier access to the syllabus. In Moodle, instructors could place the syllabus anywhere in the course and present it in various formats. Canvas’s consistent placement improves student comfort and course navigation.

Course Summary & Calendar Features: For every Canvas activity that has assigned points or due dates, the syllabus page automatically includes these details. In the top-right corner of the syllabus page, there’s a course calendar with links to each scheduled activity. Below the syllabus, the course summary feature generates a list of all assignments, quizzes, and discussions, complete with due dates and point values. Each item is automatically hyperlinked to the corresponding activity. If you previously created an assignment list in your syllabus, you can remove it and let Canvas handle this for you as you build your course.

Course Assignments Weight: If you have weighted categories in your gradebook, that information is automatically displayed in your Canvas syllabus. If weights are used, they appear just below the course calendar on the right side of the syllabus page. As with the assignment list, if you previously included grade weights in your syllabus, Canvas can now handle that for you.

To print your Canvas syllabus, simply right-click on the page, select “Print,” and choose “Save to PDF.”