Understanding the Course Profile

Owned by Fitsjba (Unlicensed)
Aug 01, 2023
3 min read

Introduction

The eTRACS Course Profile provides information for the management and planning of courses into offerings. It is the foundation of all other elements within the Course Management module as the course profile acts as a template to create course offering records. The data and information used to build a course profile normally comes from the Senate forms on course creation, modification and deletion. You can find those forms here for reference (note that Undergraduate and Graduate forms are distinct).

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • Understand the purpose of a course profile

  • Understand how the course profile is used in course planning

  • Understand who will manage the information in the course profile

What is the Purpose of a Course Profile?

The purpose of the course profile is to give users the ability to create, manage and modify courses in order to utilize the data for planning into the future. Course offerings happen term by term, but in order to create those offering profiles, a template is necessary in order to copy in the data so that staff members do not need to constantly re-enter the data. It also ensures the data is consistent.

Who Manages the Information in the Course Profile?

A person who is a specialist in managing courses, is knowledgeable about the Senate approval process, has access to Senate approval forms, and knows how to create courses in SIMS is recommended to be a designated Course Manager. Their responsibilities will be comprised of:

  • Reviewing and managing course profiles in eTRACS - determining overall course settings that will influence what happens each time a course offering is created (e.g. required components, evaluation settings, etc.).

  • Adding new courses that may/may not already be in SIMS. Understanding how to prevent duplicates and fields required for data entry of new courses.

  • Understanding how to modify existing courses through ad-hoc minor changes and/or through Senate Approval process changes and accurately maintains those changes.

  • Reports problems where identified.

Course Profile Record Statuses 

Course profiles are currently classified into three statuses: Active, Past and Archive. The system will update these record statuses based on the course profile's end term. When a course is no longer effective, its record status is changed from Active to Past. 

 

Record Status

Definitions

End Term*

Active

Course that is currently effective

End term has not passed current term or no end term entered

Past

Course that is no longer effective 

End term has passed

Archive

Previous course record that has no course offerings attached

End term has passed

*End term - the last term that a course profile is effective. 

Importance of Effective Term and End Term 

Effective Term - Important for planning courses in the Course Planner

End Term - For discontinued course or a course that is undergoing structural change

How Do We Know When the Course Profiles Need to be Updated?

When a course change or new course proposal has been accepted and approved by the Senate, the information is entered into the system. On occasion, the scheduler may request a course to be modified before the course change has been entered in SIMS after Senate approval. Course Managers will need to review the End Term as this will affect the record status of the course profile. The record status is important for course planning as only active courses will show up in the Course Planner. 

How to Navigate the Course Profile

The course profile is structured with 'tabs'. Tabs divide content into meaningful sections. This organization helps you go straight to a specific set of options according to your current needs. 

 

All information in Course Profiles is accessible to any eTRACS users; however, users with higher authority within their respective academic units may be able to edit their course profile details. Each tab has secure accesses in order to edit the information. If you are unable to edit a specific tab, contact your Director of Administration and the eTRACS team to gain access.

 

What is Course Summary Card?

The course summary card provides basic information about a course. This information can be used for quick reference when searching for courses. The following information will be provided on the course summary card:

  • Course Title - Course number and name

  • Course Profile Record Status - Indicates whether a course is still effective or not based on the end term of the course

  • Faculty/Department - Primary faculty/department that the course belongs to

  • Academic Career - Academic level of the course is offered (e.g. Undergraduate, Graduate, etc.)

  • Course Division - Lower Division, Upper Division, Graduate

  • Effective Term - Term when course was effective

 

Â