|
|
|
| Curriculum and Academic Systems Administration - Flagstaff, Arizona | |
|
Schedule of Classes (SoC) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) What are the general timelines for the Fall and Spring schedule builds? How do I create a class schedule matrix to show which times and rooms are booked or available? What is a Class Association and where do I find it in the system? How do I know if a class should have a zero-unit lab scheduled? How do I schedule multiple meeting patterns on a single class section? Where can I go to see course and class fees attached to a class section? What is a free format topic and why shouldn’t I use them? Which topic ID field should I use in the Schedule of Classes pages? Where can I go to see the units and grading set up for a class section? How do I know which classes may have variable units? What is meant by “Both” grading basis? How do I know which classes have “Both” grading and need to be specified? Why should I cancel classes with no enrollment? What does the “instructor scheduled to print on the Schedule of Classes X times” warning mean? What does the “multi-topic course” warning mean? What is the difference between an error and warning message? Is there any kind of training manual for Schedule of Classes? How do I request an emplid for a non-NAU employee (for class scheduling reasons)? Who do I ask non-technical scheduling questions? How do I set up cross-listed or co-convened class sections? What do I do if classes are showing as Closed but they actually aren't? What are the general timelines for the Fall and Spring schedule builds? Spring term’s Phase I usually begins in July and the final Phase IV deadline is in October. Fall term’s Phase I usually begins in November and the final Phase IV deadline is in February. More detailed information is given to all Schedule of Classes contacts (those with access) prior to and during each schedule build.
How do I create a class schedule
matrix to show which times and rooms are Two suggestions are to use Outlook Calendar or QuarkXPress software. For more information on Outlook Calendar, departmental licensing, how to get your account set up and training, go to IRIS (Outlook) Calendar page. Outlook Calendar is a scheduler that you can enter resource and classroom information into and it will show you blocked out times when each of your building/rooms is in use. For more information on the other, just type "QuarkXPress" into your internet search engine and find out more product information and pricing. This software can be used to create a schedule matrix or graph form using the tools in the program. Quark makes it easy to drag and move "boxes" of information around within the matrix. These software suggestions are helpful if you don't want to create your own type of matrix by hand to keep track of which of facilities are being used and when. What is a Class Association and where do I find it in the system? - top A class association is a number that “associates” class sections in each term and ties the units, grading, and components from the Course Catalog down to the Schedule of Classes level. Please follow the correct procedures when creating your associations for each class section. These procedures may be found in the Schedule of Classes online documentation. Click on the “Is there any kind of training manual for Schedule of Classes?” FAQ item to find out more information. This field is called the “Associated Class” and is located on the Maintain Schedule of Classes/Schedule New Course basic data page. This field is needed on all Request for Special Change forms or they will be returned as unable to process. How do I know if a class should have a zero-unit lab scheduled? Schedule of Classes users should familiarize themselves with how their courses are set up in the Course Catalog to ease class scheduling. Components are shown in the Course Catalog as well as Class Search/Browse Catalog (browse catalog function.) Components may also be found on the Adjust Class Associations page. You may review each of these as well as find their navigation by viewing the online documentation. See the “Is there any kind of training manual for Schedule of Classes?” FAQ for more information. These pages in LOUIE will either confirm or deny the existence of a Laboratory component. If the course has both a Lecture and a Laboratory component, then the course has a zero unit lab and the Lecture is worth the units and grade. How do I schedule multiple meeting patterns on a single class section? - top Go into the
Maintain Schedule of Classes/Schedule New Course pages and scroll to the
correct section you would like to edit by using the light blue left and right arrows
Where can I go to see course and class fees attached to a class section? There are two ways to see fees on a class section. The first is to use the Class Search/Browse Catalog (class search function) in LOUIE. Once you search and find the class in question, click it's underlined class section link. In the Class Detail page, you will see any course and/or class level fees currently approved and attached to that class section in that term. The second way to see course and class fees on a class is to use the Business Objects "Schedule of Classes" report which is found in Public Documents, Course and Class Information folder. What is a free format topic and why shouldn’t I use them? - top A free format topic is one that is entered by a SoC user directly onto the class in the Maintain Schedule of Classes/Schedule New Course meetings page. Free format topics shouldn’t be used because of NAU’s business practices. If a free format topic is entered and remains on a class through grading cycles, grade replacement as well as course repeat rules will not function correctly. All topics must be approved by the department chair and need a University Course Line and Topics form filled out and sent to the Schedule of Classes Coordinator. Once that is