Adams Syllabi Collection

A curated set of LaTeX-formatted syllabi for undergraduate and graduate courses in Public Administration and Public Policy at Cal State Fullerton. The repository also ships with CSUF-compliant, accessibility-ready LaTeX syllabus templates.

🔗 Quick Links

• 🌐 Browse syllabi on the web: https://syllabi.dadams.io
• 💻 This repository: https://github.com/dadams-AU/syllabi
• 🧰 Template (bundled here): template/
• 🔁 Upstream template source: https://github.com/CSUF-MPA/csuf-syllabus (reference)

📚 Available Syllabi

🎓 Undergraduate

• POSC 315 · Introduction to Public Policy
• POSC/CRJU 320 · Introduction to Public Administration

🎓 Graduate (MPA)

• POSC 509 · Foundations of Public Administration
• POSC 521 · Public Administration Theory (MPA Capstone)
• POSC 588 · Collaborative Governance

♿ Accessibility (2025 Update)

The template in template/ is configured for PDF/UA accessibility and CSUF compliance:

• Tagged PDFs via tagpdf and pdfmanagement-testphase (compile with LuaLaTeX)
• Semantic structure using scrartcl (KOMA-Script)
• Accessible sans-serif fonts (default Roboto; options include Noto Sans, Inter)
• Proper headings, captions, alt text, and document metadata
• High contrast with no reliance on color alone
• Logical reading order for assistive technologies

These practices align with Section 508 and university accessibility standards.

🗂️ Repository Structure

.
├── CNAME
├── LICENSE
├── Images/
├── README.md
├── syllabi.code-workspace
├── template/
│   ├── csuf\_template/         # Full, ready-to-use accessible syllabus
│   └── csuf\_template\_shell/   # Minimal shell for rapid customization
├── CRJU\_POSC 320 Intro PA/
├── POSC 315 Intro Policy/
├── POSC 428/
├── POSC 509 MPA Foundations/
├── POSC 521 MPA Capstone/
└── POSC 588 Collab Gov/

🚀 Quick Start

Option A — Overleaf (fastest)

1. Zip and upload template/csuf_template/ to Overleaf or import from GitHub.
2. In Overleaf: Menu → Compiler → LuaLaTeX.
3. Open csuf_template.tex and click Recompile (first build may take ~3–15s).
4. Edit the course/instructor blocks and export the tagged PDF.

Option B — Local LaTeX (advanced)

# Clone this syllabi repo or pull just the template directory
git clone https://github.com/dadams-AU/syllabi.git
cd syllabi/template/csuf_template
lualatex csuf_template.tex

Requirements

• LuaLaTeX (XeLaTeX/PDFLaTeX won’t produce proper tagging)
• TeX distribution: TeX Live 2023+, MacTeX, or MiKTeX
• Packages: tagpdf, pdfmanagement-testphase, fontspec, tex-gyre
• csuf_logo.png present in the template directory

Install hints

• TeX Live:

  tlmgr update --self --all
  tlmgr install tagpdf tex-gyre tex-gyre-math fontspec
  

• Ubuntu/Debian:

  sudo apt install texlive-luatex texlive-latex-extra fonts-texgyre
  

• Arch/Manjaro:

  sudo pacman -S texlive-latexextra texlive-fontsextra
  

• macOS (MacTeX): use TeX Live Utility to add tagpdf and tex-gyre.

Sanity checks

kpsewhich tagpdf-base.sty
kpsewhich texgyretermes-regular.otf

🧩 Using This Repo

Browse or copy an existing syllabus

Each course folder includes:

• syllabus.tex — LaTeX source
• syllabus.pdf — compiled, accessible PDF

Create a new syllabus from the template

1. Copy template/csuf_template/ into your course folder.
2. Update the course block, instructor details, schedule, and policies.
3. Compile with LuaLaTeX to preserve PDF/UA tagging.
4. (Optional) Use csuf_template_shell/ if you prefer a minimal starting point.

🧠 Troubleshooting (decision tree)

Build failed?
├─ Using LuaLaTeX?
│  ├─ No → Switch compiler to LuaLaTeX
│  └─ Yes → Continue
├─ On Overleaf?
│  ├─ Yes → Packages install automatically; recompile
│  └─ No  → Ensure tagpdf + tex-gyre installed locally
├─ Fonts complaint?
│  ├─ Install tex-gyre + tex-gyre-math
│  └─ Use defaults; fallbacks will render
└─ Still stuck → Try Overleaf import—fastest path to green

🔄 Maintenance

• Syllabi reflect current course policies and schedules.
• Template updates track accessibility best practices.
• Commit history documents changes across semesters.

📄 License

Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 You may share and adapt with attribution, no commercial use, and share alike. See LICENSE for details.

📬 Contact

David P. Adams, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Public Administration

California State University, Fullerton

📧 dpadams@fullerton.edu

🌐 https://dadams.io

Contributions: feedback and suggestions are welcome in issues; direct PRs are not currently accepted.