Setting clear course expectations

Course expectations checklist

Use the checklist below to design a course that is easy to follow, accessible, and aligned with learner needs.

Introduce yourself and your support team

Create an announcement on your course homepage that includes:

  • Your name and role 

  • Contact Information

  • When and how learners should reach out

Refer to Create an announcement to learn more about creating your introductory announcement.

Refer to Add widgets to your homepage to learn about how to add your Announcement widget to your course homepage.

Make your syllabus easy to access and navigate

Ensure students can quickly find and use your syllabus:

  • Post it on the course homepage or link to it in an announcement
  • Use Quicklinks to connect syllabus items directly to course activities. For example, link an assignment description in your syllabus to the actual assignment
  • Add a custom link to your course navbar to connect learners to the syllabus

Refer to About Brightspace Editor for information about inserting a Quicklink to your course activities.

Refer to Customize your course navbar for information on adding a custom link to your navbar.

Highlight key tools learners will use

Help learners understand where to track their progress: 

  • Use an announcement to call out tools like Assignments, Class Progress, Discussions, Grades, or Quizzes.
  • Explain how these tools support their success

Repeat important information across your course

Reinforce expectations in multiple places to reduce confusion: 

  • Add due dates to the Calendar
  • Include grading details in assignment descriptions
  • Repeat key expectations in announcements or content modules

This redundancy helps all learners, especially those using assistive technologies.

Refer to Manage course events with the Calendar tool for more information about using a calendar to manage due dates.

Organize content with a clear structure

Make your course content easy to navigate: 

  • Use consistent naming conventions (for example, Week 1, Week 2) in your course modules
  • Break content into logical modules

Refer to Add and organize learning materials in the New Content Experience (Lessons) for more information.

Use Course Home as a starting point

Ensure learners know where to begin:

  • Include announcements, syllabus access, and key links
  • Keep the layout simple and predictable

What success looks like


Learners should be able to:

  • Quickly find their course schedule and expectations
  • Understand how activities connect to course goals
  • Navigate content without confusion
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