done, the user will then receive a topic id to attach to the class. When input onto the Maintain Schedule of Classes/Schedule New Course basic data page, the 30-character topic title requested will populate on the screen and will show as a second line, under the course title, on student transcripts (if the print on transcripts checkbox is checked). Which topic ID field should I use in the Schedule of Classes pages? There are two topic id fields in the Schedule of Classes – on the Basic Data page and on the Meetings page. Users should always use the Basic Data page topic id field. The Meetings page topic id field is only used by Extended Campuses and is uploaded from their system to LOUIE nightly. The Extended Campuses system uses both the Basic Data and Meetings page topic id fields. Notice on the Meetings page, there is a topic id field available for each meeting pattern on a class. Since NAU does not create multiple topics for a single class, this is not needed. Only one topic should be assigned to a single class. The reason only the Basic Data page topic id field should be used in LOUIE is for consistency. It aids Schedule of Classes users and the Coordinator in finding which classes have which topics attached in LOUIE and in Business Objects because they are all in one field. Also, topics will all show in the same place on the Class Search/Browse Catalog (class search function) results if they are all input into the same field on the Maintain Schedule of Classes/Schedule New Course pages. Where can I go to see the units and grading set up for a class section? - top There are three places you can go to see units and grading for a class. The first place is the Adjust Class Associations page in LOUIE. You can get there by following this navigation: Home>Curriculum Management>Schedule of Classes>Adjust Class Associations. Remember, you will only see “associations” on this page. You will not be able to search by class number or section. This is the page where special class changes are made. The second place you can see units and grading for a class in LOUIE is the Class Search/Browse Catalog (class search function). On the Class Detail page (click on the underlined section link on the Class Search Results page to get there) you can see this information. The third place to see class units and grading is the Business Objects "Schedule of Classes" report in Public Folders, LOUIE - Student Reports, Course and Class Information folder. How do I know which classes may have variable units? The Adjust Class Associations page is helpful as it shows the current units on a class. But, to be more proactive, during the Schedule Build process, the Business Objects "Schedule of Classes" report should be used in order to find variable unit classes so that units may be limited, if needed. Remember, unit changes should be requested via a Request for Special Change form prior to any enrollment in that class. Also, the Course Catalog is a wonderful resource. If the user is familiar with the Class Search/Browse Catalog (browse catalog feature) or Course Catalog pages and the information for the courses they schedule (which have variable units for example), class scheduling will be easier. What is meant by “Both” grading basis? - top The definition of a “Both” grading basis is one that is approved on a Course so that each term and each class may have the choice of being offered with Letter or Pass/Fail grading. Each term, all “Both” classes must be specified as either Letter or Pass/Fail. How do I know which classes have “Both” grading and need to be specified? Use the Business Objects “Dual Grading Basis for SoC” report located in Public Documents within the Course and Class Information folder. Users should run this report periodically in order to find their “Both” graded classes so a Request for Special Change form may be submitted during the schedule build process. Remember, grading changes should be requested before any students enroll in the class. Also, the Course Catalog is a wonderful resource. If the user is familiar with the Class Search/Browse Catalog (browse catalog feature) or Course Catalog pages and the information for the courses they schedule (which have BOTH grading basis), class scheduling will be easier. Why should I cancel classes with no enrollment? - top Users should cancel classes with enrollment of zero in order to accurately show what is being offered that term. Cancelled classes will not show in Class Search/Browse Catalog (class search feature), which in turn, makes the search faster. If a class has not been cancelled and still has no enrollment at the time of grade roster generation, an active blank grade roster will generate which will cause confusion. It is up to the department to determine how long to wait for enrollment before they decide to cancel a class during the term, but ultimately these classes need to be cancelled prior to grade roster generation for that term. What does the “instructor scheduled to print on the Schedule of Classes X times” warning mean? The instructor scheduled to print multiple times warning will look similar to this:
This warning means the instructor listed has the Print checkbox checked multiple times on the Maintain Schedule of Classes or Schedule New Course Meetings page. In most cases, the class has multiple meeting patterns and the same instructor has been input on all of them, with the Print checkbox checked for all of them. The system is asking the user if they want this instructor listed multiple times in the Class Search/Browse Catalog (class search feature) search results. It is up to the department and faculty member instructing the class if they would like this or not. If the decision is made to only show this instructor on the first meeting pattern, click the Cancel button. Once back in the Maintain Schedule of Classes or Schedule New Course navigation, on the Meetings page, uncheck the Print checkbox next to the instructor on any meeting patterns for which you do not want this instructor to show. Save your changes and this warning should no longer appear. If the decision is made to continue to show this instructor multiple times on the same class, then click the OK button and the system will save your changes. What does the “multi-topic course” warning mean? - top The topics warning will look similar to this:
