Summary
While combining courses can be a helpful tool for instructors who do not need to distinguish the courses by due dates, specific assignments, or separated discussion boards, the process can have larger implications that instructors should be aware of when requesting a course merge. This article covers the following information: 1. Please Read Before Requesting a Course Merge and 2. How to Request a D2L Course Merge.
Body
Overview
Merging or combining two or more course shells in D2L is a common request from instructors each semester. Each individual CRN that is created in Banner automatically receives its own, separate, D2L course shell. But there are times when multiple CRNs can be managed as a single course. When this is the case, an instructor can request that the two D2L course shells be combined and treated as a single shell within the Learn@UCO (D2L) system. While combining courses can be a helpful tool for instructors who do not need to distinguish the courses by due dates, specific assignments, or separated discussion boards, the process can have larger implications that instructors should be aware of when requesting a course merge.
This article covers the following information:
Please Read Before Requesting a Course Merge
- The best practice for combining courses in D2L is to combine courses that are the same title, topic, and information. While it is possible to still treat merged courses as separate sections and provide separate information to each, it is usually much more complicated to manage once the courses are combined in D2L. If you need to still handle the courses separately, it is recommended that you leave the courses as separate D2L shells. If you will you need to have separate due dates, assignments, instructions, grade items, news posts, or any other content for the different sections, consider keeping the shells separate in D2L and not requesting them to be merged.
- Depending on how far in advance you are requesting for courses to be merged, you may run into some unique issues if you combine courses too early.
- Is there a possibility that things may shift in the course planning process before the start of the courses you are wanting to combine? For example, could a different instructor be assigned to one or all of the CRNs? There have been cases where a different instructor is assigned and the courses will need to be unmerged. Unmerging is not an easy process and can result in loss of work on the instructor's part.
- Another example is when the main CRN for the combined courses has been canceled or deleted in Banner due to not meeting enrollment requirements or other administrative reasons. This results in all of the combined courses becoming unavailable in D2L for both students and instructors. While this issue can be resolved, it is again, a complicated process and can take time to restore properly and there is no guarantee of 100% recovery of information. Is it possible that one or more sections may be canceled and/or deleted in Banner?
- "I really want to get a head start on my courses for next semester but there is a chance things could change. How can I prevent the issues mentioned in #2?" You have a couple of choices in this scenario.
- The best option, if you are ready to get some work done on your courses, is to do all of your preparation work in a Sandbox course. After you request the courses to be merged, copy the content from the sandbox course into the official course CRN. This method ensures that minimal work/content is lost if a change is needed.
- The next best choice is to select one of the CRNs to be your "main" course shell. This shell is where you will do all of your work in preparation for the semester. When it is closer to the start of the semester and you feel confident that things are solid, you can request a course merge and indicate your "main" shell. All of your work will be maintained when the courses are merged.
- While you can request a course merge at any point once the courses are available in D2L, the best time frame is approximately 1-2 weeks prior to the start of the semester when there is the least likely possibility for change. It is also recommended that course merge requests be completed prior to the start of the semester to minimize confusion for students.
- When courses are merged, you should encourage your students to access the course from the D2L My Home screen.
- Some students use the links on their course schedule in UConnect to access their course homepages directly. However, when courses are merged, those links may no longer work.
- The student will need to use the alternate link to access the D2L My Home page,
- From there, students can enter the course through the My Courses widget or waffle menu.
How to Request a Course Merge
- Gather a list of the CRNs you want to combine.
- Ensure that you are listed as the instructor in banner for all of the courses you are combining.
- Determine which course will be the "main" or "primary" course.
- The primary course CRN will appear in the D2L Course Banner at the top of the page.
- The other courses will be merged into the primary course which means any content, grades, discussions, etc will be lost when combining those courses into the primary.
- The primary course information, content, grades, etc will not be affected by the merging process.
- The primary course settings, categories, etc. will be used in the final course.
- Visit the general service desk request page and complete the service desk form. Include the following information:
- Specify "D2L Course Merge"
- List all course CRNs that need to be combined
- Indicate which of the course is to be the "main" or "primary" course.
- Submit a separate request for each merge needed.
- For example, if you need to combine 3 separate Biology 101 sections and then also have 2 Epidemiology 203 sections, you will submit 1 ticket for the Bio 101 and a separate request for Epid. 203.