Frequently Asked Questions

Owned by Vivian Jiang
Last updated: Oct 03, 2024
5 min read

Stakeholder Management

Why is a Stakeholder Rank End Date not updated?

If a stakeholder is considered a faculty member (non-staff), has a rank that has been terminated, and no active rank, eTRACS does not receive any rank updates from myINFO anymore. You will have to manually update the Rank End Date.

Stakeholder First or Last Name is Incorrect?

If a stakeholder’s first or last name is incorrect in eTRACS, that means it is entered incorrectly by HR in myINFO. The only solution to this is to have the said stakeholder contact HR directly as the record holder and revise this on their end.

What needs to be done before submitting an access request?

Before submitting an access request, please ensure that the person you are submitting the request for is already in eTRACS and that their rank is correctly recorded. This ensures their access is tied to their current active position. Follow the steps below:

  1. Verify the person’s existence in eTRACS by searching their employee ID, name, or computing ID in the Global Search bar at the top left Global Search.PNG .

    1. If their name appears in the search results, click it to verify that their information is correct. If everything aligns in their stakeholder profile, they are already in eTRACS.

    2. If they do not existed in eTRACS, follow this guide: How to Add a New Stakeholder to create a profile for them.

  2. Check their rank in eTRACS by navigating to their stakeholder profile → Search their employee ID, name, or computing ID in the global search bar at the top left Global Search.PNG → Click on their names → Employment Details tab → Expand Appointments panel.

    1. If their rank appears in the result table, click the rank name to confirm the details are accurate.

    2. If their rank is missing, review the following conditions and follow the guide: How to Manage Stakeholder Ranks to create a new rank.

      1. If the rank belongs to a temporary pool, you should create it.

      2. If the rank is a staff position and not part of a temporary pool, wait for eTRACS to import it from myINFO. If it's not available after the start date, submit a TDX ticket here.

      3. If the rank is a faculty position and the start date hasn't yet passed, create it for course planning purposes, except for sessional instructors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When creating new ranks, it’s essential to ensure that the rank, position number, start date, and end date are entered accurately.

If you don’t have access to create new stakeholders or add/edit ranks, please contact your department manager or Dean’s Office. There are designated personnel responsible and trained to handle stakeholder creation and rank management.

 

Course Scheduler

Can I schedule overlapping co-op courses with the same instructor?

Our team is currently looking into this use case for course scheduling. In the meantime, please use the guide below as a workaround.

Situation:

Departments have multiple co-op courses and schedule the classes to be Mon-Fri the whole day preventing students taking other courses during a work term. However, Course Scheduler flags the instructor conflict since those co-op courses have the same instructor, creating a teaching conflict. The instructor is inputted so they can input the grades for the students end of the term so it is crucial to have they added.

 

Step by Step Guide:

  1. Go into Course Scheduler (https://tracs.sfu.ca/course_management/course_scheduler)

  2. Use the filters to look for the co-op courses

  3. Drag a offering in

  4. Change Meeting Pattern to User Defined and click on Save

  5. Go into Instructors tab

  6. Remove the instructor by clicking on the red remove button

  7. Search and add a TBA Instructor

  8. Click on Save Instructors button

  9. Click on Meetings tab

  10. Add the Mon-Fri whole day meeting schedule, and click on save

  11. Repeat the above steps for all co-op courses

  12. Once all co-op courses are scheduled with TBA Instructor, go to goSFU Course Data Upload page -> Schedules worksheet to publish the schedules

  13. Once the schedules are published, go back to Course Scheduler and replace the TBA Instructor back to the actual instructor. Then, publish the instructor to goSFU

Teaching Patterns (TTR)

Can I add a Study Leave with a value of zero as a placeholder leave?

No, we have a general Leave (L) code for use cases like these. (L)s do not affect the Total Study Leave Service Years counter so it is perfect for leaves that do not fall in a specific category and used in one off scenarios. The value for these transactions are just dummy numbers that will not impact study leave.

Can I have OSL and SL in the same term?

No, our logic currently does not know whether to consider the OSL value first or the SL deductions first when calculating on the fly. Therefore, adding both OSL and a SL in the same term will cause issues in the Total Study Leave Service Years counter down the road.

 

goSFU Course Data Upload

If my department is using eTRACS for course planning and scheduling, which system should I use and what deadlines should I follow?

Your department should:

  • Use eTRACS to update course data and publish to goSFU before the goSFU Extended Publishing Deadline. If changes are required after the deadline, email Central Scheduling.

  • Use eTRACS to update combined sections and publish to goSFU before the goSFU Extended Publishing Deadline. If changes are required after the deadline, email Central Scheduling.

  • Use eTRACS to update meeting patterns and publish to goSFU before the goSFU Extended Publishing Deadline. If changes are required after the deadline, email Central Scheduling.

  • Use eTRACS to update class notes and publish to goSFU before the goSFU Add/Change Class Notes Deadline. If changes are required after the deadline, email Central Scheduling.

  • Use eTRACS to update reserve capacity and enrollment standards, and publish to goSFU. There is no specific deadline for this.

    • Before the goSFU Extended Publishing Deadline, these are published in combination with the course offering in the Course Offering Worksheet.

    • After the goSFU Extended Publishing Deadline, use the Enrollment Control and Reserve Capacity Worksheet to publish.

  • Use eTRACS to update instructors and grade approvers and publish to goSFU before the goSFU Instructor Publishing Deadline. If changes are required after the deadline, email Central Scheduling.

The goSFU Extended Publishing Deadline differs from the General Access Deadline sent out by Central Scheduling. It provides eTRACS users with an extended period to publish to goSFU beyond the General Access Deadline.