A Course is an activity organised by the U3A group.
A course may have one to three Leaders, and as many Students enrolled as allowed. In addition, the course may have a Guest Leader which is a leader that is not a financial member of the U3A group. Leaders may assign Course Clerks from the enrolled students to assist with administrative tasks.
A course may have one or more classes. A Class defines the time and place a course is held. It contains parameters that determine when it occurs and how it recurs. Students are enrolled into the class, not the course. Therefore, enrolment is not permitted into a course unless at least one class is defined.
You may define a Course as an Off-Schedule Activity. This is an internal or private activity that is not displayed on the Class Schedule and cannot be enrolled into via the member portal. Such activities might include committee meetings, cleaning rosters, venue hire etc. Another use might be to hide the course until an enrolment window opens or until course details are confirmed.
A course and its associated class(es) can be deleted. However, this should be avoided once there are enrolments and/or attendance details. Deleting a course will delete all enrolment and attendance detail associated with it.
Hint: Check the Current Year
Before you create/edit courses please ensure you are working in the correct year. The year is displayed on the top right hand corner above the grid. Click the button titled, Change Year to change. Note that terms for the new year must be created via Add/Edit Enrolment Terms before you can do this.
Rebuild Cache button
The system employs a cache to display the Class Schedule. Using a cache of pre-calculated data to display the schedule saves time and improves performance on the most used and calculation intensive process in the system. The cache is rebuilt automatically every hour. If you make changes to course/class details you may optionally click the Rebuild Cache button to rebuild the cache immediately.
Preview Enrolment List button
Click this button to preview all classes as seen by members making enrolments via the Member Portal. It is anticipated that this preview will be useful when the current enrolment period is undefined.
Course Edit Views
When adding and editing course data, you have the option of choosing between one of three views...
1.Simple View. This view presents the course and class data as one form. When creating a new course the Occurrence will be set to Weekly. It is anticipated that this view will be suitable for most U3A courses.
2.Activity View. This is a slight variation on the Simple View specifically intended for activities and events that occur once only. Therefore, when creating a new course the Occurrence will be set to Once Only and the Start Date displayed.
3.Detail View. A detail view in which all fields are displayed and provides the ability to create multiple classes per course. While being the most complex of all views, it is also the most flexible and comprehensive.
In addition, all views contain a Settings tab. This allows you to override default system settings as defined in Organistaion Details. It also allows you to offer your selected courses to other U3A using the system's Multi Campus Extensions.
Some Notes
•A view is persisted with course data. That means the view that was active at the time a course record is written to the database will be used when that data is subsequently retrieved from the database.
•Views are organised via a tabset at the top of the edit form. A view can be changed at any time by clicking the tab desired. The exception to this is a course with multiple classes which is always displayed as a Detail view.
•A view is simply a means of displaying course data. All course records have the same data structure "under the hood". It is therefore permissible to select and/or change the best view for the course you are implementing.
•The Simple and Activity views contain a Show Details checkbox on the Class group of fields. Ticking this field will display all fields for the class.
Changing class schedule parameters
The dates on which a class is held is a calculation based on parameters stored on the Class record (see below). These parameters are...
a.Term offered
b.Start Date
c.Recurrence
d.Occurrence
e. On Day
f.Start Time
Changing any one of these values will cause the following system operations...
1.The operator will be warned of the changes to occur and be given the opportunity to cancel the operation.
2.The system will delete any attendance records from the current date forward. They will be re-created according to the new schedule parameters.
3.Existing attendance records prior to the current date will be left intact and with the previous schedule parameters.
It is safe to change class schedule parameters as the deletions only affect future attendance records and in most cases there will be none. Student leave & cancelled class records are not affected.
The Course Record
When you add/edit a course, the course record will be displayed as a pop-up window. This record is composed of two sections...
1.The course details section. The course section consists of two tabs...
a.Course Details. The primary fields required to define a course, and
b.Settings. Values that override settings entered in Organisation Details
2.The class grid, into which one or more classes may be added and/or edited.
Use the course details to enter the basic course details.
