Course Master Information

Tool Search: Course Master Information

A Course Master defines course elements of courses from a district level, so all schools are using the same number and naming convention for courses, as well as the same setup for grading. Course Catalogs need to be created first before creating Course Masters. A Course Catalog is a collection of Course Masters that is then attached to the school. Changes made to the Course Master are also applied to the courses at the schools if fields have been locked.

Course Master Information 
Courses that exist prior to creating Course Masters are not automatically linked to the newly created Course Master.

If Grading Tasks, Standards and Assessments are locked on the Course Catalog, that information displays with a lock icon at the Course level and cannot be deleted unless they are removed from the Course Master.

Course Master Workflow

Click here to expand...
StepCampus Location
1.Grading and Standards > Course Catalogs
2.Assign the Course Catalog to the school.System Administration > Resources > School
3.Create Course Masters for the district.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Course Master Info
4.Add Grading Tasks to the Course Master.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Grading Tasks
5.Add Standards to the Course Master.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Standards
6.Add Categories to the Course Master.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Categories
7.Add Assessments to the Course Master.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Assessments
8.Establish Grade Calc Options for the Course Master.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Grade Calc Options
9.Push the Course Master to the Courses.Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Course Master Info > Push to Courses
10.

Copy Course Master information to other Course Masters.

Grading and Standards > Course Masters > Course Master Info > Copy
11.Use the Push ALL Course Masters tool to update the Course Catalog with the latest Course Master data.Grading and Standards > Push All Course Masters
12.Use the Push ALL Courses tool to update all courses in the selected calendar with the latest Course data.Grading and Standards > Push All Courses

Course Master Information

Like the Course Editor, the Course Master Info tool is organized into the following sections:

Some fields may be localized and therefore may not be defined in this table.

Course Master Detail

The Course Master Detail editor contains the basic fields for the course master. These fields, including those that may be state specific, are also included on the Courses tab in the Course Information editor. For Course Masters, the selection of a Course Catalog is required.

Click here to expand...

Field

Description

Ad hoc Field Name

Number
Required

This number is used for identification, searching, and making requests. It will appear on student schedules and transcripts.


Spaces are not allowed at the beginning or end of this field. Numbers or letters can be entered.


Course numbers must be unique for each Course Master in each school. 

courseInfo.courseMasterNumber

Name
Required

A more descriptive identifier, the course name is visible in many places in Campus and can be up to 30 characters in length.


Spaces are not allowed at the beginning or end of this field.

courseInfo.CourseMasterName

Standards-based

This checkbox indicates if this course will be graded using a traditional grading scale or aligned with a standards area.

This fields is not available in Ad hoc.

Active

This checkbox indicates if the course is active and therefore available for requests and scheduling.

This field is not available in Ad hoc.

Exclude from State Reporting

When marked, course information is not included in any state reports.

courseInfo.stateReportExclude


Reports a value of zero (0) when the checkbox is not marked or a value of 1 when the checkbox is marked.

External LMS Exclude

If a district is sharing Campus data with an external learning management system, this checkbox can be used to exclude specific records from being shared.


This designation also applies to all Courses associated with this Course Master. If the Exclude checkbox is marked for the School or Calendar associated with this Course Master, that designation also applies to this Course Master.

courseInfo.externalLMSExclude

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Course-Only Curriculum

Marking this checkbox prevents teachers from aligning assignments aligned to sections in this course to sections in any other courses.


Normally, teachers can align an assignment to any section they teach, including those in multiple sections. This option restricts that ability; if an assignment is aligned to a section in this course, only other sections of the same course can be selected in the Section Selector of the assignment.

courseInfo.courseOnlyCurriculum

Reports a value of zero (0) when the checkbox is not marked or a value of 1 when the checkbox is marked.

Subject Type

A field that indicates whether the content of the course is considered Core (Secondary), Elementary, Special Education, or none of these (N/A).

courseInfo.subjectType

Core Academic Class

When Subject Type is Core Academic Subject Area (CORE), this field appears with a dropdown list of Secondary Core content areas.

courseInfo.coreSubject

State Code

A code given to a course that is used in state reports, up to 20 characters long. The entered value can be numbers or letters, decimals or special characters.


See the Responsive Scheduling and Course Management section for this field's impact on responsive courses.

courseInfo.statecode

Department

This dropdown list contains the departments set in System Administration that can be used to organize courses. 

Assigning a department to courses helps in the organization of the schedule. When using the scheduling wizard or when searching by department, all courses in that department will be grouped together.

courseInfo.departmentName

Schedule Load Priority

Indicates priority that should be given to the course during scheduling.

courseInfo.priority

Max Students

Displays the maximum number of students that can be scheduled into the sections of the course. This field is also on the Section editor; it only needs to be populated in one location (either on the Course editor or the Section editor).


Only positive, whole number values can be entered. 


When using the Scheduling Board to load course sections OR when loading requests for students using the Walk-In Scheduler, this field MUST be populated with a value that is greater than zero.

courseInfo.maxStudents

Terms

Indicates the number of terms one instance of the course will cover, such as a semester long course that lasts for two terms in a four quarter schedule.


