Topics Map > Course Proposals

Course Proposal: Overview and System Functionality

A brief overview on the Lumen Course proposal system and how to navigate certain standard features.

When do I need to submit a course proposal?

  • When proposing a new course.
  • When deactivating/discontinuing a course.
  • When you need to make a change to any of the following items, which apply at the catalog-level:
    • Subject or Cross-listing(s)
    • Catalog number (depending on the circumstances, you may be better off creating a new course and deactivating the existing; consult your school/college curriculum coordinator)
    • Title
    • Description
    • Catalog-level requisites (section-level can be done when scheduling a course)
    • Grading basis
    • Component types (seminar, lecture, discussion, laboratory, independent study)
    • Credits
    • Repeatability
    • Topic eligibility (if approved for topics, individual topics at the section-level do not require a course proposal)
    • Course designations or attributes (honors, graduate, L&S breadth, L&S level, general education, workplace, foreign language)
    • Learning outcomes

How to start a course proposal

New courses:

    1. Click the green "Propose New Course" button. (highlighted in the image below in a light blue color)
    2. Address all the proposal elements. For help, see the appropriate help KBs.
    3. Agree and ensure the course meets the credit hour policy and regular and substantive interaction requirements.
    4. Add a sample syllabus that meets campus-standards and the University Curriculum Committees requirements.
    5. Submit to workflow.

Course changes:

    1. Search for the course you need to revise.
    2. Click on the course in the "scrolly bar" (designated by the off-set white/gray lines)
    3. Click the green "Edit Course" button on the right side of the screen. (highlighted in the image below in the red color)
    4. Revise the course proposal, as needed. For help, see the appropriate help KBs.
    5. Agree and ensure the course meets the credit hour policy and regular and substantive interaction requirements.
    6. Add a sample syllabus that meets campus-standards and the University Curriculum Committees requirements.
    7. Submit to workflow.

Course deactivation (discontinuations):

  1. Search for the course you need to revise.
  2. Click on the course in the "scrolly bar" (designated by the off-set white/gray lines)
  3. Click the red "Deactivate" button on the left side of the screen. (highlighted in the image below in the dark blue color)
  4. Select the soonest term (it will be administratively changed to the current term for deactivation)
  5. Submit to workflow.

The Lumen Courses landing page with a course selected in the "scrolly bar" displaying both the "Deactivate" and "Edit Course" buttons.

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).
    1. 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.
  3. Scroll to the very bottom of the proposal and click the green "Start Workflow."
    1. This will close the edit window if all required elements have been filled in.
    2. If not, you will receive an error and the system will bump you to the first required element not completed.
    3. Note: If completed and the edit window closes, the course will be in workflow and the software will lock you out from making additional changes, unless you are in an approver role via the workflow roles.

The three buttons available at the bottom of the form, "Cancel", "Save Changes", and "Start Workflow"

If you determine you do not want to save change, click the red "cancel" at the bottom of the form. Note, if you clicked the "floating save", cancelling 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, see the removal of a course proposal process (shredding) below.

Searching for a course or proposal

The course catalog includes all active courses (approved and in SIS), new (not yet approved) courses, and discontinued (deactivated) courses that have had enrollment in 8 years.

To search, enter your query in the box to the left of the green "Search" button.

Lumen Courses landing page with the search box and green "Search" button highlighted with a red box.

Ways to search

    • Subject short description (i.e. A A E, or COMP SCI) will return all courses in this subject.
    • Lumen course key (found at the bottom right hand corner of the proposal) will return a specific course proposal.
    • Subject short description plus catalog number, also known as course code, will return a specific course proposal. [subject short descr] + [catalog number] i.e. ART 100
      • Lumen Courses landing page with the header of the "scrolly bar", Course Code with a red box around it.
    • Wildcards (the asterisk, *) broaden the search based on the placement.
      • "MATH*" will find everything that starts with “MATH”, i.e." Mathematics for Agricultural and Applied Economics" or "MATH 112"
      • "*MATH" everything that ends with “MATH”, i.e.: MATH 112, or "Basic Concepts of Math"
      • "*MATH*" everything that contains “MATH”, i.e. "Actuarial Mathematics" or "Introduction to Discrete Mathematics"
    • Using the wildcard with a catalog number, "*100" will return all courses numbered 100, any course ID that ends with 100, or any course key that ends with 100.

