Enrolment Services – Class Scheduling

Fall 2014

Course Combinations

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A quick note about navigation

The Course Combinations form has been optimized for use with the Google Chrome browser. If you do not have Chrome installed, you can download it here.

As with all PowerPoint presentations, the Page Up and Page Down keys (or the wheel on your mouse) allow you to step through every slide in the presentation.

The navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen allow you to move from section to section.

Takes you to the previous section

Takes you to the next section

Takes you to the table of contents

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction

2 Roles and Responsibilities

3 Getting Started

4 Search, Add, Edit and Delete

5 Submit Course Combinations for verification (Unit Submission)

6 Verify Course Combinations (Unit Approval)

7 Approve Course Combinations (ES Approval)

8 FAQ

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1. Introduction

Every year, a new class schedule must be produced for the upcoming Academic Year. There are many, many things to consider when building the class schedule:• When are the professors available?• When are the departmental meetings?• Which courses cannot be scheduled at the same time?• Which courses go together within a program?• Which rooms are suitable for which courses?

The Class Scheduling team sorts through the thousands of constraints and requirements to produce a Class Schedule that will allow our students to take the courses they need to graduate within a reasonable amount of time.

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1. Introduction (continued)

At the beginning of the process, the previous year’s Course Combinations will be loaded into the Course Combinations module.

At the end of the process, the new Course Combination information will be released back into the Class Scheduling application (TPHi – Infosilem)

Note: Only approved Course Combinations will be released back into our Scheduling Software (TPHi). Therefore, it is imperative that you complete this process. Otherwise, the students may not be able to complete their programs in a timely manner.

LoadAdd/Edit/

DeleteSubmit Verify Approve Release

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1. Introduction (continued)

This module will walk you through the steps to Add, Edit, Delete, Submit, Verify and Approve Course Combinations for the upcoming Academic Year.

LoadAdd/Edit/

DeleteSubmit Verify Approve Release

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2. Roles and Responsibilities

There are three roles in the Course Combination process:1. Scheduling Coordinator2. Departmental Approver3. Administrative Approver

Note: If you are both a Scheduling Coordinator and a Departmental Approver, you will only see the Departmental Approver screens.

If you’d like to see the descriptions of all roles, use the Page Down key or scroll with your mouse. Otherwise, click on the role of your choice.

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2. Roles and Responsibilities – Scheduling Coordinator

The Scheduling Coordinator is responsible for adding and editing the course combinations for a given unit or units.

The Scheduling Coordinator can:• Add course combinations• Edit course combinations• Flag course combinations for deletion• Search course combinations• Submit course combinations for verification by the Departmental

Approver (Unit Submission)

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2. Roles and Responsibilities – Departmental Approver

The Departmental Approver is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the course combinations for a given unit or units.

The Departmental Approver can:• Add course combinations• Edit course combinations• Delete course combinations• Search course combinations• Verify course combinations and send them for approval by ES (Unit

Approval)

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2. Roles and Responsibilities – Administrative Approver

The Administrative Approver is responsible for approving all Course Combinations for all units. The Administrative Approvers are split between the Downtown and Macdonald campuses.

The Administrative Approver can:• Add course combinations• Edit course combinations• Delete course combinations• Search course combinations• Approve course combinations (ES Approval) to make them

available for Release• Release course combinations for inclusion in the scheduling

process

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3. Getting Started

The Course Combinations module is a secure form in the Minerva menu.

Log in to Minerva as you normally would:

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3. Getting Started (continued)

Go to SR Admin, then Catalog and Schedule Menu, then Course Combinations.

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3. Getting Started (continued)

The next step is to select a Department and then click on Continue.

Once this is done, you are ready to go! The list of all existing Course Combinations in the selected Department will be displayed to you.

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3. Getting Started (continued)

Important!While you are viewing this page, all course combinations in your unit are “locked”. Be sure to click Exit Course Combinations before leaving the

page, to allow other authorized users (e.g., approvers, Enrolment Services) access to this unit.

Remember to click Exit Course Combinations even after Unit Submission.