For Academic Planning this field is used to calculate the credit a student will receive for this course. This field should not be blank or have a value of zero.


This field, along with the Schedules and Periods fields, needs to be populated in order to accurately reflect a student's requested units.

courseInfo.terms

Schedules

This field indicates the total number of period schedules in which the course will meet. 


This field, along with the Terms and Periods fields, needs to be populated in order to accurately reflect a student's requested units.

courseInfo.schedules

Periods

Indicates the number of periods in one day a course is taught.


This field, along with the Terms and Schedules fields, needs to be populated in order to accurately reflect a student's requested units.

courseInfo.periods

Sections to Build

This field indicates to the schedule wizard how many sections of this course will exist.

courseInfo.sectionsToBuild

Preferred Room Type

Lists the type of room in which this course can be scheduled. Room types are created in the Attribute/Dictionary.


See the Rooms article for more information.

courseInfo.roomType

GPA Weight

This field indicates that the course contributes to the student’s cumulative GPA calculation. It indicates the impact of the course score in GPA calculations relative to other courses.


For example, a school’s score group is on a standard 4.0 scale. A course has a weight of 2. For a student that receives an A (4.0), the GPA value will then equal an 8, thus inflating his calculation. Most often, this field is set to a 1. If the course does not contribute to the GPA at all, leave the field blank.

  • If the GPA Weight on a Transcript Course Record is blank/null/zero, the GPA Value for that Course is not be included in any Weighted or Unweighted GPA calculations on the transcript. 

courseInfo.gpaWeight

Bonus Points

This checkbox indicates if bonus points will be used in calculating GPA.

courseInfo.bonusPointsAvail

Transcript

This checkbox indicates if the course will appear on student transcripts.

courseInfo.transcript

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Required

This checkbox indicates if the course is required for graduation.

courseInfo.required

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Type

The options available in this dropdown can be edited in the Attribute Dictionary and provide additional filtering fields in Ad hoc Reporting.

courseInfo.type

Course Level


The options available in this dropdown can be used to indicate level of work demonstrated by that course.  It may use a state-defined set of codes or have a state-specific name (like Honors or AP Course).


This field is used in eTranscripts. If districts are using the PESC format for eTranscripts, this must be included.

courseInfo.level

Responsive

Indicates the course allows responsive offerings to be created and scheduled.


See the following for more information:

courseInfo.responsive

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Activity

The options available in this dropdown can be used to indicate that the course is being used to track an activity such as an athletic team or extra-curricular. It may use a state- or district-defined set of codes.

courseInfo.activityCode

Homeroom

This checkbox indicates that this course functions as a homeroom.


This field is used in scheduling and attendance reports, functions as a sort option when scheduling courses for the next school year. It also causes the teacher's name to print on the Report Card.

courseInfo.homeroom

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Allow Student Requests

Indicates that students can request this course through the Portal. When this is not marked, the course displays in the Course Catalog search results with a message that courses can only be added by a counselor, and students are not allowed to request this on the Portal. See the Student Course Recommendations article for additional information.


This is used in the Academic Planning process.

courseInfo.requestable

Allow teacher requests/recommendations

Checkbox indicating that teachers are able to recommend students for this course. When marked, teachers assigned tool rights can suggest courses for the student using Teacher Course Requests and Student Course Recommendations. Additional logic is included with this. 


See the Teacher Course Requests article for additional information.


Student Course Recommendations are used in the Academic Planning process. Teacher Course Requests are used in the Scheduling process.

courseInfo.allowTeacherRequests

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Hide Standards on Portal/Campus Student

This field hides the standards assigned to a course master from being viewed on the Portal and Student App. 


Standards still display for teachers in Campus Instruction.

This checkbox is pushed to courses.

This field is not available in Ad hoc.

Repeatable

Courses marked as repeatable can be chosen by students multiple times to add to their academic plan.


This is used in the Academic Planning process.

courseInfo.repeatable

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Attendance

Indicates if attendance will be taken during this course.

courseInfo.attendance

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Positive Attendance or Unit Attendance

Indicates if attendance recorded for this section is in the form of positive attendance, in which the teacher tracks how long students work in a given course area.


If the Positive Attendance Preference is set to No, this field is used as an indicator. If the preference is set to Yes, additional logic is turned on, allowing schools to enter positive attendance data for these courses.

courseInfo.unitAttendance

Returns a value of 0 if the checkbox is not marked; returns a value of 1 if the checkbox is marked.

Expected Hours

When the Positive Attendance Preference is set to Yes, this field displays, indicating the total number of hours of attendance a student enrolled in this class is required to have. Hours can be entered as whole numbers or as decimal numbers up to 6 characters (1000.25, etc.). A maximum value of 8760 hours can be entered.

courseInfo.expectedHours

Online Learning or Distance Learning

The options in this dropdown can be used to Indicate the type of online learning used to offer the course.  It may use a state-defined set of codes.


This field is used to populate the same field on the Course Section editor.

courseInfo.distanceCode

Comments

Area provided for comments related to this course.