Ways that will not return results

    • Using the subject numerical code. i.e. 778 for Political Science
    • Using the non-approved subject short description. i.e. CS for COMP SCI
    • Using special characters; this includes apostrophes. For example, searching for "women's" will search "women"; the apostrophe ends the search abilities.

Quick Searches

    • Added courses = all new courses where there is an active proposal in the system that has not yet been completed
    • Edited courses = all courses where a proposal has been edited.
    • Deactivated courses = courses that are discontinued but have had enrollment in the past 8 years and therefor the number is not eligible for use on a new course.
    • Deactivated & In Workflow = courses that have a deactivation proposal in workflow.

Lumen Courses landing page with a red box around the "Quick Searches" drop down field on the right hand side of the page.

Checking the status of a proposal

The easiest way to check the status of a course is to look for the course on the proposal system landing page. You can see the status of the proposal and the workflow step, if submitted to workflow.

Workflow step

    • The workflow column will specify where a course is in the approval process. Clicking on the course is the search results will open the proposal. On the right side is a list of workflow steps. Steps in green have been completed. The current step is in orange.
    • If no content displays in this column for a course, it is not in workflow.
    • If a course is not edited or added and the course is not in workflow, the course is active in the SIS course catalog. Also known as "at rest."

Lumen Courses landing page with the workflow column highlighted with a red box. This is the fourth column in the "scrolly bar."

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.

The workflow steps in order with colors indicating where it in in the approval process.

Status

There are four types of statuses:

    1. Added: a new course. This does not yet exist in SIS.
    2. Archived: a deactivated/discontinued course that no longer is active (the catalog number is available for re-use). These only show up when the "Archive" box is checked (next to the green Search button). For information on archived courses, see this KB.
    3. Deleted: a deactivated/discontinued course that has had been used on a student's record in the last 8 years and is not eligible for catalog number re-use.
    4. Edited: a course that has been edited. This course exists in SIS and is actively in the course catalog.

The Lumen Course landing page with the status header and examples of the types of status highlighted with a red box.

How to filter email notifications  

  • All users who are 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. 
  • (Note: 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 used all start with [Course Proposal System]

Red/Green Markup

When editing a course, the software uses "red/green markup" to indicate the changes made to an existing 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.

If a course has not yet been edited in Lumen Courses, the data that displays comes directly from SIS.

Text in both red and green colors. The red uses strikethrough to indicate it is being removed. Green uses double lines under the text to indicate new text.

Entering Comments

  • Comments can only be added to a proposal once it is in workflow.
  • Anyone in user provisioning can enter a comment.
  • Once a comment has been entered, they show up in the Reviewer Comments section at the very bottom of the proposal with the commenter's name, and the date entered.
  • Comments cannot be removed.
  • Note: This system does NOT send an email notification when a comment is entered. It is recommended that you contact the person listed at the top of the proposal or email those associated with the relevant workflow role. If the proposal needs to be edited, use the Rollback function.

How to add a comment

    1. Click on the course in the search results and verify it's in workflow.
    2. Click the "Add comment" button on the right side of the page above the workflow steps.
    3. Enter comment in the box.
    4. Click save.

The green "Add Comment" button on the Lumen Course landing page.Shows the text box that opens when you click "Add Comment" and shows the "Save" and "Cancel" buttons.

Removing a proposal from the approval process (shredding)

If you have determined you no longer need a proposal (changes aren't needed, new course isn't desired), email lumen@provost.wisc.edu and specifying which course(s) need to be removed. Course proposals are removed through a process called "shredding", which requires a Lumen administrator to complete. Shredded course proposals cannot be recovered, so retain a pdf version if you think you'll need it in the future.

Course proposals are also subject to the proposal expiration policy. Proposers will not be notified when proposals are shredded. To see how long a course has been in workflow or how long it's been in the system, see the Lumen Tools Course Proposal visualization.

Linking to a specific course proposal  

The URL for a specific course or course proposal is https://next-guide.wisc.edu/courseadmin/?key=###
where the ### is replaced by the key. Ex. https://next-guide.wisc.edu/courseadmin/?key=212
The key appears at the very bottom of course entry in the right hand corner.
key


Keywordsnavigation, submitting, shredding, changes, filtering email   Doc ID78916
OwnerMelissa S.Group Lumen and Guide
Created2017-12-26 16:22:25Updated2024-02-29 15:35:43
Sites Lumen and Guide
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