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

The Search block is located on the top of the Course Combinations form.- Enter your Search criteria and click on Search- Click on Clear Search if you want to see the List of all Course

Combinations in the selected Department

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

If you need to add a new Course Combination, click on Add Combination located at the bottom of the form.

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

Complete the required fields (such as Term, Campus, Degree Code, etc.) to define a new Course Combination, then click on Add Course to add courses. The course combination description will be automatically

generated if left blank.

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Note: Units may provide a suggested student count. However, the final student count will be provided by ES.

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

If you try to add a Course Combination that already exists in your unit for a given term, the system will give display an error. Within a given unit, duplicates are not allowed in the same term.

If you try to add a Course Combination that already exists in another unit for a given term, the system will display a warning. Only add a duplicate Course Combination in your unit if you need to manage the combination differently (e.g. different suggested student count)

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

You can also add Comments for your Course Combination.

Don’t forget to click on Save once you have completed your work.

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

Sometimes you might want to Edit an existing Course Combination. To do that, just click on Edit, make your changes, and click on Save. Edit is only available if the Course Combination has not been

Verified or Approved yet (i.e. Status is ‘Initial’ or ‘Submitted’).

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4. Search, Add, Edit and Delete

If you want to flag a Course Combination for deletion:

Check a Delete box for a selected record. You will notice a message on the top of the screen informing you

that the Course Combination is marked for deletion. You will also see that the Edit option is grayed out. The actual Deletion will happen after the Departmental Approver

verifies the submitted Course Combinations.

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5. Submit Course Combinations for verification (Unit Submission)

Now you are ready to Submit Course Combinations for Verification.

Once you click on Unit Submission, a message will be displayed to confirm submission.

Click on OK. A notification will be send to the Departmental Approver indicating that verification can start.

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6. Verify Course Combinations (Unit Approval)

As a Departmental Approver, you need to verify Course Combinations submitted by the Scheduling Coordinator(s).

If you need to correct a Course Combination, click on Edit. Check the Verified box – you will see the Status changed to

Verified.

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6. Verify Course Combinations (Unit Approval) (continued)

Once you finish verifying and are ready to approve the Course Combinations for the unit, click on Unit Approval.

A message will be displayed to confirm your approval. Click on OK. A notification will be send to the Administrative

Approver indicating that the approval process can start.

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7. Approve Course Combinations (ES Approval)

Course Combinations verified by the Departmental Approver must be approved by the Administrative Approver in order to be released into the Class Scheduling application.

If you need to correct a Course Combination, click Edit. Check the Approved box – you will see the Status changed to

Approved.

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7. Approve Course Combinations (ES Approval) (continued)

Once all Course Combinations are approved, click ES Approval. This will make the Course Combinations available for release to the scheduling application.

A message will be displayed to confirm your approval. Click on OK to confirm.

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8. Frequently Asked Questions

1. I’m lost and need help. Whom do I contact?

2. I have submitted my Course Combinations to the Departmental Approver, but I noticed that I have made a mistake. What should I do?

3. I received this error message: Course combination XXX exists with the same courses. What does it mean?

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8. Frequently Asked Questions – Contact Us

1. I’m lost and need help. Whom do I contact?

For help using the Course Combinations module, please contact Enrolment Services via email at TimetableProject.ES@mcgill.ca.

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8. Frequently Asked Questions – Error after submission

2. I have submitted my Course Combinations to the Departmental Approver, but I noticed that I have made a mistake. What should I do?

There are a few ways to address mistakes caught after submission:• If you have forgotten to include one or more combinations, go ahead and

add them. Don’t forget to click “Submit All” in order to notify the Departmental Approver of the change.

• If you would like to modify a Course Combination that is already submitted, but not yet verified by the Departmental Approver, you can simply make the modification and save the combination again.

• If you would like to modify a Course Combination that has already been verified by the Departmental Approver, you must contact your Departmental Approver directly.

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8. Frequently Asked Questions – Duplicate Combination

3. I received this error message: Course combination XXX exists with the same courses. What does it mean?

This message means that the Course Combination indicated in the error message could not be created because the same courses are already included in a Course Combination for that term in that department. Duplicate Course Combinations are not allowed within a department for a given term, even if the Course Combination Descriptions are different.

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