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Lumen Exams: Overview and System Functionality

A brief overview on the Lumen Course proposal system and basic how-tos.

About Lumen Exams

Lumen exams captures new or changes to existing placement or credit by exams. Placement exams offered by UW System (Mathematics, English, Spanish, German and French) are not included, and are not updated in Lumen Exams.

Searching for a proposal

Step-by-step how-to

  1. Navigate to the landing page for the proposal type. Requires UW login.
  2. Enter your search in the field to the left of the green Search button.
    A screen shot of the Lumen Programs landing page with a red box around the Search box.
    1. This can be the program name (full or partial). Do not use abbreviations or terms not in the official SIS description.
    2. This can be the program key (found at the bottom right of the proposal).
    3. New programs will not have a code. Searching with an asterisk (*) will pull up all proposals and the new proposals filter to the top. The text that displays will show up in the second column (program transcript description, course title, etc.)
  3. Hit enter on your keyboard or click the green Search button.A screen shot of the Lumen Programs landing page with the green Search box highlighted by a red box.

Tips and tricks for searching Lumen

  • Click on the header bar will sort the proposals based on the column you select i.e. clicking status will sort all programs based on their status, added, edited, deleted.
  • Use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard.
    • "Math*" returns results starting with Math (Mathematics, Math for...)
    • "*Math*" returns results with "Math" listed somewhere in the title (Certificate in Math, Data Science and Mathematics...)
    • "*Math" returns results where the last word is Math
  • The search looks at the Code and Title field. These fields only use the exact title/name and do not use abbreviations.
    A screen shot with a red box around the "program code" and "program name" field on the landing pages for Lumen Programs.
    • GCRT* pulls all graduate/professional certificates
    • MS* pulls all master's degrees starting with MS (MS, MSB)
  • If you are looking for a specific type of proposal, use the Quick Searches drop-down. These have pre-defined queries by module i.e. Lumen Courses has a different drop-down than Lumen Programs.
    A screenshot of the landing page of Lumen Programs with a red box around the Quick Searches drop-down.
  • Characters, such as apostrophes, reduce search optimization e.x. *Women's* returns no results, but "Women*s" returns 6 items.

Specific to Lumen Exams search tips

Exams are set-up in a way that you can search by:

  • Course code (utilizing the correct subject short description and catalog number)
  • Exam name, as entered in the proposal.

How to start/edit a proposal

Starting a proposal

  1. Click the green "Propose New Exam" button. This will open a new window.
    A screen shot showing the Lumen Exams landing page with a red box around the green "Propose New Exam" button.
  2. Select the type of exam you want. The form adjusts based on this question.
    A screen shot of the Lumen Exams form showing the dropdown for "Type of Exam being proposed" with a red box around the options (Credit by Exam/Placement Exam)

Editing a proposal

  1. Search for the proposal needing revisions. If a proposal is in workflow, you cannot edit the proposal via the landing page.
  2. Click on the proposal in the scrolly bar.
    A screen shot of the Lumen Exams landing page with the proposal for ASIALANG 303 selected in the scrolly bar.
  3. Click the green "Edit Request" button. This will open a new window.
    A screen shot of the Lumen Exams landing page with "Edit Request" button highlighted by a red box.
  4. Edit the proposal with desired changes.
  5. Save and submit to workflow.

Saving or submitting a proposal

The software does not automatically save proposals.

There are three ways to save a proposal:

  1. Click the "floating save" button (stays at the bottom of the browser as you scroll).
    The "floating save" button highlighted with a red box.
  2. Scroll to the very bottom of the proposal and click the gray "Save Changes." This will save changes and close the edit window. This does not submit to workflow.
    A screen shot of the three buttons that display at the bottom of the form with the "Save Changes" button highlighted by a red box.
  3. Scroll to the very bottom of the proposal and click the green "Start Workflow." This will close the window and submit the proposal to workflow if all required elements have been filled in. The proposal cannot be edited again from the landing page; additional revisions must be made in workflow by an approver or rolled out of workflow for any user to edit.
    A screen shot of the three buttons that display at the bottom of the form with the "Start Workflow" button highlighted by a red box.

Submitting to workflow

When you have finalized your edits and are ready to start the approval process, click the "Start Workflow" button which can only be done when editing a proposal. All required fields must be filled in. If they are not, the form will automatically bump you up to the element that has not been populated.

Canceling changes

If you determine you do not want to save change, click the red "cancel" at the bottom of the form.
A screen shot of the three buttons that display at the bottom of the form with the "Cancel" button highlighted by a red box.

If you clicked the "floating save", canceling will remove all change made since the last save (when you clicked the floating save). If you need to remove all changes that have been made/revert the proposal back to the last approved version, the proposal must be shredded.

Lumen Exams workflow

Workflow includes "conditional" steps of workflow, where by answering specific questions additional steps are added for specific governance body review. See the "if applicable" to see which proposals are conditional.

Typical workflow steps

  1. Subject approver
  2. Cross-list Subject approver (if applicable)
  3. School/College approver
  4. Cross-list School/College approver (if applicable)
  5. University Curriculum Committee
  6. Bursar (Credit-by-exam proposals only)
  7. Registrar (Student Information System)

Checking the status of a proposal

If a proposal is "at rest" (the status is null/blank), there are no proposed revisions and the proposal is current. If there isn't a workflow step listed under the workflow column, the proposal is not in workflow. When a proposal is "in workflow," it lists the current step requiring sign-off in the scrolly bar. The example below is for courses, but the workflow status operates the same across the Lumen tools.

