Documentation: Managing classes

From ReservesDirect: Open Source EReserves System

The "Manage Classes" tab is the main control screen for setting up classes and managing reserves lists.

Table of contents

1 Creating a class 2 Reactivating a class 3 Editing classes 4 Deleting classes 5 Merging and/or copying classes 6 Managing instructors and proxies 6.1 Adding and removing instructors 6.2 Adding and Removing Proxies 7 Crosslistings

Creating a class

Creating a new class to add reserves to is a quick and easy process.

1. Click on the "Create a class" link
2. Choose the Department of the course from the drop-down menu and fill in the course number, section, and course name.
3. Select the semester you will be teaching the course (you may choose the current semester, next semester, or the semester after next)
4. Click "Create Course

Your course has been established and you are now ready to begin adding materials. Just click on the "Add a Reserve" tab to begin placing items on reserve immediately.

Reactivating a class

At the end of each semester, all classes in ReservesDirect are archived for future use. You can view a list of all your past classes by clicking on the "Reactivate Reserve Materials" link on the "Manage Classes" tab.

1. To see what the reserve list for any of your courses was click on the "preview" link.
2. After determining which class you would like to reactivate, select the radio button to the right of it and click the Submit button.
3. The next screen displays the course you are reactivating and asks what you want to do with it. Select the semester you will be teaching the class. If you want to reactivate the class without changing the name, leave the radio button set to "No" and click the submit button. If you want to reactivate the class with a different name, select the "Yes" radio button and enter the new course information before clicking the Submit button.
4. On the next screen, select what materials you would like to activate from the last time the class was taught. If the box next to an item is checked, it will reactivate with the class. Physical items that are selected will generate a request that is sent to Reserves staff to place the item at the Reserve Desk (be sure to select the loan period you would like for your physical items). You may also choose to reactivate instructors and crosslistings from the last time that the class was taught. You may also specify what dates the class will be active. By default, these are the beginning and ending dates for the semester you have selected to reactivate the class for.

Your class will now be set up to become active on the first day of the semester you specified with all class materials appearing as they did the last time you taught the class (for more about when materials become available to students, click here). Requests to add physical items that are in the reserve list will be sent to Reserves staff to process. Please allow some time for physical materials to be retrieved from the shelves or recalled from other patrons who may have the materials checked out.

Editing classes

The Edit Class screen can be accessed in one of two ways: by going to the Manage Classes tab and clicking on "Edit an Existing Course", then selecting the class to edit; or by simply clicking on the class you wish to edit from the My Reserves tab (classes you can edit appear with a pencil beside them).

The Edit Class screen is divided into two main sections: the class information on the top, and the reserves list on the bottom.

The top section contains all of the class information, such as the title, instructor(s), and crosslistings or proxies, if there are any. All of this information is editable. For more on managing reserves lists, or the bottom half of the Edit Class screen, see Managing reserves lists.

Deleting classes

Only staff can delete classes from the system. It is recommended that classes only be deleted if they were created in error or if some unusual circumstances exist that make it desirable to completely wipe out the class. For the most effective use of ReservesDirect, classes should be left in the system indefinitely after they are created for effective tracking of system activity and item usage. Deleting classes that were actively used by students can cause gaps in system reporting and tracking, and make it impossible for instructors to look at what they have taught in the past and reactivate classes.

To delete a class, staff go to the Manage Classes tab and select "Delete class". You are asked to select a class and given a warning that deleting a class cannot be undone. Clicking the submit button removes the class and it's associated reserves (not the items, just the reserves) from the system permanently.

Since deleting classes cannot be reversed, we also recommend that you keep a backup of the ReservesDirect database in case anything is deleted accidentally and needs to be restored.

Merging and/or copying classes

Sometimes it is desirable to merge two classes together into one, or to copy some part of an existing class to another class. This necessity arises most often when instructors are actively creating classes in the system and they accidentally create two classes when they only intended to create one. ReservesDirect has a duplicate class checker in place to try to prevent most of these kinds of errors, but it can't catch everything. Copying and merging classes is only available to staff.

Merging and copying are done through the same screens. The only difference is that in merging classes, you delete the source class (so only one class remains after the merge). In copying, you keep both the source class and the target class (so two classes remain after the copy, each with some or all of the same information).

To merge or copy classes, go to the Manage Classes tab and click on "Copy or merge reserves lists". On the first screen, you must select a source class, or the class that you will copy reserves from. After selecting a source class, you are asked to select whether you would like to copy the class to an existing class or to a new class (this will be the target class). If you select to copy to a new class, the next screen will ask you to fill in department, course number, title, etc. for the new class. If you select to copy to an existing class, you will get the standard class lookup box to find and select the class you would like to copy to.