This field is not available in Ad hoc.

NCES Data

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collects and analyzes data related to education. Codes are used in the collecting and processing of data that facilitates the exchange of information to ensure uniform values. In Campus, these codes are assigned to courses on the Course tab, the Course Masters tool and used in the Course Catalog. These fields are also available in the Ad hoc Reporting Filter Designer when generating reports using the Course/Section Data Type.

NCES and SCED options are not editable in the Attribute Dictionary as this is a nationally standardized set of codes. These codes are marked to copy forward by default with newly created calendars.

Although these are National codes, states have a say in what NCES information reports. Because of this, some districts may see different codes for a Subject Area. For example, a state has a SCED Course Identifier of 008: IB Language A (English), but the National requirement is 008: English as a Second Language.

For more information on NCES Data, see the Courses article.

NCES Data Fields 

Description Editor

Details of the Course Master can be added in the Description editor, including a summary of what that description is. Details can be entered using the WYSIWYG editor. Information is visible in the Course Catalog and can be viewed by students registering for courses (Course Registration) and planning courses (Academic Plan) in Campus Student, and by counselors adding courses using the Walk-In Scheduler and when building Academic Plans with students. 

Changes to this description can only be modified from the Course Catalog.

Course Master Information - Description Editor 
Custom Data Elements Editor

The Custom Data Elements editor lists a series of checkboxes, dropdown lists and text entry fields where users can lock certain custom fields with the selected value. When these fields are locked, the values cannot be changed where the data is viewed (i.e., the Courses tab).

Available elements vary between districts and schools. It is the decision and discretion of each building and site to add these elements to best suit the needs of that site.

Selections in the Custom Data Element editor are NOT pushed to courses when the Push to Courses action is performed.

Course Master Information - Custom Data Elements 
The locking of fields can only be pushed to one year at a time. There is no All Years option, but saving can be done multiple times with a new year selected each time. Information can be pushed to past, current or future years.

When viewing the information on the Courses tab, the fields populated and locked on the Course Master appear populated and attempts to remove the entered values cannot be completed.  

 Lock Custom Data Elements

  1. Mark the custom data element that should be locked (meaning values cannot be changed at the Course level, but can be modified in the Course Master).
  2. Select the appropriate value for that element.
  3. Click the Save icon.

Search for Existing Course Masters

  1. On the Search tab, set the dropdown option to Course Master.
  2. Enter the search criteria to locate the Course Master.
  3. Click the Go button. Matching results appear, with the name of the catalog in which the Course Master exists.
  4. Select the desired option and modify the Course Master as needed.

Search for Course Masters 

Locked Fields from Course Catalog

Any field that displays on the Course editor can be locked to limit edits made by other users. When locked on the Course Catalog, attributes for Grading Tasks and Standards remain editable on both the Course Master and Course. However, deletion of existing data on the Course (assigned grading tasks, assessments, etc.) is NOT possible, even if the user has the correct tool rights.

When an item is marked to be locked, changes made to the Course Master are pushed to the courses in the selected calendars. Items that are locked cannot be modified on the Course, with the exception of the following. Behavior for locking these fields is noted below:

  • Assessments - when locked, information copies forward and is pushed, but changes can be made to assessments at the course level.
  • Terms - when locked, information from the Course Master is pushed to courses, but changes can be made at the course level.
  • Schedules - when locked, information from the Course Master is pushed to courses, but changes can be made at the course level.
  • Period - when locked, information from the Course Master is pushed to courses, but changes can be made at the course level.

Push to Courses

Any changes made to the Course Master need to be pushed to the courses. Use the Push to Courses option to do this, which will mass update all of the courses in the selected Course Master to have the same information - Grading Tasks, Standards, Categories, Grade Calculations, etc.

Data must be LOCKED in order to push information to courses. Marking fields as locked is done at the Course Catalog level. Custom Course elements have a corresponding lock field on the Course editor.

Users need at least W (Write) rights to Course Master Info in order to use this feature.

Push to Courses  
Choose the school year and calendar to which updated Course Master information should be pushed and which data should be pushed and click the Push button. At the end of the process, the number of courses updated displays. Click the OK button to acknowledge this update.

At the time data is pushed from the Course Master, Course level Grading Tasks and Standards will be overwritten when the same task name and term mask is set. Course level Grade Calc Options will be updated with the data that was overwritten.

Course Master data can be pushed to any calendar for a school associated with the Course Catalog. Calendars may have a varying number of periods, terms, schedules, etc. The number of periods, terms and schedules from the Course Master pushes to the destination courses up to the number the destination calendar has. A validation message displays when the Course Master has a greater number of terms, periods, and/or schedules than the receiving calendar. The maximum value pushes to the courses.

If a teacher has already set up Grade Book, Planner or Assignment Overview, Categories and Grade Calculation Options aligned to a Course Master ARE NOT reflected in Campus Instruction. This is to ensure any existing assignments and grades are not modified.

The best time to implement district-level categories is at the beginning of the school year.


Save