Step 2 - Add the Units that make up the Course as Core or Elective

This page will provide the instructions on the first workflow on how to create a Course Outline in Paradigm.

Overview

Creating a Course Outline and adding constraints to the units can get complicated if all the units that are related to a course are not added to the system upfront. Adding all the core and elective units is the first set of the Course Plan Rules that focuses on positioning units on the screen, thus, making adding constraints or rules easier and more manageable for an administrator. This Knowledge Base article will guide you on how to add core and elective units in the Course Outline.

Data Entry Notes

• A constraint can only be added to the Course Plan once. For example, if it has been added as a Core Unit, you cannot also add it as an Elective Unit. Only the first constraint will appear in the Course Plan.

• If you add more columns to the grid, it will be harder to view the course outline grid on mobile devices.

• When adding a unit in the outline, note that Paradigm uses the Base Unit record Id when searching for a unit to add. If your business or institution is using the same Unit Code and only changes the Unit Name when creating a new Base Unit record in Paradigm, always search for the Unit Code and add the intended/required Unit Id. If you plan to make both units with the same unit code appear on the Course Plan, you can add additional constraints to one of the units, see Adding Constraints section.

• Add all the units first, prior to setting up any pre-requites, or co-requisite rules, as it will make the process easier to follow.

• Base Unit records with the field Exclude Sessions on Course Plan enabled prevent sessions for the units from appearing as available options on the Course Plan.

• Units that are offered in different modes of delivery, e.g. Online or On-Campus, only add the Base Unit record in the Outline and make sure to create one Scheduled Unit record for each mode of delivery and their sessions as required and applicable.

BE ADVISED:

It might be useful to have a test student within the system who can enrol in the new course to visualise the course plan as it is built.

Prerequisite Records

Before following the instructions below, the following are assumed to be true:

• The Base Course record that you want to create an outline already exists, see Add a Base Course

• All Base Units that you want to associate with the Base Course are already added in Paradigm, see Add Base Units

Workflow

How to Add Core and Elective Units in the Course Outline

Video Tutorial Link: Course Outline-Add Core and Elective Constraint Type

Step 1: Load the Base Course record to be outlined

1. Choose Course > Search menus on the side.

2. Enter one or all of the following search criteria: Course Id, Course Name, Course Level, and Course Status.

3. Click the SEARCH COURSE button. This will return a list of courses that meet your searched criteria (if the name and Id are not entered exactly the same as what has been recorded in Paradigm).

searching for the Base Course record to outline

4. If you have many course records in Paradigm and need to find a specific one to edit, use the Filter Box. Just type a part of the course name, and it will show fewer results, making it easier to find what you need.

filtering the Base Course search results

5. Once you’ve found the course record that you want to add the outline, proceed to the Step 2 instructions below.

Step 2: Add the Units that make up the Course as Core OR Elective

(1), (2) With the Course record loaded in the system, choose Courses > Outline menus on the side.

(3) On the Course Outline page, click the ADD CONSTRAINT button.

NOTE:

You have the option to select the COPY SELECTED CONSTRAINTS button if you have other existing courses with the same constraints that you want to apply to this new course.

adding a constraint to the outline for the core and elective units

(4) Go to the UNIT SEARCH Form section and search for the unit you want to add as a core or elective unit. Enter either the unit code, unit name, etc.

(5) Click the SEARCH UNIT button.

searching for the Base Unit record of the unit to be added as a core or elective in the Course Outline

Once you’ve found the unit that you want, click the Add as Unit button

Do you have units that can be delivered in different modes? e.g. Online or On-Campus? read more here.

clicking the Add as Unit icon to add the unit to the outline

(6) Fill out the EDIT COURSE OUTLINE DETAILS Form section below. Select Core Unit or Elective Unit as required under the Constraint Type field. Enter the Display Code value as explained above in this article.

filling out the constraint details for the core or elective unit to add in the Course Outline

Refer to the following guides for filling out the fields:

Field Name	Description
Constraint Type	This field will define the unit. For the units to be displayed in the Course Plan, set this field to either Core or Elective Unit
Display Code	will indicate which cell in the table under the Student Course Plan page it appears (you can arrange your contents by checking on the next page: Customise Content on the Course Plan
Description	this will be displayed in the first column under the Course Name of the student’s Course Plan screen. This is very helpful in organising your outline as discussed comprehensively in this article: Customise Content on the Course Plan

More details on the other fields found in adding a Course Outline can be found here.

(7) Click the SAVE OUTLINE CONSTRAINT button.

NOTE:

Repeat the same steps to add another unit and just be mindful of the Constraint Type and the Display Code fields. Start with Step 3 by clicking the ADD CONSTRAINT button again to clear the details previously entered.

Student Course Plan View

After adding the core and elective units, you should see all the units added under the (Courses > Outline) COURSE OUTLINE section (as shown in the screenshot below); and

displaying the Course Outline constraints or units added

in the (Student > Course Enrolment > Course Plan) Student Course Plan screen, it will be displayed like this (see the below screenshot).

sample Student Course Plan view of the created Course Outline

Alternatively, you can watch the demo clip below on how to create a basic Course Outline:

Video Tutorial