Field
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Description
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The Course Details tab
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Off-Schedule Activity
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Tick if this is an internal or private activity that
1.will not be displayed on the Class Schedule report, and
2.enrolment via the Member Portal is not permitted.
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Course Number
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Optional. A number unique to the course. Note that course numbers are not a requirement in the system. They are provided to maintain compatibility with legacy systems.
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Participation Type
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Required. This option only has effect when a course has multiple classes. Select either...
1.Same participants in all classes, or
2.Different participants in each class.
For example,
•A walking group meets three times per week. The same students attend each walk. Select option 1.
•An art class is very popular. It is decided to hold the same class three times per week but each class will have a different group of students. In this case, select option 2.
Rules: The followings rules apply when changing the Participation Type...
1.If the course has only one class, no warning is generated. The system performs the change without further ado.
2.If you change from Different participants in each class to Same participants in each class no warning message is generated. The system will move the class enrolments to course enrolments deleting any duplicate students.
3.If you change from Same participants in each class to Different participants in each class a message will be generated warning you that the system will move the course enrolments to the first class in the course. It is up to you to then transfer students from that class to other classes, if required. This can be done via Enrol Participants. |
Course Type
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Required. Select a course type from the drop-down list.
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Course Name
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Required: A name that (should) uniquely describe the course.
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Description
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Optional. Describe the course in a little detail to give potential enrolees sufficient information to make their decision. Try not to be too verbose as it can impact system performance over slow Internet connections.
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Additional Information URL
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A web link URL that provides additional detail about the course. This link must be fully qualified meaning it must start with https:// or http://. It is recommended that a URL shortcut be used if the web link URL is long, for example Tiny URL
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Class Duration
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Required. The length of a class in hours and fractions of an hour. For example, a class that will last for 1 hour and 15 minutes will be entered as 1.25.
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Required Students
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Required. The number of students required for the class to proceed. This field is for information purposes only as the software currently does not take any action if a class falls below the minimum.
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Maximum Students
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Required. The maximum students allowed in a class. A student will be Waitlisted if an attempt is made to enrol in a class that has enrolments equal to or greater than this value.
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Auto Enrol?
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Required. Automatic enrolment is the process of moving students from the waitlist to enrolled should places be or become available. It is a process that either occurs immediately on enrolment if the member is financial, or automatically overnight. Uncheck this option if auto enrolment is not to occur.
For example, the leader of the yoga class requires that all students have a minimum level of fitness before attempting the class. In this case, Auto Enrol? will be unchecked and students moved off the wiatlist manually as they prove their fitness.
All course/classes with Auto-Enrol? unchecked will be identified as Closed in member enrolment.
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Fees
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Course fees may be added on a per term or per year basis. Course fees are in addition to membership fees.
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Course Fee
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Enter the fee as dollars and cents.
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Fee Description
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Enter a brief description of the fee.
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Override Complimentary?
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Tick if you wish complimentary members to pay the fee.
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Leader Pay Fee?
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Tick if you require leaders to pay the fee.
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The Settings tab
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Send Leader Reports To
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Determines the recipients of leader reports sent automatically overnight...
1.Leaders, if none then clerks. Leader reports will be sent to leaders. if there are no leaders with visible email addresses then the reports will be sent to clerks.
2.Clerks, if none then leaders. Leader reports will be sent to clerks. if there are no clerks with email visible addresses then the reports will be sent to leaders.
3.Both. Leader reports will be sent to both leaders and clerks with email addresses.
Note: This field overrides the value in Organistaion Details. Leave blank to use the default value.
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Course Contact Order
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Defines the order in which a course contact is determined. This field overrides the value entered in Organistaion Details. The options are...
1.Leaders then clerks, or
2.Clerks then leaders
Class contacts can either be leaders or clerks all of which are optional and some may have requested their contact details to be silent. The software will therefore choose the contacts based on the order selected and who do not have their contact details silenced.
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Exclude course from leaders complimentary count?
