How to write or update the Syllabus page in Canvas
Short answer: in Canvas, click Syllabus in Course Navigation, then Edit, write in the editor, and click Update Syllabus. Canvas adds the course summary below on its own. Or open Course++ in your course and type: “Update my Syllabus page with sections for grading, late work, and office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:15 to 4:00.”
The problem
It’s a new term, and your syllabus still says last year.
The editor is fine for a sentence or two. A full syllabus pasted from Word often arrives with odd fonts and spacing, and every section needs fixing by hand.
re-pasting every termformatting to repair
The fix
Tell Course++ what changed. It updates the page.
It reads your current Syllabus page, changes only what you asked for, and writes clean headings. Attach your syllabus as a PDF if you would rather it start from that.
1 sentenceclean headings
Prompts you can copy
Open your Canvas course, open Course++ beside it, and paste one of these. Change the names and numbers to match your course.
Rewrite my Syllabus page for English 10 with sections for course description, materials, grading, late work, and contact info. I’m Ms. Alvarez, Room 214, and office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:15 to 4:00.
To build the page from scratch.I attached my syllabus as a PDF. Put it on the Syllabus page with clear headings, and keep my wording.
When your syllabus lives in Word: save it as a PDF first.Change my office hours on the Syllabus page to Wednesdays, 2:30 to 3:30, and leave everything else as it is.
A small edit at the start of a term.Read my Syllabus page and list anything that mentions last year’s dates.
A check before the term starts. It only reads; nothing changes.
How to edit the Syllabus page in Canvas by hand
- In Course Navigation, click Syllabus.
- Click Edit.
- Type in the editor or paste your text. To attach a file, upload it to Files and link to it.
- Leave Show Course Summary ticked to list your assignments and events below, or untick it to hide them.
- Click Update Syllabus.
- Click View as Student to see what students see.
Good to know
- The Course Summary builds itself. It lists your assignments and calendar events by date. To change a date there, change the assignment or event, not the Syllabus page. See moving a unit’s due dates.
- Word and PowerPoint files can’t be read. Course++ reads PDFs and images up to 10 MB, so save your syllabus as a PDF before you attach it.
- Some schools use a syllabus tool. If your Syllabus page is run by a tool such as Simple Syllabus, Course++ can’t edit it. Course++ can edit the Canvas Syllabus page itself.
Questions teachers ask
How do I edit the syllabus in Canvas?
Click Syllabus in Course Navigation, then Edit. Make your changes in the editor and click Update Syllabus.
How do I remove the course summary from the Canvas syllabus?
Click Edit on the Syllabus page and untick Show Course Summary, then click Update Syllabus.
Can I upload a PDF as my Canvas syllabus?
Yes. Upload the PDF to Files and link to it from the Syllabus page. Many teachers also paste the text so students can read it without downloading.
Can Course++ read my Word syllabus?
No. It can’t read Word files, but it can read a PDF you attach, so save the document as a PDF first.
250 FREE credits to try it. No credit card.
Canvas steps checked against Instructure’s own Canvas guides in October 2026. Canvas changes its screens from time to time, and schools turn features on and off, so a button may be named a little differently in yours.