Step-by-step

The most up-to-date place to check the status of a proposal search for the proposal from the landing page:

  1. Navigate to the landing page for the proposal type. Requires UW login.
  2. Search for your proposal using the search functionality.
    A screen shot of the Lumen Courses landing page with the Search box and bar highlighted with a red box.
  3. Click on the proposal in the scrolly bar.
    A screenshot of the Lumen Courses landing page with a list of courses separated by gray/white colors under the course code, title, workflow and status.
  4. Look at the "Workflow" column or the workflow steps on the right side of the proposal. If there is no status, the proposal is not in workflow.
    A screenshot of the Lumen Courses landing page with the Workflow column highlighted by a red box.
    A screenshot of a course proposal with the workflow steps on the right side of the proposal highlighted by a red box.

Deciphering workflow by color

  1. The green steps mean the subject, school/college, or University Curriculum Committee has approved a course.
  2. Orange/Yellow means this is the current step of workflow.
  3. Gray means the proposal has not yet advanced to this step.

A screen shot of a proposal in workflow showing the orange/yellow, green, and gray colors.

Email notifications

  • All users in a workflow approver role must be included in the email notifications sent by the proposal system.
  • Some users may wish to automatically direct these messages to a specific folder within their email account. General information regarding how to do this is available from the DoIT helpdesk. For consistency, it is highly recommended that you manage Inbox Rules via Outlook on the web. In addition, when you setup a rule in Outlook on the web the rule will be applied regardless of the client you are using.
    • The subject lines start with:
      • [Lumen Courses]
      • [Lumen Badge]
      • [Lumen Structures]
      • [Lumen]
      • [Lumen Programs]
      • [Lumen Exams]

Post-approval email regarding catalog requisites

Requisites are administratively updated by the Course Specialist in the Office of the Registrar to reflect the inclusion of departmental placement exams. Once updated, DAPIR notifies the school/college academic planner(s) by email with the list of impacted courses.

Red/green markup

The software utilizes "red/green markup" to visually indicate where content has changed in a change proposal.

  • Red means the text has been removed. The red uses strike-through to indicate it is being removed for accessibility.
  • Green means the text has been added. Green uses double lines under the text to indicate new text for accessibility.

A screen shot of an edited course proposal showing the red/green markup.

Entering comments

Comments may only be added to a proposal through the Approve Pages by a user who has edit/approver access in the current step of workflow.

Step-by-step how-to

  1. Navigate to the Approve Pages console, select the workflow step where the proposal sits, and click on the proposal. (Consult the help KB, if needed).
    A screen shot of the Approve Pages Console with the proposal for ASIALANG 324 selected.
  2. Edit the proposal. This will open a new window.
    A screen shot of the Approve Pages with a yellow box around the blue Edit button on the right side of the screen.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the form and add the comment text in the Reviewer Comments field.
    A screen shot of the Exam form in edit mode with the Reviewer Comments box highlighted by a red box.
  4. Click "Save Changes"
    A screen shot of the Exam form in edit mode with the gray "Save Changes" button highlighted by a red box.

Removing a proposal from the approval process (shredding)

It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure any proposal advances in a timely fashion.

Proposals that exceed the allotted time-frame per policy are "shredded" (removed/cancelled). Proposers are not notified of the shredding action. To ensure that your proposals do not get shredded, track them using the Lumen Tools viz1 (requires VPN and authentication) and ensure they progress through governance. Any proposal that reaches a university governance, DAPIR or Office of the Registrar workflow step will not be shredded. 

If you have determined you no longer need a proposal (changes aren't needed, proposal was not approved), email lumen@provost.wisc.edu and specifying which proposal needs to be removed.

Notes

  • Shredded proposals cannot be recovered, so retain a pdf version if you think you'll need it in the future.
  • Shredded new courses will have no record of ever existing once shredded.
  • Shredded change or deactivation (courses only) proposals will revert back to the most recently approved version of the proposal.
  • Shredding can only happen to the entire proposal (i.e. specific parts of a proposal cannot be shredding while keeping other parts).

Footnote

  1. The Lumen Tools viz does not include data from Lumen Structures, Exams, or Badges.

Linking to a specific proposal

There is an easy way to create a direct link to a specific proposal in Lumen. Each proposal has a unique key behind the scenes that always links to that specific proposal.

Each URL has the same stem:

  • Courses: https://next-guide.wisc.edu/courseadmin/?key=[insert key]
  • Programs: https://next-guide.wisc.edu/programadmin/?key=[insert key]
  • Structures: https://next-guide.wisc.edu/miscadmin/?key=[insert key]
  • Exams: https://next-guide.wisc.edu/examadmin/?key=[insert key]
  • Badges: https://next-guide.wisc.edu/badgeadmin/?key=[insert key]

Step-by-step how-to

  1. To find the unique key number navigate to either the landing page and select the proposal you wish to create a direct link for.
    Displaying the bottom of the course proposal form with the Lumen Key highlighted by a red box in the bottom right corner.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page. The key is in the bottom right corner of page.
    A screen shot of the course proposal landing page.

For example, this course's direct URL would be: https://next-guide.wisc.edu/courseadmin/?key=12112

See Also


Keywords:
Lumen Exams 
Doc ID:
138492
Owned by:
Melissa S. in Lumen and Guide
Created:
2024-07-18
Updated:
2024-09-16
Sites:
Lumen and Guide