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The system allows for membership fees to be waived if a leader is enrolled as a student in less than a defined count of classes. Tick this field if the course is not to be included in that count.
For example, special excursions and paid activities would normally be excluded from the count.
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Allow Multi-Campus Enrolment From
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Enter the date from which you wish to offer this course/activity to other U3A groups. Note that this field will only be enabled if...
1.the Allow Multi-Campus Extensions checkbox in Organistaion Details is ticked,
2.The course has no fees,
3.The course participation type is Same participants in all classes,
4.There is only one class in the course, and
5.The course is offered in one term only.
As such, it is anticipated that most multi-campus courses will be once-only activities such as Guest Speakers.
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The Class Record
Use the add/edit/delete on the Class grid within the Course record pop-up to create and /or edit classes. Enrolment cannot occur until a course has at least one class assigned.
Field
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Description
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Term (1, 2, 3 & 4)
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A class must be assigned at least one term and may be assigned up to all four.
If a class occurs during a term break it is assigned to the term immediately preceding it. For example, If a class occurs during the Term 1 to Term 2 break, it will be assigned to Term 1.
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Guest Leader
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Optional. A class may have a Guest leader, that is one that has not been entered as a participant in Add/Edit Participants. A Guest Leader is for information purposes only. It is strongly recommended that a class with a Presenter also have a participant leader to receive email etc. Most often this might be the Course Clerk or an activities officer.
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Leaders 1, 2 & 3
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Select the leader from the drop-down menu. A class may have up to three leaders. Note that a leader is not considered a student and therefore not included in the enrolment count.
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Venue
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Select the venue from the drop-down list.
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Start Date
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Optional. Enter the course start date, if required. By default it is left blank meaning the first class will occur on or after the start of term on which the On Day day occurs (see below).
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Recurrence
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Optional. Enter how many times the class will recur. By default it is left blank meaning the course will recur till the end of term.
Note: A class should have a Start Date if it has a Recurrence value. Leaving the Start Date blank or null causes it to be set to the term's Start Date with every new term. This can cause issues with classes that recur (repeat) past the end of term.
For example, if a class occurs Monthly and recurs (repeats) 10 times, the expectation would be that it starts in February (term 1) and continues till November. However, if the Start Date is left blank (null), then it is set to the start date of the current term. This would mean that if term 4 starts in October, the class will not finish till 10 months later in July the following year. In addition, there will be multiple classes calculated that overlap in terms 2, 3 and 4.
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Occurrence
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Select from the list how the class occurs. The default value is Weekly meaning the class will occur once per week.
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On Day
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Select the Day on which the class is held. If a Start Date has been entered above, the On Day value will be automatically calculated.
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Start Time
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Enter the Start Time of the class as hours and minutes.
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The Class Link
The class link is an internet address that allows a member to quickly enrol in a class. The link is intended to be used in email and other documentation to be sent to members or otherwise available in report form. By clicking on the link or scanning a QR Code created from the link the member will be enrolled in the class.
Create a link
To obtain a Class link...
1.On the grid in Add/Edit Courses, find the required Course.
2.Click the arrow button to the left hand side of the Course record. This will display the Class record(s).
3.Again, click the arrow to the left hand side of the Class record. This will display the Class link.
4.Click the Copy button to copy the link to the clipboard.
Using the link
Using the copied link depends on the document you are creating. To add the link to an email created within the administrative portal...
1.Create your email document as usual via the Communicate button.
2.Position the mouse pointer where you require the link to be inserted.
3.On the document menu, select Insert | Hyperlink. A popup dialog will appear.
4.Paste the saved link into the into the URL field.
5.Enter the hyperlink's Text and Tooltip and click the Save button.
To create a QR Code in a Word document...
1.Position the cursor in the document where you wish to insert the QR Code. Press Ctrl + F9. A pair of curly braces {} will appear in the document.
2.Within the braces, type
DisplayBarcode <paste link> QR \s 100
3.When complete, right-click the field and select Toggle Field Codes. This will display the QR Code.
Note: The \s value is a percentage value from 10 through 10000. It determines the size of the QR Code.
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