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Blueprints for Courses

We use Blueprint shells in Canvas for courses that cannot be combined due to FERPA reasons, when an instructor is teaching multiple sections of the same class in a single quarter.

NOTE: The deadline for Blueprint Course Requests is always the first day of the quarter you're requesting the blueprint for.

Blueprints are special Canvas shells that attached to one or more other shells within the same quarter.  Assignments, file, point values, due dates, and many other aspects of a course can be synced up, with the blueprint acting as a parent, handing down materials to the associated, child shells.

Watch this overview video or read this overview PDF.

Please note that a live course CANNOT become a blueprint course.  Blueprint courses are created manually upon request.  Additionally, a blueprint course will always have the following naming scheme:

  • BLUEPRINT_<Course>_<Quarter>_<Last name of requestor>

Almost every Canvas function is copied between the Blueprint and its associated courses.  Some functions can be deselected for copy, including point values, due dates, and availability dates for assignments.  You can also manually lock and unlock individual course items for copy.

Anything using an outside tool that is not embedded in a Canvas assignment or page will not transfer from a Blueprint to the associated courses.  For example, Panopto videos that are not embedded in a page or selected as the external tool in an assignment will not be copied from a blueprint to a live course.  This functions similar to course imports.

If an item was changed in a associated course, that item will not be overwritten by syncing to the blueprint.  Changing the item in the associated course "decouples" it from the Blueprint, leaving it unable to be updated at all.  For example, if you change the text of an assignment in the associated, live course, the assignment will not be updated if you change it in the blueprint.  All changes, if absolutely possible, should be done in the Blueprint.

Combining Courses

If two courses are occurring at the same time, there is a possibility that we may be able to combine them into a single Canvas course for ease of grading and assigning materials.  If you think your course can be combined, please read the following guidelines.  Then, fill out the form on the page linked above.

NOTE: The deadline for Course Combine Requests is always the first day of the quarter you're requesting courses to be combined for.

FERPA maintains that students have a right to privacy regarding what courses they are taking.  Students may only know who is in the same class they are currently taking, but the public (such as other students) should not know who is in what class, even between courses with the same subject and topic.  This significantly restricts what courses individuals can be added to.  Please use the following guidelines for determining if your courses can be combined together:

  • Clustered Courses will be combined upon request.  Clusters must be delineated in ctcLink.
  • ALP or Learning Community Courses may be combined.  Notification of the students and clustering is recommended.  
  • When courses take place at the same time at the same location; this may be a portion of the class, like a lab time or field work, as long as all students in all courses to be combined will see one another.  This must be confirmed inside of Class Finder.
  • When courses share a common course that students must be concurrently enrolled in.  For example, if two lab sections to be combined require all students to be enrolled in the same section of a lecture course.
  • Classes that involve program-oriented cohorts that have some class time over the course of the quarter can be combined so long as the the proper documentation filed with eLearning.  Proper documentation must show students that they will be meeting with with other classes and must be presented ahead of enrolling in the class.  Cohort documentation presented to students in an orientation with a list of courses they'll be taking with their cohort and which might meet at the same time are a good example of this requirement.
  • Courses with online components lead to some complications regarding combining them.
    • Regarding asynchronous online courses, according to the state AAG, no online, asynchronous courses may be combined, even if they have a note stating that courses meet together. 
    • Synchronous online courses (those that say they meet in Zoom for a location in Class Finder, for instance), must have the same time and instructor, and they must both have a note that the courses will meet together in Class Finder. 
    • For hybrid courses, the in-person component must meet together for the courses to be combined.
  • Courses that were combined in the past due to historical precedent can no longer be combined based on this exception.  All course combines must fulfill any of the requirements above or have approval for combination from your dean.  They will be contacted for confirmation.

Note: this list was updated on 9/11/2023.

The process that combines courses happens immediately upon our setting them to combine.

  • Existing courses will be added to the Canvas shell with the lowest course number as separate sections.  For example, if we are asked to combine 15472, 15473, and 15474, when the process is finished, both 15473 and 15474 will be added to 15472 as sections inside that shell.
  • Existing instructors will be removed from all shells that are not the one with the lowest course number.
  • When students are enrolled, they will be added to the appropriate section inside of your Course.
  • Within 12 hours, the now-unused shells will be deleted.
  • Your course's name will change:
    • If all sections share the same course ID (e.g. ELL 009), the course will be listed with the course ID followed by an X, followed by the other details for the course.  For example, three CHEM&101 courses would begin with "CHEM&101 - X".
    • If sections have different course IDs, the IDs will be listed in order, followed by an X, followed by the other details for the course.  For example, a combined Film and Humanities course that is clustered will start with "FILM191/HUMAN191 - X". 
    • If all courses are in the same department but the numbers are different, only the ID number will appear, as in "MUSIC131/132/133 - X".

If your courses are unable to be combined due to FERPA, we recommend using a blueprint shell to help coordinate your courses.  You can find more information on blueprints on the Blueprint Information page.

If your courses are able to be combined based upon the above qualifications, you can send us an email with the following:

  • The class numbers of your course shells that you'd like combined (the four-to-five digit number for the individual section that can be found in ctcLink and ClassFinder);
  • The qualification the course meets to be combined.
  • If the courses to be combined are taught by multiple instructors, the permission of all instructors involved.

Once we receive your email, we will research and confirm the qualification, then combine the courses if we are allowed to under FERPA guidelines.

Template Courses

There are times when course materials are the same across multiple quarters or when multiple faculty ware working on materials in concert with one another.  Having content spread across a number of different shells can create problems.  In cases like these using a Template Course might help with organization, collaboration, and access.

