Metacourse: Combine courses

Would you like to combine enrollments for different courses or sections into a single course in AsULearn, so you don't have to post information and resources multiple times? You can very easily achieve this by creating a Course meta link to add enrollments from as many courses or sections as you wish into a single AsULearn course. If you prefer instructional video instead of step-by-step directions, scroll to the videos at the bottom of this page.

Examples

I teach two sections 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 simply adding a Course meta link enrollment method to add students from another course or section in which you have a Teacher role. Your metacourse is simply one of your existing course sections created by Banner. For example, you can go to 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 place all your content in section 101, and all your students in BOTH sections use that one (see Avoid confusion below). This is a process that is internal to AsULearn, and has no effect on students' actual Banner enrollment, transcript, grade reporting, etc.

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.

Add a Course meta link

1. Navigate to the course in AsULearn that you want to use as your metacourse (where you'll place all your content). You must have the Teacher role in the course, as well as in any other courses you want to metalink to.
   
   
2. In the Course Menu, click Participants.
   
   
   
   
3. In the Enrolled users dropdown menu at the top left, select Enrollment methods.
   
   
   
   
4. On the Enrollment methods page, from the Add method dropdown, select Course meta link.
   
   
   
   

5. If you open the Link course pulldown menu, you will see a list of all the courses (except the one you're in) in which you have the Teacher role. Select the course whose enrollments you wish to add to the current course, being sure to check for the correct term. 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.
   
   
    Click on the course in the list to add a meta link to it, being sure to check for the correct term.
   
   
   

6. Use the Add to group dropdown menu to add meta linked students to a group. If you did not create a group for these students beforehand, just click Create new group here (and rename it later if you want). If you have an old group from last time you want to use, just select it. If you forget this step, you can always edit the enrollment method later (just click on the gear) and add them to a group.
   
   
   • In the example shown in bellow, selecting Create new group will assign all the students in the incoming section 102 to a group named MUS1005-102_AURAL SKILLS I (SPRING 2023) course (which can be renamed at your pleasure from the Groups main page > select group > Edit group settings button > change Group Name and Save changes).
     
     
   • If you do not intend to use groups, leave this setting None.
     
     
     

     Course meta link 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, which will add the participants into your current course. You'll be returned to the Enrollment methods page, where you will see the enrollments you added via the meta link:
   
   
   
   
   • You can correct mistakes from this screen; if you selected the wrong course, just click the Trash icon in the Edit column to delete the meta link, and try again.
     
   • The Users column shows how many users came in on the meta link. The number of students is usually 1 less than the number shown, since the instructor's enrollment is counted as well.
   • To add another meta link, use the Add method menu here and return to step 4 above.
     

All-in-one Metacourse setup video

Metacourse in standalone step-by-step videos

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.

• Using Quickmail with Groups in a Metacourse
• Using Attendance with Groups in a Metacourse
• Sorting your Gradebook with Groups in a Metacourse
• Using Activities with Groups in a Metacourse

If you have any questions or problems, please open an AsULearn support request.

Using Quickmail with Groups in a Metacourse

Note: In addition to QuickMail, the Announcements Forum can also make use of groups. So, if you need to post an Announcement that will only be emailed to students in a group, and only be visible to that group in the forum later, see the Announcements Forum page.

Using Attendance with Groups in a Metacourse

Sorting your Gradebook with Groups in a Metacourse

Using Activities with Groups in a Metacourse

Related Articles

• Page:
  AsULearn Faculty Support

Search Knowledge Base   

Submit a Service Request

We value your feedback! Click HERE to suggest updates to an existing article, request a new article, or submit an idea.