Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

Entering Courses into ELM

MnSCU Quick Reference Guide

Sarah Bjorstrom, ELM Key Administrator Minnesota State Colleges and Universities 30 7th Street East, Suite 350 St. Paul, MN 55101 Phone: 651-201-1511

Table of Contents

ELM Key Administrator Terms ........................................................1

Entering a Course Workflow ...........................................................2

Course Prep: 1. Enter Instructor .....................................................3

Course Prep: 2. Enter Room ...........................................................3

MnSCU Standard Naming Convention: ...........................................4

Step 1: Creating a Catalog Item and Delivery Method ...................6

Step 2: Creating a Catalog Activity .............................................. 23

Step 3: Adding a Component(s) and Session(s) ........................... 27

Rebuilding Indexes ....................................................................... 31

Concluding an Activity .................................................................. 34

Editing an Existing Item ............................................................... 36

Cloning an Activity ....................................................................... 37

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ELM Key Administrator Terms

ELM Term Definition

Activity An instance of a catalog item

Catalog Item A specific topic of study for which you are offering learning activities

Category Classifies catalog items and programs so that learners can easily find learning in the catalog

Delivery Method

How the course offerings are presented to the learners

Learning Component

Parts of an activity Six basic types: session, web-based, session, test, survey, and assignment

Learning Environments

State agencies Every learner is associated with a learning environment

Learner ID Employees/individuals accessing ELM for training purposes (different from Employee ID)

Learner Tasks

The dashboard to print rosters, update attendance and grades, and complete activities.

Maintain Catalog

The dashboard to create items, delivery methods, and activities.

Sessions The blocks of time designate for instruction

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Entering a Course Workflow

Preparation for entering course:

1. Instructor profile entered into ELM 2. Room information entered into ELM

Sessions

Learning Component(s)

Activity

Delivery Method

Catalog ItemWhat is being

trained?

How is it being

trained?

When is it being

trained?

What parts make up

the training?

- Total duration - Total days

- Instructor - Date - Time - Facility - Room

- Course Name - Course Code - Description - Objectives

- Classroom - WebEx - Lync - VC, etc. -

How will the learners

attend?

- Class - Class & Assignment - 4 Web-Based

modules

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Course Prep: 1. Enter Instructor

Instructors are either internal or external learners in the system that you can assign to activities, activity sessions, session patterns, and session templates. Some of the information that you define for an instructor include: teaching location preferences, areas of expertise, primary language, cost, and learning environment. In addition to entering instructor information on the Instructor page, instructors can access and update a limited amount of their information through the Instructor Preferences self-service component.

Process Steps: See Preparing for ELM – MnSCU Quick Reference Guide

Course Prep: 2. Enter Room

Rooms are physical meeting locations within a building. They can also be virtual meeting locations such as D2L or WebEx. Building information is preexisting for all MnSCU campuses. Rooms will need to be populated by the campus administrators. Some of the information that you define for a Room include: floor, cost, accommodations, and attachments. Attachments may include parking information or campus maps.

Process Steps: See Preparing for ELM – MnSCU Quick Reference Guide To enter equipment information: See QRGAdmin_EnteringEquipment To enter a new building: See QRGAdmin_EnteringaFacility

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MnSCU Standard Naming Convention:

To create an item (or course) in ELM you will need three key pieces of information:

1. Agency ID: E26

2. Institution ID: location RCID

3. Category Code: three letter abbreviation for our course categories

4. Course Number: begin with 0001 and simply increase in value by one

digit as you add courses to the same category

ITEM (or course) CODES: (13 characters total) Agency ID (E26) / Institution ID (4 characters) / Course Code Category (3 characters) / Number (4 characters)

EXAMPLE: E260000SFT0001

ACTIVITY (or course offering) CODES: [Item Code] / Optional Letter for Multiple Activities (classes)

EXAMPLES: E260000SFT0001a E260000SFT0001b

Institution RCID:

