Why Find the Syllabus Early?

Your syllabus is your roadmap for the course. It includes grading policies, deadlines, assignments, and instructor information. At CGU, beginning in 2025, every course syllabus will be visible to all CGU users—even before you are officially enrolled. This helps you plan your schedule and understand expectations while exploring course options or waiting for your enrollment to be processed.

Searching for a Syllabus Before Enrollment

If you are deciding which courses to take or waiting for enrollment to finalize, you can preview syllabi through the Course Index and Course Syllabus Preview:

1. In Canvas, click Courses in the global navigation menu.

2. Select All Courses, then click Browse More Courses.

3. Use the search bar to look up the course by name or keyword.

- Note: The course code (e.g. ART 101) is not searchable. Use the full course title as it appears in the course schedule or another meaningful keyword that may appear in a course title. (e.g. Introduction to Visual Arts).

4. Click the course title to open its preview page and review the Syllabus.

- Note: You may need to click on the “Syllabus” link in the course navigation menu if it does not automatically load in the preview.

- Only the syllabus is visible; all other course content is restricted until you are enrolled.

Asking to View a Syllabus Before Enrollment

If you would like to ask the instructor for syllabus access directly, please reach out and ask for the URL/link to the course syllabus.

- Note: If the instructor has not published the Canvas course site yet, the syllabus will not be available to you. Syllabus previews are not visible to students until the course has been published in Canvas. A past course syllabus may be a helpful alternative.

Faculty Requests for Older Syllabi Previews

If you would like CGU students to have preview access to past course syllabi (prior to 2025), please send an email with all of the details to help.desk@cgu.edu and OIT staff will assist you.

- Note: Only faculty can request syllabi previews for courses prior to 2025. Students wishing to see prior courses should contact their academic department or search their program’s SchoolsHub in MyCGU Sharepoint.