Introduction

Instructors who teach multiple sections of the same course sometimes opt to combine their enrollments into a single course in AsULearn. This helps them save time when they need to post course messages, set up course activities, and share resources. 

Course combinations in AsULearn are called Metacourses. This is a process that allows you to link the enrollment of one course into another. For example, you can meta link the enrollment for Section A into Section B. Once that link is established, any student who enrolls in Section A will automatically be enrolled in Section B as well. And if a student in Section A withdraws, they'll also be unenrolled from Section B. 

Meta links, roles, and timing

You must have the Teacher role in any course(s) to which you want to add a meta link. If you need to create meta links to courses where you do not have the Teacher role, an instructor in that course can add you to it as a Teacher (send them this article: Participants: Add to Course). Also, please note that if you wish to combine courses into a metacourse, it is important to do so before students begin their work, since student data is attached to the course in which it takes place. So, set up your metacourse before you make courses available to students.

I teach two sections A and B of HIS1102, and I'd like to combine them in a single AsULearn course.

I teach a MUS4411 for undergraduates, and a MUS5411 for graduate students, and I'd like to combine them in a single AsULearn course.

In AsULearn, you can turn any course into a metacourse by adding a Course meta link enrollment method on the Participants page. This process is outlined below.

Your metacourse is not a new course. It is one of your existing course sections created by Banner.

  • For example, you can open HIS1102-101, and add a Course meta link for HIS 1102-102 to add the students from section 102 into section 101's course in AsULearn. You would then build all your content in section 101 where all students are now enrolled

This is a process that is internal to AsULearn, and has no effect on students' actual Banner enrollment, transcript, grade reporting, etc.

Avoiding confusion

Please see the Avoid confusion section below.

If you have a more complex situation (involving multiple instructors or very high numbers of sections), or any other questions, please create a support request to find the best solution for your specific need.

Groups

If you plan to make use of groups based on section, be sure to enable the Metagroup sync feature to keep your Banner enrollments synced to a specified group. Your course meta link will automatically sync those enrollments to a group when you select the Add to group option.

1. Open the AsULearn course you want to use as your metacourse (where you'll place all your content).

Role requirements

You must have the Teacher role in the course, as well as in any other courses you want to meta link to.

2. In the Course Menu, click Participants.

In the Course Menu element click on Participants

3. In the Enrolled users dropdown menu at the top left, select Enrollment methods.
Enrolled users menu select enrollment methods

4. Open the Add method menu, then select Course meta link.

Add method pulldown select course meta link

On the next page you'll gain access to the Link course pulldown menu. This menu will contain a list of every course where you're enrolled with the Teacher role, except the course you're currently in. 

5. Select the course whose enrollments you wish to add to the current course, being sure to check for the correct term. 
Use search field to search for course to link

If you have an especially large number of courses, you can also enter text in the  Search  field to search for courses in the list by number, section, name, semester, or year.

6. Use the Add to group dropdown menu to add meta linked students to a group.

From Add to group menu select create new group

  • If you did not create a group for these students beforehand, select Create new group (you can rename the group later). You can also select an existing group. 
  • If you forget this step, you can edit the enrollment method's settings later to add these students to a group.
  • If you do not intend to use groups, leave this setting None.

Why use groups?

Groups by section are especially popular and useful:

  • if you use the  Attendance activity and set up sessions for each section;
  • if you want to filter your Gradebook by section;
  • if you want independent Communication / Announcements based on section; or
  • if you want different Assignment submission or Quiz due dates

For any of these scenarios, add your course meta links one at a time so you can create/assign individual groups by course/section.

7. Click the  Add method button to create the meta link.

This adds all enrollments from the selected course into your current course. You'll be returned to the   Enrollment methods   page, where the enrollments you've added via the meta link will be displayed.

Course meta link method shows number of enrollments

Tips

  • You can correct mistakes from this screen. If you selected the wrong course, click the Trash icon in the Edit column to delete the meta link, then repeat the steps above.
  • The Users column displays how many users are currently enrolled via the meta link. The number of students is usually 1 less than the number shown, since instructor enrollments are counted as well.
  • To add another meta link, use the Add method menu here and return to step 4 above.

Be sure that only your metacourse  is visible to students and all the linked courses you added via the meta link(s) remain hidden. That way, your students see only your metacourse. Remember that ALL courses in AsULearn are made visible on the first day of class, so hide the meta linked courses you aren't using on or soon after that first day of the term.

We also recommend placing a welcome message in the summary at the top of your course to let students know they're in the right place. Enable Edit mode at the top right, then in the first topic Edit > Edit section, enter message in Summary, then Save changes. Something like "Welcome to MUS 1001 sections 101, 102, and 103!" will avoid confusion, and reduce emails from students saying, "I'm registered for section 103. Why do I see section 101?"

It's also a great idea to post an Announcement into your combined course, explaining you've combined sections, and letting the students know that the link in the email they receive from the forum post will take them to the right place. Easy to get all the students to the correct course that way!

Combining several sections of a course into a metacourse is easy, but you can extend the power of a metacourse using the groups you created based on section. Below are videos showing how to use these groups to control course communication, create separate attendance sessions, and sort your gradebook.

Click any title below to display its corresponding video.


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