RcId College/University/OOC RcId College/University/OOC

0203 Alexandria TC 0072 MSU Moorhead

0202 Anoka TC 0071 MSU, Mankato

0152 Anoka-Ramsey CC 0401 NEHED campuses

0070 Bemidji SU 0156 Normandale CC

0301 Central Lakes College 0153 North Hennepin CC

0304 Century College 0303 Northland CTC

0211 Dakota County TC 0263 Northwest TC, Bemidji

0163 Fonddulac CC 0000 OOC – System Office

0204 Hennepin TC 0205 Pine TC

0310 Hibbing CTC 0155 Rainy River CC

0157 Inver Hills CC 0308 Ridgewater College

0144 Itasca CC 0307 Riverland CC

0302 Lake Superior College 0306 Rochester CTC

0411 Mesabi Range CTC 0206 Saint Paul College

0076 Metropolitan SU 0309 South Central College

0305 Minneapolis CTC 0075 Southwest MSU

0142 Minnesota State CTC 0073 St. Cloud SU

0209 Minnesota West CTC 0208 St. Cloud TC

0213 MSC - Southeast Technical 0147 Vermilion CC

0074 Winona SU

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Course Code Category:

Three-digit letter abbreviations for course categories.

Items marked *Bold are former STARS categories/courses.

ELM CODES - Statewide

Code Description

Business Skills BUS Courses that help every employee perform better in their roles, including: *Project Management, *Job Specific Training.

Compliance, Laws & Regulations

CLR Courses on: *Compliance/Regulatory, *Environmental Safety, guidelines, rules, policies, procedures, specifications, legislation, statues, and laws.

Customer Care CUS Courses related to interactions with internal and external customers, and *Student Advising, *Diversity.

Health and Wellness HWL Courses to improve *Health/Wellness and well-being such as: stress management, nutrition, fitness, and ergonomics.

Interpersonal Skills IPS Courses focusing on "soft skills" such as: *Communication/Interpersonal Skills, managing conflict, negotiation, coaching, and facilitation.

Leadership Development

LDR

Courses for MnSCU employees in leadership positions to improve their capacity as a leader such as: *Luoma Leadership Academy, *System Office Leadership trainings, team leadership, and campus leadership development programs.

Management and Supervision

MGS

Courses targeted specifically for Managers and Supervisors such as: *Science of Supervision, *Art of Supervision, *New Administrators Orientation, *Academic Dean Onboarding and campus supervisor/manager development programs.

Personal/Professional Development

PPD

Courses that benefit the employee both personally and professionally such as: *Career/Personal Development, Conference or Development Days, best practices, career development, Individual Development Planning, and retirement planning.

Safety SFT Courses related to safety such as: *Campus Security Authority, *Violence Against Women, *OSHA, machine operations, building security, ergonomics, emergency response and procedures.

Technical Skills TEC Courses related to: *Computer Skills, computer systems, applications, and devices.

Workplace Basics WKB

Courses related to the ‘what and how’ of navigating within your campus such as: *Code of Conduct, *Public Jobs/Private Data, *Sexual Harassment Prevention, workplace conduct, data practices, information security.

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Step 1: Creating a Catalog Item and

Delivery Method

Each catalog item (course) represents a specific topic of study for which you offer learning activities (class). All learning activities that are associated with a given catalog item share the same prerequisites, objectives, equivalencies, and other features.

Process Steps

Navigation: Enterprise Learning>Catalog>Maintain Items

1. Click the Add a New Value link to add a new catalog item.

2. On the Item Details page you will enter information about the catalog item.

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Catalog Item Long Name Naming Convention:

[Campus ID]_[Course Name]

Example: Century College Insight Discovery Training

Catalog Item Short Name Naming Convention:

Options: Let ELM default (10 characters) OR use this field for division purpose. Plan well and be consistent.

Course Code Naming Convention:

AgencyCodeCampusCode_Category4#system (0001)

Example: E260304PPD0001

Owner: Enter the name of the person whom the

system notifies when the catalog item is updated. The Owner field will default to whoever is creating the Catalog item. An email is sent to the Owner if changes are made to the catalog item.

Effective Date: Defaults to today’s date.