A Template Course is a permanent Canvas course meant to upload materials into that will see consistent use over the course of quarters in live course.  Materials can be edited inside the course to be kept up to date, including Panopto videos and documents.  For example, if an instructor teaches the same course every Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters, they can use a Template Course to house everything, edit it for the next quarter, then import it into the live course when it's needed.

Templates are especially useful when the same course is taught by various instructors and there are standard lessons and materials between each course.  Using a Template Course, multiple instructors could collaborate to create the course, then import the materials everyone contributed to into their live courses.

A template course is NOT a blueprint: it's not attached to sync up with a live course.  Blueprints live for one quarter, while Templates are meant to be used over the course of quarters.  Materials in a Template Course should be imported into the live course once when you're finished editing them in the Template Course.

  • We will create a special Canvas course named for the course it's meant to be, such as "Template - IT 114."
  • We'll add all faculty requested to the shell.
  • Instructors will create or import materials into the shell to be edited and housed.
  • Each quarter the materials are used, the instructor(s) will import them from the Template Course into the live course.

The workflow of a template course: copy materials from an old course into a template, then copy updated course materials into the live shell each quarter their needed.

Adding People to Courses

If you would like to add someone to a course, you can feel free to email eLearning@greenriver.edu with your request.  We will need the following:

  • The individual's name.
  • The individual's GRC email address (personal email addresses will not work) or ctcLink ID number.
  • The Class Number (the four-to-five digit number that defines a course section) of the course they should be added to and the quarter it occurred in.
  • What role you would like the individual to have in the course. If a role is not provided, we will add the individual based on the reason provided.
  • The reason we are adding the individual to the course.
  • In the case of observation/accreditation: the date access to end.
  • In the case of a Tuition exemption: Exemption paperwork or instruction from the program manager, and instructor approval.

It is always best for the request comes from the instructor of record of the course. If the instructor of record is no longer with the college, the request or approval may come from the division chair or dean. Requests from anyone else will be verified and approved by the instructor of record.

Frequent Reasons for Adding an Individual to a Courses

  • Co-Teaching: the individual will be added to the course as a TA or Instructor, as specified by the instructor of record.
  • Sharing Materials: we will instead create a copy of the course and add the individual to that with the Teacher role. We will not add the requesting individual unless requested. Alternatively, we can also import a course directly into another instructor's course, so long as we have permission from both parties.
  • Teaching Assistant/Aide: we will add the individual to the course with the TA role.
  • Observation/Accreditation: the individual will be added to the course with the O/A role to lock down editing access. They will be added as a temporary enrollment.
  • Tutors: the individual will be added as with the Tutor role to reduce access to student data.
  • Students: Students cannot be added to a course without being added in ctcLink. Once added in ctcLink, the student will be added to the course without a few hours, or the next day if the addition is made after 7pm. An exception will be made for individuals with tuition exemption paperwork and permission.

Roles

The role you would like them to have is very important, as it defines what they can do in your course.  If you do not provide a role for us to add them to your course as, we will default to best judgement with the lowest possible access based upon their status at the college: staff and faculty are added as TAs or O/A to differentiate them from the instructor of record; students are only added as students. 

Here are the standard roles we assign to individuals and what they can do:

  • Teacher: Full permission to edit the course, change the course published status, view and edit grades, create student groups, and everything else needed for a course. IBEST instructors will be added with this role by default.
  • TA: Similar to Teacher, but some features are locked down:
    • TAs cannot create or change student groups;
    • cannot view course data analytics; can grade assignments but cannot change final grades;
    • cannot view some student details;
    • can publish assignments but not the whole course; can import into and export from a course. 
    • This is the default and recommended role for faculty being added to a course.
  • Tutor: Access to assignments and other course materials with access to minimal student information.
  • Student: Permissions to view whatever is published in a course and submit assignments; no permission to edit anything unless granted.
  • Observer: Minimal access; only allows viewing of published documents; no access to anything that might contain student information.  Cannot see contents in closed courses.
  • Guest: The most restrictive access, this cuts down privileges to the bare minimum.  For translators and other external service personnel.
  • O/A: Observation/Accreditation-level access.  Access to course materials, discussions, etc., but without the ability to edit materials. They retain the ability to edit the Course Details, Navigation, and Feature options tabs on the course Settings screen due to limitations in granular permissions.

Requirements

To abide by FERPA, we are strict about who gets access to courses.  To be added to a course, the following must be true for their appropriate role:

  • Teacher, TA, and Tutor: The individual must have taken the "Get Inclusive" or "Vector Solutions" FERPA training provided by the college and had their completion verified.  We always independently verify this after the request has been submitted.
  • Student: The individual must be enrolled in the course, or in the case of non-credit department or support program courses, must be involved with that department or support program.  These courses are kept in a "no conversations" state to help protect student data.

 

Canvas Course Extensions

Access to a Canvas course can be extended for a single or multiple specific students for a specified period of time.  This is frequently the case for when the student has taken an incomplete and wishes to finish the work over the allotted time.  We often call this an extension.

If you wish to grant a student an extension to a course, please send the following to eLearning@greenriver.edu:

  • The Class Number (the four-to-five digit number that defines a course section) of the course they are to receive the extension in and the quarter it occurred in.;
  • The student's name and either email address or ctcLink ID number (for verification purposes);
  • The date and time you wish for their access to be cut off.

The date and time is very important, as without it the extension does not work.  If you do not specify a time, we will set their access to end at 11:59 PM on the date provided.  For example, if we are told that the student should have access to a course "until March 13th," we will set the date that access ends as March 13th at 11:59 PM.