Ohio State adopts simple syllabus for Senate Bill 1: Conditions and Concerns

Person looking at Simple Syllabus website for Ohio State, Sept. 11, 2026. Credit: Abigail Pierson-Workman | Lantern Reporter

Ohio State instructors teaching undergraduate courses must now use Simple Syllabus to publicly post course schedules, required readings and instructor credentials as the university implements? Senate Bill 1.

Senate Bill 1, known as the Advance Ohio Higher Education Act, went into effect June 27, 2025. SB1 bans diversity, equity and inclusion programming and faculty striking, also limiting the teaching of controversial subjects, per prior Lantern reporting.

The bill says that the mandated features of syllabi must remain public and available for two years.

The Simple Syllabus is required for all undergraduate classes, including independent study courses, but graduate courses are exempt. A link to the Simple Syllabus website is available in every course’s online Canvas shell.?

“Simple Syllabus is a centralized, template-driven platform that enables instructors to quickly personalize and publish interactive class syllabi,” Ohio State spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email.

The intent is to make every syllabus public and easily accessible. This system is easier than having each instructor set up their own web page, according to Jared Gardner, an English professor and former secretary of the University Senate.

Although there was training regarding the new syllabus requirements, confusion remained among faculty who are required to use the tool, according to Erynn Beaton, associate professor in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

“Everyone had to be trained on how to use the Simple Syllabus,” Beaton said. “There was a lot of confusion about what needed to be put in what places and how much information.”

Beaton said there is also concern over syllabi being so public and some faculty fear harassment based on what they teach.

“From our perspective, the only reason to write legislation to make that information public is if you want the public to harass faculty based on what they teach,” Beaton said.