Catalog Item Status: Leave at Active. Description: This field should be a short summary of what is covered in the catalog item. This field has 245 character spaces available. Catalog Item Abstract: The abstract will contain the item’s objectives or details about the course. Approval Type: Leave at None. Offering: Leave at Internal. Education Units: Leave this blank unless you are counting CEU’s.

Enable Learning Request: Check the box.

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Example of an Item Description:

Example of an Item Abstract:

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Here is an example of the item details basic data for a catalog item:

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3. Optional: Click on the Prerequisites link.

Use the Catalog Item Prerequisites page to define required and recommended prerequisites. Prerequisites can be other catalog items, objectives and programs. To enroll in an activity when prerequisites are enforced, a learner must have enrolled in the prerequisites. Administrators can override prerequisites for learners during group enrollment.

4. Optional: To add a Required Prerequisite to this Catalog Item, click the Add

required Prerequisites link. If you do not have any prerequisites, you may skip this link.

5. Optional: Click on the Equivalents link.

If another catalog item or program is considered to be the equivalent of this one, select the equivalent item by clicking on the Add Equivalent link.

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Note: The system does not perform any checks to determine if equivalent items have the same objectives.

6. Optional: Click on the Notes and Attachments link.

The Notes and Attachments page allows you to enter notes and attach files, such as documents to read before beginning an activity. Attachments can be included elsewhere in the system, including at the activity level.

7. Optional: To attach a file to an item click the Add Attachment button. In the

File Attachment pop-up box, click the Browse button and navigate to your file’s location.

Once you have added an Attachment a Display field is now visible.

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In order for the learner to view this attachment, the Display check box will need to be checked. The system’s default will check the box for you. If you do not want the learner to view this attachment, uncheck the Display box next to the attachment. This allows you to keep this attachment for this Catalog Item for future use, if needed.

A Delete Attachment button is available to delete any attachments by clicking in the check box to the left of the Attached File name and then clicking on the Delete Attachment button.

8. Click the Security link.

In the Security box, you will define a primary learning environment and at least one primary category. These fields determine to which learning environments this category belongs and who can update the category.

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9. Make sure the Learning Environment is set to MN State Colleges and Universities. This is the system’s default.

10. Next you will need to specify which Learner Groups can access the activities and programs within this category when browsing or searching the catalog. You can select from the learner groups for each campus location. *For institutions with multiple locations, you will need to add each institution. See Step 14 for Relationship information.

11. Learner Groups can be added to this Catalog Item by clicking on the Add

Learner Group Security link.

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12. Click on the look up Learner Groups button (magnifying glass) .

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13. In the Look Up pop-up box scroll through the Search Results and select the Learner Group(s) you wish to add.

NOTE: If you do not select a learner group, learners cannot access this catalog item! Institutions with multiple campuses must choose multiple learner groups.

*Choose MnSCU ALL Employees if you want it to be available to all campuses. Associate a catalog item with at least one learner group.

14. In the Relationship drop down list, specify how this learner group is related to others in the list when used to determine whether or not a person has access. Values are:

And: a learner must be a member of both this learner group and the next in the list.

Or: a learner must be in this learner group or the next in the list.

End: is a placeholder for the last learner group in the list.

The system ignores any learner groups that are listed after an “end” relationship code.

*For this example we are choosing Century College and adding Alexandria CTC by using the + button. Choose OR as the relationship to allow learners from either group to view the course.

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15. Click the Done button. *It is very important to click the Done button at this point or the Learner Groups will NOT be updated.

16. Next, click the Attributes tab at the top of the screen. On the Attributes page, you will need to select a Category Relationships for your catalog item.

17. Click on the Add Category link under Category Relationships. To select the category to which this catalog item belongs, click on the look up Category button (magnifying glass)

18. In the Look Up Category pop-up box, scroll through the Search Results and select the desired category.

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*For this example: course is coded as “E26 0304 PPD 0001” – Personal & Professional Development

19. Next you may choose Keywords learners can use to search for your course. The alternative is to use the search word in your Course Name.

