Setting Up a New Course

Article Content Section

This article covers the following topics. Click on the topic to go to that section of the article.

• Overview
• Before You Begin
• Planning Considerations
• Course Setup Checklist
  • Step 1 — Create the Course
  • Step 2 — Build the Learning Schedule (didactic)
  • Step 3 — Add Learning Resources to Learning Events
  • Step 4 — Build Rotation Schedules (clinical)
  • Step 5 — Build the Assessment Strategy
  • Step 6 — Perform Quality Assurance
• Common Mistakes

Overview

This playbook guides administrators through the complete process of creating a brand-new course in Elentra. Use this guide when a course is being introduced for the first time.  Not all sections may apply for every course or for your program.

Before You Begin

Before setting up a new course, confirm:

• The course has been approved by your institution.
• The curriculum period has been created.
• Course leadership has been identified.
• Learning objectives and assessment plans have been finalized.
• Faculty and learner information is available.

Gather the following information before creating your course:

• Official course name
• Course code
• Academic year
• Curriculum period
• Start and end dates
• Course Director
• Administrative contacts
• Departments
• Enrollment method
• Learning objectives
• Assessment strategy
• Teaching schedule
• Rotation schedule
• Required resources

Planning Tips

• Many course settings can be changed later, but deciding on your course structure, enrollment approach, and assessment strategy before you begin will reduce rework. 

• If your course is similar to a previous offering, determine whether you can reuse existing materials and event schedules to reduce setup time.

Planning Considerations

Before creating your course in Elentra, take a few minutes to consider how it will be delivered. Answering these questions now will help you make informed configuration decisions and identify any information you'll need before you begin.

Consider the following:

• Is this course part of an existing program?
  • Is the course a didactic course or is it part of a rotation schedule and doesn't have a didactic component?
  • Does it need to be linked to a specific curriculum period?
  • Are there prerequisite or co-requisite courses that also need to be configured?
• How will learners be enrolled?
  • Will enrollments be managed manually, imported, or synchronized from another system?
• How will teaching be scheduled?
  • Will the course include lectures, labs, tutorials, small groups, or clinical experiences, etc.?
  • Will you build event or rotation schedules from scratch or copy them from another course?
• How will learner performance be evaluated?
  • Will you use the Gradebook?
  • Will assessments be delivered through Elentra?
  • Will exams be administered in Elentra?
• Will curriculum mapping be required?
  • Are learning objectives already defined?
  • Will curriculum tags need to be created or updated?
• Who will manage the course?
  • Who will be the Course Director(s)?
  • Who needs administrative access?
  • Which faculty members will require a Faculty permission in Elentra?
  • Will the faculty who are related to the course sign into Elentra?
• What resources should be available to learners?
  • Will you provide course documents, learning modules, or external links?
  • Are there materials that should be available before the course begins?
  • Will content be time released on learning events?

Course Setup Checklist

Step 1 — Create the Course

Begin by creating the course and completing the basic course information.

Typical activities include:

• Create the course
• Configure course settings
• Select the curriculum period
• Configure the cohort and enroll learners
  • Manual enrollment
  • Importing learners
  • Auditing enrollments

• Add course contacts
  • Course Directors
  • Associated Faculty
  • Instructor assignments
  • Administrative permissions

• Curriculum objective tagging
• Create/Configure the course website

How-to Articles

• Introduction to Courses/Programs
• Course Creation & Setup Tab
• Create and Manage Users
• User Permissions
• Manage Cohorts
• Course Website Management
• Course Website Versioning & Locking

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Step 2 — Build the Learning Schedule (didactic)

Create or copy the course schedule.

Typical tasks include:

• Create learning events
• Copy events from a previous course
• Assign instructors
• Add locations
• Publish events

How-to Articles

• Create & Manage Events

• Copy Forward a Schedule of Events

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Step 3 — Add Learning Resources to Learning Events

Upload or link instructional materials that learners will need throughout the course.

Examples include:

• Course documents
• Reading materials
• Links to external resources
• Learning modules

How-to Articles

• Event Resources
• Learning Objects

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 Step 4 — Build Rotation Schedules (clinical)

If your course includes clinical experiences, you'll need to create and configure the associated rotation schedules. This may include

• defining rotation blocks
• assigning clinical sites
• configuring learner placements
• preparing any rotation-specific assessments
• preparing logbook requirements

Not all courses require rotation schedules. If your course is delivered entirely through lectures, labs, tutorials, or other classroom-based activities, you can skip this step.

How-to Articles

• Create & Manage Rotation Schedules
• Block Schedule Articles
  • Curriculum Period - Block Schedules
  • Multi-Block Rotation Schedule Import
• Booking Learners into a Rotation
• Manage Clinical Sites
• Lottery
• Logbook

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Step 5 — Build the Assessment Strategy

Review how learners will be evaluated.

Tasks may include:

• Create assessment forms
• Configure distributions
• Build gradebook assessments
• Build exams
• Verify grading scales

How-to Articles

• Create & Manage Forms
• Distributions Overview
• Create Exams
• Introduction to Gradebook Assessment

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Step 6 — Perform Quality Assurance

Before signing off on the course being complete:

Verify:

• Learners appear in the course
• Faculty have access
• Gradebook is configured
• Assessments are available
• Learning event schedules & learning materials are accessible
• Rotation schedules have been created
• Clinical sites have been configured
• Rotation blocks and dates are correct
• Learners can be assigned to rotations

Common Mistakes

Before making the course available, check for:

• Missing course contacts
• Incorrect curriculum period
• Faculty without permissions
• Unpublished events
• Learners not enrolled
• Missing gradebook configuration
• Course or events not tagged with curriculum tags