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