20. Choose MnSCU in the Look Up Keyword Type list

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21. After selecting the Type of Keyword, search from the MnSCU Keyword list using the lookup icon (magnifying glass). Add multiple Keyword by using the + Add Keyword button.

22. When complete, click the Save link (either at the top or bottom of the screen).

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23. Click the Delivery Method tab. NOTE: For new catalog items, the system hides this page until you save the item.

24. Click the Add New Delivery Method link.

Delivery methods define how course offerings are presented to learners—for example, through online learning, classroom instruction, seminars, books, and so forth. When you create a catalog item, you identify the specific delivery methods through which its activities are offered. The same catalog item might be delivered multiple ways, such as through a webcast, a web-based workbook, or a scheduled class. Each delivery method identifies the delivery method type.

When you add a catalog item to the learning catalog, you specify how its activities can be delivered. You can define one or more delivery methods for each catalog item.

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25. Click on the look up Delivery Method button (magnifying glass) to select the Delivery Method type that applies to the delivery method that you are defining.

26. In the Look Up Delivery Method Type pop-up box scroll through the Search Results and select the desired Delivery method.

27. In the Effective Date field, leave at default date.

28. In the Owner field, search for and enter the person who is responsible for this delivery method. This field is informational only and will default to the Administrator (you). The owner will receive updates when anything changes.

29. In the Primary Instructor field, search for and enter the person teaching the course.

NOTE: To allow instructors access to the Instructor Tasks folder in ELM, complete the instructor security form and submit to Sarah Bjorstrom.

30. Leave the Payments section as zero.

*Selecting a payment will generate a PO in the Swift system. Please indicate payment options in the notes/attachment section.

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31. Leave Learning Period blank unless this is an online course. The learning period is the amount of time the learner has to complete the activity or class.

32. Enter the Published Duration of the catalog item for all in-person trainings.

The Published Duration box allows you to estimate how long activities or classes should take. The values that you enter here become the default values on the Activities - Activity Details page. You can override this at the activity level.

NOTE: Published Duration is the amount of time the activity (or class/meeting) will last. Do not use the Days field.

33. Optional: Select the Enforce Enrollment Limit check box to have the

system prevent learners from enrolling in this activity after the maximum enrollment number is reached. To have the system generate a waiting list for this activity, you must select this check box. You can override this option at the activity level.

34. In the Max Enrollment (maximum enrollment) field, enter the maximum number of learners that can enroll in the activity. You can override this number at the activity level.

Optional: Average Fill Rate - average number of learners who enroll in the

activity each time the activity is offered. This field is informational only.

Optional: Min Enrollment (minimum enrollment) field - the minimum number of learners that should enroll in the activity for the activity to be held. If this minimum number is not met before a pre-defined number of days before the start of the activity, then the Minimum Enrollment Met Alert notification is sent to the activity administrator to inform him or her. You can override this number at the activity level.

35. By default, the system checks the Enable Waitlist box. This will allow the system to accept wait-listed learner’s once maximum enrollment is reached. You must enter a Capacity value to allow a waitlist.

36. Click the Save button to save all information entered on the Delivery Method page.

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NOTE: the Activities tab will appear after saving an Item. You can enter Activities from this tab or navigate away and enter the Activities information at a later date using the instructions that follow.

37. Click on the Activities tab. 38. Skip ahead to page 25 - Step 2: Creating a Catalog Activity

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Step 2: Creating a Catalog Activity

An Activity is an instance of a catalog item. Activities are comprised of learning components, which are characterized by how they deliver instructional content to learners. For instance, learning components can be instructor led and scheduled, or they can be web-based and self-paced. Learning components are the building blocks that comprise an Activity. Activities contain at least one learning component. So, for example, a single Activity could be comprised of a web-based test, an in class session, and an online student evaluation survey. This flexibility enables you to mix instructor led and self-paced components as appropriate to optimally achieve the objectives of your training. Furthermore, you can create multiple Activities for the same catalog item using different combinations of components. This enables you to cater to the different learning styles, conditions, and needs of a diverse learner base.

