Course Syllabus Summarizer

WHAT IT DOES

Course Syllabus Summarizer extracts the course syllabus content from any page and uses advanced AI to generate a concise, organized summary with key course information including learning objectives, required materials, grading breakdown, important deadlines, schedule overview, and key policies. It transforms lengthy, dense syllabi into a clear reference guide that helps you stay organized and on track throughout the semester.

WHERE IT RUNS

This tool operates as a userscript within the BotGentz extension framework, running directly in your browser on any website. It works on course syllabi, course outlines, class information pages, and virtually any academic course content. The tool integrates seamlessly into your workflow, appearing as a draggable panel that stays accessible as you plan your semester.

HOW TO USE

Click "Scan Page" to automatically extract the syllabus content from the current page. The tool intelligently identifies course information, grading sections, and key dates. Configure your summary settings: choose your preferred format (Timeline View, List Format, or Table Format), toggle key date and deadline highlighting on or off, and toggle grading calculator inclusion on or off. Click "Summarize Syllabus" to send the content to the AI backend. Within moments, you'll receive a clear, organized syllabus summary. Use the "Copy Summary" button to save it for reference throughout the course.

TECHNICAL OPERATION

Course Syllabus Summarizer employs a multi-strategy extraction pipeline that first checks for selected text, then attempts WebMCP (navigator.modelContext) when available—a W3C proposal for structured page content access—and falls back to DOM-based content detection using prioritized selectors for syllabus containers, course sections, and content areas. The user's format preference, deadline highlighting setting, and calculator inclusion toggle are encoded as system-level instructions in the prompt sent to the AI. The text is truncated to 8000 characters and transmitted via GM_xmlhttpRequest to the AI backend. The AI, specifically prompted as an academic course summarization specialist, identifies key syllabus elements including: course title and description, learning objectives and outcomes, required textbooks and materials, grading components with percentage weights, assignment and exam schedule, important deadlines (add/drop dates, withdrawal deadlines), course policies (attendance, late work, academic integrity), and instructor contact information. It organizes these elements into a scannable summary, highlights deadlines prominently, and when enabled, includes a simplified grading calculator that helps students estimate their final grade. Each request is authenticated with a subscription key and counts against your monthly usage cap.

THE PANEL

The Course Syllabus Summarizer panel is fully draggable and remembers its position between sessions using GM_setValue. It snaps to the edge of the viewport for a clean interface and can be collapsed to a small icon when not in use. The panel is resizable to accommodate longer content. Press Escape to quickly close or collapse the panel. The design is optimized for productivity with a dark theme, clear visual hierarchy, and responsive controls that adapt to your workflow.

PLEASE NOTE

This tool requires the free BotGentz extension installed in your browser and an active subscription to access the AI backend. AI-generated syllabus summaries are intended as study aids and should be reviewed for accuracy against the original syllabus. The tool may not capture all course policies or special instructions. Always refer to the official syllabus for complete and accurate course information. No page data is stored or transmitted beyond the content you explicitly submit for summarization. All processing occurs through secure HTTPS connections, and your subscription key is never exposed to the page context.