Purdue launches Simple Syllabus in Brightspace: FA26 instructors-of-record use it to post public-/student-facing syllabi

Purdue has launched Simple Syllabus as the university‑supported, system-wide syllabus management system for Fall 2026 courses. Integrated directly within the Brightspace learning management system, this new tool streamlines syllabus creation and updates while preserving instructor control over course content, structure, and tone. The platform helps reduce duplicated effort related to institutional information and student- versus public-facing viewing. It also offers flexibility in design while providing a built-in accessibility checker.  

Each instructor-of-record of a credit-bearing course will develop and publish a Fall 2026 course syllabus using the Simple Syllabus tool. Each participating campus – Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Indianapolis and West Lafayette, and Purdue Northwest – has its own syllabus template, designed in collaboration with instructors from that campus.  

The template includes required components, some of which are auto populated from Purdue’s systems to provide consistent information across platforms. Some of these required components will meet Indiana State Law HEA 1001, which asserts “A faculty member shall prepare and post on the institution’s website a syllabus for each course the faculty member is teaching.” Other components are required and pre-populated with Purdue policies specific to each campus.

Completing and posting a syllabus using Simple Syllabus in the Brightspace course will automatically provide both public- and student-facing versions. Students and others enrolled in a Brightspace course will see the student-facing version under the Syllabus tab. The public-facing versions of all syllabi posted across the university are viewable by anyone at the Purdue University – Simple Syllabus repository.

The implementation of Simple Syllabus does not affect department processes in the development and/or review of syllabi at Purdue Indianapolis and West Lafayette locations or at Purdue Northwest. Departments and instructors will continue with their own internal processes before each instructor-of-record posts their course syllabus in Simple Syllabus. Purdue Fort Wayne will follow the processes outlined in the updated OAA Memorandum 25-03.

The Fall 2026 launch of Simple Syllabus is the culmination of the phased implementation announced in May. Training, documentation, and campus-based support are available at each participating campus (see details below).  

For technical questions, contact Purdue University Information Technology. For questions about the Simple Syllabus implementation on your campus, contact:   

Purdue Fort Wayne 

• See the CELT Simple Syllabus Resources page for the instructor guide, training recording, general FAAs, and upcoming training. 

• Contact Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, celt@pfw.edu. 

Purdue Indianapolis and West Lafayette 

• See Purdue Simple Syllabus Guidelines – Innovative Learning for general FAQs, Purdue Simple Syllabus template tips & examples  – Innovative Learning for guidance on each template component, and Simple Syllabus – Innovative Learning for technical guidance, training, and workshops. 

• Contact Innovative Learning, InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu   

Purdue Northwest 

• Contact the Center for the Faculty Excellence, cfe@pnw.edu   

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Fall 2026 Teaching & Learning reading group to discuss Designing Impactful College Courses

The Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE) invites instructors to join Purdue’s teaching and learning reading groups this semester. These reading groups bring together faculty from Indianapolis and West Lafayette in small groups to discuss how recent books about teaching, learning, and the classroom may inform what they do. 

Our book selection for the Fall 2026 semester is Designing Impactful College Courses: Applying Self-Determination Theory to Unleash the Potential of Autonomy-Supportive Learning by CIE’s Emily M. Bonem, Daniel Guberman, and Chantal Levesque-Bristol. The book is available through Purdue Libraries.

Participants will read and discuss the book over four sessions throughout the semester. Sessions will be held both in West Lafayette and virtually through Teams on the second week of each month. Participants can choose their date and location according to their schedules for each week:

• Thursdays, 3-4 p.m. Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12, and Dec. 10, on the West Lafayette campus

• Fridays, 1-2 p.m. Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13, and Dec. 11, virtually through Teams 

Those who would like to participate during Fall 2026 should fill out an online questionnaire by Friday, Aug.28, providing information about interest and availability.

Those who cannot make it this semester but are interested in faculty reading and learning communities, or who have suggestions for future books/topics, should contact Annika Kraft at arkraft@purdue.edu.

CIE is a member of Innovative Learning, a hub approach to connect Purdue instructors in Indianapolis and West Lafayette, to the resources they need to engage students, develop courses in any instructional modality, and enhance learning across the University. Other members include Libraries and the School of Information Studies and Purdue University Online. To learn more, visit www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning or email InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu. 

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Panorama Available for Digital Accessibility Remediation Support in Fall 2026 Brightspace

As part of Purdue University’s system-wide initiative to support instructors as they transition their course materials in alignment with the new digital accessibility standards issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Purdue has implemented YuJa Panorama as the centrally supported digital accessibility remediation tool in Fall 2026 Brightspace for Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis locations, Purdue Northwest, and Purdue Fort Wayne campuses.

Yuja Panorama has remediation capabilities to support instructors with the ability to:

• Scan instructional materials within Brightspace to identify potential digital accessibility issues
• Provide clear, actionable feedback on common concerns such as document structure, color contrast, and alternative text.
• Allow remediation of course content without leaving the Brightspace environment.

The tool was selected after Purdue conducted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a digital content remediation tool to integrate into Brightspace and assist instructors in identifying and addressing accessibility issues in instructional materials.

For additional information, getting started guides, and FAQs, instructors can visit the Yuja Panorama webpage. For information about upcoming training opportunities, please visit our workshops website. Availability for Panorama outside of Brightspace is coming soon with updates to follow.

For further questions and support at your campus, contact:

• Purdue West Lafayette and Indianapolis:
  • For technical support: Contact the Purdue Innovative Learning Team at InnovativeLearningTeam@purdue.edu
  • For in-time one-on-one support: Attend a Daily Virtual Drop-In Help Session with the Innovative Learning Team.
• Purdue Fort Wayne:
  • For technical Brightspace support, please contact the Purdue Fort Wayne Help Desk.
  • For questions about accessibility compliance and resources, please contact the Office for Civil Rights Compliance (OCRC): civilrights@pfw.edu.
  • For accessibility concerns, please the Office for Civil Rights Compliance (OCRC): accessibility@pfw.edu.
  • For pedagogical support related to accessible course design and instructional best practices, please contact CELT: celt@pfw.edu.
• Purdue Northwest:
  • For technical support: contact the PNW Customer Service Center at csc@pnw.edu
  • For support with the digital accessibility of instructional materials: contact the Instructional Accessibility Specialist, Melissa Maldonado at mamaldon@pnw.edu, or the Center for Faculty Excellence at cfe@pnw.edu

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