Combined Course Shell Q&A
1. How can I get a combined course shell?
Email or call the IT helpdesk and provide a list of two or more course (event package) numbers (all EPNs must be for courses offered during the same semester), semester information, the course designator (i.e. ACC201) and your global ID.
2. How long will it take to set up my combined shell?
Upon receiving the required information, the helpdesk technician makes an entry into the system's update process. Once the course combine request has been handled by a helpdesk technician, the course will be created at 8pm the same day (or at 8pm the following day depending on when the information was processed). Usually, one to two business days notice is all that is required for a combined course shell to be set up.
3. How will I know when my combined shell has been created?
A new course will be listed on your "My Courses" list under the "courses you are teaching" heading. The course reference number will begin with a "C" (e.g. C10000989) to differentiate it from individual course shells.
4. Why would I want a combined shell?
A combined course shell will allow you to send a single email message to all students enrolled in multiple sections of a given course. Having a single shell for student access can save you the time and trouble of posting the same documents in multiple locations. Having the students together may also afford them the opportunity for increased interaction with one another and a greater sense of community as a result.
5. What happens to the individual course shells if a combined shell is set up?
Nothing. The individual shells remain intact for use as needed.
6. If I post documents in the combined shell, are they visible in the individual shells?
No. Documents posted in the combined shell would only be visible in the combined shell. Items posted in the combine shell are not automatically copied into the individual shells, just as items posted in individual shells will not be copied over to the combined shell.
7. I'm concerned that seeing both the individual shell and combined shell will be confusing to students. Is there anything I can do?
All course shells, including combined shells, are initially "unavailable" to students. As the instructor, you can see and access any course(s) you are associated with, individual or combined. However, your students will only be able to access the course(s) you make available to them. Courses that are unavailable will appear in students' "My Courses," but will not be a clickable link. Keeping either the individual or combined shell set to unavailable can prevent confusion.
8. How can I get information from a previous course shell into my new combined course shell?
Materials from previous courses can be copied using the "copy course" function in the control panel of the course which contains the material. The course ID for your combined shell will be needed. All course IDs are in the form of coursedesignator-semesternumber-coursereferencenumber. For example, a fall, 2007 section of BIS300 might carry an ID of BIS300-08300-12345678. Please note that all combined course shells have CRNs that begin with a "c".
9. What happens if a student adds or drops my course when I use a combined shell?
Combined course shells enrollments update daily, just as all other course shells will. A student who adds (or drops) will gain (or lose) access to the combined shell during the following morning's update.
10. Is there a way to sort the students in the combined course shell according to section?
While many instructors choose, for simplicity's sake, to maintain separate grade books in the individual course shells, a straightforward workaround for sorting students by section number does exist. In the combined course shell's grade book, add a column named "section" with a value of zero (0) points and a "Display As" value of "Text." Enter an eight-digit event number for each student. After all section numbers are entered, sort the grade book by the section column, instantly grouping students by section number.