Process Steps

Navigation: Enterprise Learning>Catalog>Maintain Items

1. Click the Add a New Value tab if your Activity has not been created.

2. Use the Look Up icon (magnifying glass) to search for the Item you wish to

add an Activity.

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3. Find the Catalog Item for which you want to add an activity, and select it.

4. Click Add button and a new screen will populate

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Start Date and End Date

Select the activity start date and end date

Activity Code

Add letter to end for multiple offerings of the same class

Example: E260304PPD0001a Example: E260304PPD0001b Approval Type

Default “None.” Primary Instructor

Click on the magnifying glass to search for and select an instructor. Note: Instructors must be added before they appear in the search results. Refer to instructions on how to add an instructor profile.

Status

Defaults to “Pending.” Change to Active when completed.

Owner

The Owner field will originally default to whoever is creating the Catalog item. An email is sent to the Owner if there are any changes made.

Education Units

enter # if counting as CEU

Published Duration

This is the duration of the activity.

Do not use the Days field.

Start Reminder Days/Reminder Date

You can choose to have the system send activity reminders a certain amount of days before, or you can select a reminder date.

To select an email template, click on the Reminder Template look up button (magnifying glass).

Select Template Name “LM _ACT RMNDR”.

Continued on next page…

a

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Max Enrollment Enter the max amount of people able to

attend this class

Last Enroll Type

Enter the # of days before the start date that will be the last date to enroll or skip to step 13.

Enforce Enrollment Limit Verify that this box is checked.

Last Enroll Date = Start Date

Verify that this box is checked if you did not complete step 11 above.

Enable Waitlist

Verify that this box is checked.

Last Waitlist Enroll Date Enter the date after which the system

no longer automatically enrolls waitlisted learners when an enrolled learner drops an activity. If you leave this field blank, the system uses the activity's Start Date as the last date for automatically enrolling waitlisted learners.

Drop Activity

Select how many days before/after a learner can drop the class. You can enter a certain amount of days, specify a date, or check the “Last Drop Date = Start Date.”

Grades and Attendance

Leave the defaults as they are. Learning Environment

Verify that “MnSCU” is the Learning Environment.

Click the “Default Learner Groups” button to add the Learner Group.

Learner Groups

Verify that the Learner Group(s) is added after clicking Default Learner Groups button.

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Step 3: Adding a Component(s) and

Session(s)

1. Click the Learning Components tab at the top or the link at the bottom. Learning components are the building blocks of learning activities. Each activity must include at least one learning component. The six basic types of learning components in ELM are: web-based, session, webcast, test, survey, and assignment.

2. Click on the Add Component button.

3. On the Select Learning Components page, select the learning component for this activity from the list.

NOTE: Most of the time, you will select Sessions.

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4. Choose your Component Name or use the date information to identify the component if it is a single class offering. The component name appears on the Activities Details page of the catalog.

5. In the Short Name field, enter up to a 10 digit short name. You may

choose to copy and paste the Component Name and let the field default to the 10 character limit or use the date of the session.

6. Click the Apply button when finished to stay on the same screen.

NOTE: If you click the OK button, it will redirect you to the last screen and you will need to click EDIT to finish this section.

7. Optional: click on the Patterns tab.

Use the Patterns page to create session patterns. You use session patterns to generate actual sessions when the session has a repeating pattern. You may skip this tab if you do not need it.

8. Click on the Sessions tab. 9. On the Sessions tab, click on the Add Session button to create a session

for this activity.

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10. On the Session Details page, designate a Facility, Room, Start/End Times, and Instructor(s). You may add more additional instructors by clicking on the plus sign as indicated below.

11. Click the OK button when done.

12. Back on the Sessions page, you can add another session by clicking on the Add Session button and repeating the steps above.

NOTE: If you have a 2-part class, and you wish to schedule the break time, you will need to add another session to the component. *Important: edit Start Time and End Time

13. When finished adding sessions, click OK.

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14. Click on the Completion tab. 15. IMPORTANT: Uncheck Passing Required if the activity does not have a

pass/fail component to it. If you do not uncheck this now, you will not be able to once the activity has taken place.