This warning means the course has topics available and set up in the Course Catalog. It is asking the user if they really want this section to be scheduled without a topic title. This warning will appear when trying to save classes where one or more sections do not have a topic but there are topics available. If the user does want to input a topic at this time, click the Cancel button. Doing so will return the user to the Maintain Schedule of Classes or Schedule New Course pages where they can then input a topic id onto the Basic Data page. Save your changes and this warning should no longer appear for this section. If the user does not want a topic at this time, click the OK button. The system will then save the changes. What is the difference between an error and warning message? An error message usually pops up when an incorrect value is placed into a field. The field usually turns red as well. When an error occurs, the system will not save any changes until that error is corrected. A warning message on the other hand, usually only shows once the Save button is pressed. A warning is an informational message that prompts the user to check their work and make sure this is how they want it. If the OK button is pressed to all warning messages, changes will save. Keep in mind, if the user does not “correct” information as a warning prompts, every time an edit is made to that course for that term, the warnings will continue to show prior to saving. OK may need to be pressed multiple times in order to save. Why do I need access to Business Objects in addition to LOUIE to perform my Schedule of Classes duties? Business Objects access is needed because this reporting software houses very important reports imperative to class scheduling. During the Schedule Build, Schedule of Classes users must pull the "Schedule of Classes" Business Objects report at key intervals in order to distribute class information to faculty for their review and feedback. Changes should be noted on this report and given back to the Schedule of Classes user in order for them to input all changes (and request special changes and topics from the coordinator) prior to the deadline. Also, the "Dual Grading Basis for SoC" report is used by Schedule of Classes users in order to find and clean up all their “Both” graded classes. Is there any kind of training manual for Schedule of Classes? - top Yes. On the LOUIE Documentation, Web Tutorials, and LOUIE Classes web site, click on the LOUIE Online Reference link. Log in and scroll down to click on the heading "Schedule of Classes Department Creator." There you will find the Schedule of Classes documentation and all of its sub-categories. Who do I ask if I have questions that in-person training, the online documentation, and these FAQ’s haven’t answered? E-mail the Schedule of Classes Coordinator at Theresa.Rogers@nau.edu. If you have questions about scheduling in the Extended Campuses system (Winter and Summer sessions, online, and off-campus classes), please e-mail info.statewide@nau.edu. How do I request an emplid for a non-NAU employee (for class scheduling reasons)? Check out our Adjunct Faculty Form and information on the web at http://www4.nau.edu/aio/ScheduleofClasses/soc_forms.htm. Who do I ask non-technical scheduling questions? If you have questions about tips and tricks, boosting efficiency of processes, helpful cheat sheets, etc. you should send an e-mail to the SoC LISTSERV. All Schedule of Classes departmental users with scheduling access belong to the Schedule of Classes Department Creators Knowledge Group. When you were subscribed to this LISTSERV, you received a message with directions on posting to it - just follow those directions to ask your peers for help and/or input. How do I set up cross-listed or co-convened class sections? First, check the Course Catalog to make sure the classes you have scheduled have been approved for cross-listing or co-convening. Just look in the "Course Attributes" area.
If they have NOT been approved, do NOT follow the
information below. Instead, to request a permanent combination, take your request to the appropriate
Curriculum Committees for approval. Or if you are looking for a
one-time only combination for specific class sections, email your
request and the class syllabi as follows: What do I do if classes are showing as Closed but they actually aren't? If the class is a Combined Section, there may be an error in the setup on the Identify Combined Sections page. Does the enrollment total listed in the middle of the page match the sum of enrollment in all the sections listed? If not, make note of the class numbers and then delete all sections listed, Save. Return to the Combined Sections Table, make note of the combo id and descriptions, delete the combo, Save. Add a new row to the Combined Sections Table with the same combo id and descriptions you had noted, Save. Navigate into the Identify Combined Sections page and setup again with the class numbers you noted above, being sure to enter the combined cap information, Save. If the class is not a Combined Section, notify the Schedule of Classes Coordinator who will run a process to synch the enrollment totals throughout the system.
|
or the
Find feature. Click on the Meetings tab at the top or the Meetings
link at the bottom of the page. Now click on the light blue plus sign button
to add another meeting
pattern. Multiple meeting patterns are useful for classes that meet one
day in one room and then another day in another room or also those classes
that are dynamically dated.
