Your Carlson LMS syllabus is considered a "living document." Any saved edits are immediately available in the student view in WebVista. Only items that have content will show to students, i.e., any items left blank do not show to students. The entire syllabus is bundled to a PDF ( ) on the Student View in WebVista. Students can view, print or download a PDF of the Carlson LMS Syllabus on their student view in WebVista (see example in student view).
Build/Edit the Carlson LMS Syllabus
To edit the Carlson LMS Syllabus, move the cursor over the area you wish to edit and click in the highlighted field to open the text editor. Edit the text and select "Save" when complete.
In this area, you can input Course information that will be helpful for your students in the class. This area is a block of text, and typical information in this area is:
Alternate contact information for yourself (e.g., cellphone number)
T.A. name and contact information (email, phone, etc)
Course Description (1:38)
The Section Description field provides a rich area that allows you to create a general description of the course section.
Course Goals (0:54)
This area provides a text area allowing you to set forth the goals of the course section.
Text / Materials
This area provides a text area that allows you to create information about the text and materials for your course. To add a text/material, select "Add". Note that the input fields are text-only. The URL is optional.
Grading Criteria (2:24)
a) Grading Distribution
The Grading Distribution field allows you to create a table of assignments, quizzes, and/or exams and give their weighted percentages and due dates. Enter the percentage and the brief description of the learning activity (e.g. 20%, Quizzes). At this point, you can click the "Add" link to continue adding elements or "Save." Entries will be listed in the order added. To move them up or down, use the arrows at right. To delete an item, click the "delete" link to the right of the item.
An example table is below:
%
Text
20
Quizzes
30
Team Work
50
Final Exam
b) Additional Grading Criteria
This area provides a flexible text area to write additional information about grading criteria. For example, if you have class participation as a graded portion of your course, you may want to describe in more detail what is included in the participation, or if you, for instance, grade on a curve, some additional information in this area will be helpful for the student.
Some typical examples would be:
Participation and attendance
Required office-hours meetings
Expectations on Group Work
Extra-Credit Opportunities
Grading Criteria tables for Special Assignments (e.g., “Your xyz-assignment will be graded as follows: You will earn an ‘A’ according to the following criteria, etc.
c) Carlson School of Management Course Grading Policy (not editable)
This area is not editable. This area is written and managed by the Carlson school and bundled into all Carlson LMS Syllabi on the student view in WebVista. (view Fall 2007 example).
Note: This area currently does not show on the Carlson LMS instructor's view in Carlson LMS, but shows in the "preview" mode and to the students.
Policies (1:26)
a) Course Policy
The Course Policy is a flexible instructor-specific area to provide information on specific policies for the course section. Some examples of instructor-specific course policies would be items such as:
The use of laptops in class
Policies on cell phone usage
Policies on outside class preparation expectations
Professional Courtesy
How you deal with Late Assignments
How you deal with in-class participation
Your "Quality of Work" Expectations from students
b) Academic Misconduct Policy(not editable)
This area is not editable. The Academic Misconduct Policy is the policy defined by your program or school and is pulled automatically. A link to the University of Minnesota's overarching Academic Misconduct Policy is further included for more information. (view Fall 2007 example)
c) Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (not editable)
This area is not editable. This area is based on the national American with Disabilities Act of 1990, this information is derived from the University of Minnesota's overarching policy on students with disabilities. A link is conveniently provided for more information on the bundled syllabus. (view Fall 2007 example)
Course Schedule (1:32)
The Course Schedule section is generally used as a place to store quick reference information of class sessions, assignments, readings and more. Most often this information is presented in table format. An example high-level course schedule is provided below.
Week 01
Topic: Introduction to the course
Introductory Lecture
Assignment into Student Teams Student Handout (how to get to online class materials)
Week 02
Topic: Database Management in Health Care Industry
Assigned Reading: Chapter 01 of your course text book.
Bring to class: Your name tent. Your student biography paper.
Week 03
...
...
Previewing and Downloading the LMS Syllabus (for the student view)
While in the syllabus area of the LMS course, click the "Student View" link in the upper right.
This shows you a view of what the students see in WebVista without having to go into WebVista yourself.
On the resulting webpage, click the "Syllabus" link in the upper-left
Students can view online, print, or download a PDF of the LMS Syllabus.
To download a PDF of the LMS syllabus that students see, click the "Download PDF" link in the right hand area.
Upload your own document as a Syllabus
Some instructors do not prefer the built-in Syllabus tool in Carlson LMS. Instead, instructors may prefer to post their own document as syllabus file (e.g. a Word file). Professors wanting to build and post their own syllabus file often want a text blurb to put into their syllabus that will direct students to the correct online location for their Carlson LMS site (see Syllabus Blurb at top right of page).
Steps to post your own Word document as a Syllabus file:
Add a new session called "Syllabus"
In that new session, add an "LMS Item/File" and attach your Word document to it.
Note: If you previously had used the built-in "Carlson LMS Syllabus" tool, you may want to blank-out or erase any previous content that may exist there. The default area will still show to students, but it will be blank, and you can direct students to "sessions" to retrieve your Word syllabus document.
) on the Student View in WebVista. Students can view, print or download a PDF of the Carlson LMS Syllabus on their student view in WebVista (see example in student view).
called "Syllabus"