16. Set the duration for the total hours/minutes of the session

17. Click on the Materials/Attachments tab.

The Materials/Attachments page also allows you to attach files that you provide learners and instructors through the activity, such as textbook materials, handouts, or a syllabus. You can also attach URL’s for outside resources.

NOTE: you must chose the “Display To” dropdown menu and choose Enrolled Learners to make this visible

18. Skip the Activity Costs tab. This will create a Purchase Order through the

Swift system. If you need to charge for a class, indicate that in the notes and email learners with payment details.

19. Click the Save link.

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Rebuilding Indexes

Rebuilding indexes is like refreshing the system. ELM Production is set to rebuild indexes every hour. However, if you need to rebuild indexes before that, you can do so. An automated schedule for rebuilding indexes does not happen in ELM Sandbox. After you have created items and activities, you may need to rebuild indexes in order for activities to appear in the Search Catalog. The activity will appear in Browse Catalog, but not for Search Catalog or for administrative functions such as enrolling learners or administering activity rosters.

Process Steps

Navigation: Enterprise Learning>Catalog>Rebuild Indexes

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1. Click the Add a New Value tab.

2. In the Run Control ID field, type in your State ID (the username you use to

log into your computer).

3. Click the Add button.

4. Click the Run button.

5. Check the Build Catalog search index box.

6. Click the OK button.

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7. Click the Report Manager link.

8. Click the Administration tab.

9. Click the Refresh button. The columns of the report will update to the most current rebuild. You may have to click Refresh a few times in order for it to post.

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Concluding an Activity

After the Instructor has updated attendance and grades, the activity status should be changed to “concluded”.

Process Steps

Navigation: Enterprise Learning>Catalog>Maintain Activities

1. Make sure that the Activity Status is set to Active. You can also use the other search filters.

2. Click the Search button.

3. Select the activity from the search results.

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4. In the Status field, select Concluded.

The status of the activity impacts enrollment in the activity as described. Values are:

Active: Activity appears in the Learning Catalog and learners can self-enroll into the activity.

Closed: Activities that are closed appear in the learning catalog for learners in self-service but learners cannot self-enroll. Whenever an activity is closed, only the learning administrators can enroll learners into that activity.

Concluded: Concluded activities do not appear in the learning catalog for learners to view or enroll in through self-service. Concluded activities are available to administrators and they can enroll learners into this activity. An administrator must mark this status manually.

Inactive: Activities that are inactive do not appear in the learning catalog for learners to view or enroll in through self-service. Whenever an activity becomes inactive, all enrollments (except for those that are completed or incomplete) are automatically dropped, and an email notification is sent to all the learners (whose enrollments are dropped). When you select this status, the Reason field and Inactive Status Comments icon become available.

Pending: This is the default for activities when they are first created. Activities with an enrollment status of pending can be viewed and managed by administrators but cannot be viewed or enrolled in by learners through self-service.

Note: You cannot save Activities with Active, Closed, or Concluded statuses that do not have any learning components.

5. Click the Save link.

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Editing an Existing Item

Process Steps

Navigation: Enterprise Learning>Catalog>Maintain Items

1. Click Search to view all items. You can also modify the search criteria and then click Search.

2. Before you can make any changes, click on Correct History.

3. Make your changes and then click Save.

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Cloning an Activity

Process Steps

Navigation: Enterprise Learning>Catalog>Maintain Activities

1. Make sure that the Activity Status is set to Active. You can also use the other search filters.

2. Click the Search button.

3. Select the activity that you want to clone from the search results.

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4. Click on the Clone link.

The Clone Activity page will appear.

5. Change the Activity Code by deleting the letter and adding the next letter. If this is not unique, the system will not allow you to proceed.

6. Leave the Activity Status at Pending. You will not be able to add learning components if you do not leave it a pending.

7. Change the Start Date and the End Date.

8. Check the Copy Session Information box if you will be utilizing the same session information in this activity.

9. Click the Continue button.

A new activity is created. You can now modify the activity details and learning components.

If needed, refer to the Creating an Activity Instructions, specifically the activity details and the learning components sections.

10. Click the Save link.