Introduction
The Comparison Report page allows you to see and compare Course Offering, Instructor, and Schedule data between eTRACS and SIMS. This will allow you to identify any mismatches between them. If there is a mismatch and you have the appropriate permissions, you can manually adjust it to resolve the discrepancy. If there is a mismatch and you do not have the appropriate permissions, please submit a ticket to our Help Desk here.
In the following section, you will learn how to do the following:
Understand the components that make up the Comparison Report
How to identify mismatches between eTRACS and SIMS
How to resolve mismatches between eTRACS and SIMS
How to Navigate the Comparison Report
Filter
The filter contains thirteen fields: Terms, Faculties, Schools/Departments/Programs, Subplans, Course Levels, Course Sections, Section Groups, Course Divisions, Course Numbers, Component Types, Campuses, Instructors, and Exclude Schedules. Exclude Schedules is a unique field that is for including or excluding scheduling data from the Comparison Report. Terms is pre-set to the current semester + 1. Exclude Schedules is pre-set to 'No'. The Terms, Faculties, Schools/Departments/Programs, and Exclude Schedules fields are mandatory. Other fields can also be used to narrow down the results.
Filter | Description |
Terms | Specifies the Term that will appear in the search results. By default, the term will display the current semester + 1. |
Faculties Schools/Departments/Programs | Displays all courses that are attached to faculty as a primary or non-primary academic unit. If you do not see a particular course filtered under an academic unit, you may need to speak to the Course Manager to ensure if the course profile is attached to the correct academic unit. |
Subplans | Narrows down courses by academic subplan. Offerings must first be tagged with the subplan in order for them to show up under this filter selection. |
Course Levels | Narrows down courses by course level. |
Course Sections | Start typing the course section to see available options. This tag is based on the course section attached to the course offering profile. You may search and select more than one option to filter. |
Section Groups | Narrows down courses by section group (primary sections, non-primary sections). |
Course Divisions | Narrows down courses by course division (lower division, upper division, graduate). This tag is based on the course division attached to the course profile. |
Course Numbers | Start typing the course number to see available options. This tag is based on the course number attached to the course profile. You may search and select more than one option to filter. |
Component Types | Narrows down courses by component type. |
Campuses | Narrows down courses by the campus they are offered at. This tag is based on the campus attached to the course profile. |
Instructors | Start typing the instructor's name or employee ID to see available options. You may search and select more than one option to filter. |
Exclude Schedules | Specifies whether to include or exclude scheduling data from the Comparison Report. If 'Yes', the data grid will collapse and scheduling data will not undergo comparison. You can still expand the data grid by clicking |
Search Results
The totals for rows and mismatches in the search results appear in the top left in the Course Title column. If the Course Title appears in blue font, you can click the column to see the course offering profile. Each row contains a course offering with a comparison of its data in eTRACS and SIMS. Combined sections appear in multiple rows. In the Course Title column, every course offering that is combined will appear in a list below the course offering's Course Title. The data grid will show or hide scheduling data depending on the Exclude Schedules field. You can change this by clicking on 
to expand and to collapse the scheduling data that appears in the data grid. If there is a mismatch between the eTRACS and SIMS data, the Comparison column will state 'Mismatched' in red font. Furthermore, the data that does not match will appear in red font. Rows with mismatches will appear at the top above rows that match in eTRACS and SIMS.
Please refer to the following table for more information on different mismatches:
Mismatch | Description |
Course Offering |
|
Course Offering - Combined Sections | The list of course offerings in the combined section under the course offering's Course Title will appear in red font. This occurs when different course offerings are listed as the primary course offering in eTRACS and SIMS. |
Instructor | The Instructors column checks for name and role. If either does not match, instructors and grade approvers will be marked as mismatched for the course offering. If there is a dash, it means that instructor and grade approver data does not exist in the system. |
Schedule | Scheduling data appears in a subtable. If the subtable states that there are 'No Rows To Show', that means that the system does not have a published schedule. |
On the right of the Instructors column, you can use the Columns button to deselect and select columns that appear in the search results.
How to Use the Comparison Report
Mismatch on eTRACS' Side
If you have editing access, you can manually adjust Course Offering, Instructor, and Schedule data. Prior to the loss of editing access, you can follow the instructions below to adjust data. Information on lockdown dates can be found at Planning Dates Management. Afterwards, you will need to wait for the data to be pulled from SIMS.
Course Offering
Adjust the course offering through Course Offering Profile. You can access it by clicking on the course offering in the Course Title column. If the course offering is a primary component and does not exist in eTRACS, you can set it up using Course Planner. If the course offering is a non-primary component and does not exist in eTRACS, head to Components Management.
Course Offering - Combined Sections
Adjust the combined sections using Course Offering Profile, Course Planner, or Course Scheduler. You can access it by clicking on the course offering in the Course Title column.
Instructor
Adjust the instructor through the Course Offering Profile, Course Planner, or Course Scheduler. Click the links for more information.
Schedule
Adjust the Course Offering Schedule using Course Scheduler. Click to the link for more information.
The Comparison Report uses live data. If you make any changes, you can click to reflect it immediately on the page.
Mismatch on SIMS' Side
If If you have publishing access, you can publish the course data using goSFU Course Data Upload. Click the link for more information.
Faculties and departments with access to publish data to goSFU should commit to only using eTRACS to plan their data for data integrity purposes.
How to Find the Comparison Report
Course Scheduling can be located with the following steps:
Navigate to the menu dropdown under Course Mgmt > Course Management
Select Comparison Report
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