The third screen has two parts. First, you select which parts of the source class you want to copy to the target class. You have the following options:

• Copy Reserve Materials - copies all reserve materials, including electronic and physical items, to the reserves list of the target class. If the target class already has resesrve items associated with it, the reserves from the source class will simply be added alongside the existing reserves (i.e., existing reserves will not be overwritten).
• Copy Crosslistings - copies all existing crosslistings from the source class and makes them crosslistings for the target class
• Copy Enrollment List - copies all students associated with the source class and adds them to the target class. The target class will then automatically appear in those students' "MyReserves" list.
• Copy Instructors - copies all instructors from the source to the target class
• Copy Proxies - copies all proxies from the source to the target class
• Delete Source Class - Select this option if you would like to merge classes, i.e., if you only want one class left after the copying operation. Selecting this option destroys the source class and all associated reserves

After selecting what you would like to merge/copy, you either select the target class or fill in information for a new class, depending on whether you selected to copy to an existing or a new class. Clicking the submit button will start the copying process. The "success" screen that follows will give you feedback on what operations were performed and whether they were successful.

Managing instructors and proxies

Instructors have full ownership of their classes and may reactivate old classes, create new classes, and edit every aspect of the class and its associated reserve materials.

Proxies are "assistants" to the class for the duration of the current semester or until they are removed by the instructor. They may do everything an instructor can do within a given class, except for create other proxies. Proxies only have access to the course or courses to which they are specifically assinged by an instructor or by Reserves staff.

Adding and removing instructors

(Team teaching)

A class can have as many instructors as are necessary. This functionality is especially suited to team teaching situations. Each instructor has full access to the class to add and edit materials as well as all other class functions.

To add an instructor to a class:

1. From the Manage Classes tab, click on "Edit an Existing Class"
2. On the "Edit Class" screen, click on the "Edit Instructors" link to the right of where the names of the current instructors are listed. On the next screen, current instructors are listed on the right, and you may choose from a list of all instructors in the system in the drop-down menuon the left.
3. In the drop-down menu, choose the instructor you would like to add and click "Add Instructor".

To remove an instructor:

1. Check the box next to the name of the instructor you wish to remove (on the right side of the screen) and click "Remove Instructor"

If you do not see the instructor you are looking for in the drop-down menu, they are not yet in the system. Please contact your Reserves Desk staff to add them to the list of instructors.

Adding and Removing Proxies

You may have as many proxies as you like for any given class. Proxies only have access to the specific classes that you or Reserves staff add them to, and their access expires at the end of the semester.

To add a Proxy:

1. From the Manage Classes tab, click on "Edit an Existing Class"
2. On the "Edit Class" screen, click on the "Edit Proxies" link. On the next screen, current proxies are listed on the right, and you may search a list of all users in the system in the drop-down menuon the left.
3. Enter the last name of the person you wish to add as a proxy (whole or partial) in the search box on the left and click "Search". The drop-down menu will fill with the names of users matching your search
4. Choose a name in the drop-down menu and click "Add Proxy"

To remove a proxy:

1. Check the box next to the name of the proxy you wish to remove (on the right side of the screen) and click "Remove Proxy"

A person must have logged into ReservesDirect at least once to be available to be made a proxy. If the name of the person you are looking for does not appear in your search results, please ask the person to log into the system.

Crosslistings

You may crosslist classes under multiple course names and numbers to reflect the crosslistings that appear in OPUS. For example, ILA 135 may be crosslisted with ARTH 110.

To create a crosslisting, click on "Edit an Existing Course" from the Manage Classes tab if one of the crosslisted classes already exists in ReservesDirect. If none of the crosslisted classes exist yet, first create a class and then go to "Edit an Existing Course" and select the class you just created.

On the "Edit Class" screen you will see a list of all current Crosslistings for the class. Click on "Edit Crosslistings" to create a new crosslisting (or delete an old one).

This screen will show you all current crosslistings under the "Class Title and Crosslistings" box, where you may edit the title and course number/section of existing crosslistings.

To add a new crosslisting:

1. Select the Department of the crosslisting in the "Add New Crosslisting" box and enter the number, section, and title of the crosslisting.
2. Click on "Add Crosslisting"

The crosslisting will immediately be available for students to add to their list of classes.

Note: You may not delete a crosslisting if any students have added it to their list of classes. If you try to do so, an error message will appear informing you that students are currently "enrolled" in the class.