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.
You must have the Teacher role in any course(s) to which you want to add a meta link.
Examples
I teach two sections of HIS 1102, and I'd like to combine them in a single AsULearn course.
I teach a MUS 4411 for undergraduates, and a 5411 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 of the same course. Your metacourse is simply one of your existing course sections created by Banner. For example, you can go to HIS 1102-101, 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 use that course.
If you have a more complex situation (involving multiple instructors or very high numbers of sections), or any other questions, please contact your college consultant to find the best solution for your specific need.
Add a Course meta link
Stop! If you don't make use of groups in your course (for things like sorting your gradebook by section, separating attendance sessions for each section, sending separate Announcement emails based on section), you can proceed. If you do make use of groups based on section, you should go to the course where you will host your content, and create a group and place all the students in that course in the group before you add the meta link(s)!
In AsULearn, you can bring in enrollments from other courses/sections in which you have the Teacher role by adding a Course meta link enrollment method. If you need to create meta links to courses where you do not have the Teacher role, the actual instructor can add you to her/his course as a Teacher in AsULearn (see Adding people to a course).
Here's how to add a Course meta link and assign the imported users to a new or existing group (if desired).
Navigate to the course in AsULearn that you want to use as your metacourse (where you've placed all your content). You must have the Teacher role in the course, as well as in any other courses you want to meta link to.
Click the 3-line hamburger icon the top left to open the drawer, and click Participants.
At the right of the Participants window, open the gear icon, and click on Enrollment methods in the menu.
On the Enrollment methods page, select Course meta link from the Add method... options.
From the menu containing all the courses in which you have the Teacher role, select the course whose enrollments you wish to add, being sure to check for the correct term. You can also use the Search field to search for courses in the list by number, section, or name.
Though they have to be selected one at a time, you can add as many course meta links as you wish from this screen. They appear as buttons at the top as they are added. If you make a mistake, just click the X on the course's button to remove the course from the meta link list. Note that if your plan is to assign each section to its own group, you'll have to add each meta link one-at-a-time.
Use the Add to group option to create groups and add meta linked students to groups right from the Course meta link page. If you forgot to make your groups, just create them here (and you can rename them later if you want), or simply assign them to the desired existing group. If you want individual groups for each linked course, you'll have to add them one-at-a-time. In the example above, all the students in the 3 meta linked courses would be placed in the same group.
Groups are especially useful if you use the Attendance activity and set up sessions for each section, if you want to filter your Gradebook by section, or if you want different Quiz/Assignment submission dates. In that scenario, you''ll add your meta links one at a time so you can control the groups.
When you have the chosen course(s) and group settings complete, click the Add method button.
You'll be returned to the Enrollment methods page, where you will see the enrollments you added to create your metacourse. Success! You can delete mistakes from this page also. If you notice you selected the wrong course, just click the TrashCan icon in the Edit column to delete the meta link. You can also see how many users came in on the meta link(s) -- one less than the total, since you are counted as the instructor as well. If you wish to add another meta link or links, use the Add method menu and repeat the steps above.
You'll want to be sure that only your metacourse is visible to students, and all the child courses you added via the meta link are not visible. That way, your students see only your metacourse since the other section are not visible. No confusion! Remember that ALL courses in AsULearn are made visible on the first day of class -- so you'll want to hide the sections you aren't using on or shortly after that first day.
It is also a recommended practice to place a welcome message in the summary at the top of your course (Turn editing on, then Edit the first topic), letting students know they're in the right place. Something like "Welcome to MUS 1001 -- sections 101, 102, and 103!" This will reduce the emails from students saying, "I'm registered for section 103. Why do I see section 101?"
Metacourses in Standalone Step-By-Step Videos
Combining several sections of a course into a Metacourse is easy in AsULearn, but there are several extra ways you can make a metacourse an even more powerful timesaver. Once you set one up, you'll want to take care of a couple of housekeeping items, and you may have questions about how to use those courses separately within the metacourse in your emailing, attendance and gradebook. Here's how.
Setting Up Metacourses in AsULearn
Metacourse Housekeeping
Assigning Last-Minute Students to Section Groups in a Metacourse
Sending Course Emails to Specific Metacourse Groups
Adding an Attendance Module in Metacourses
Separating Metacourses in the AsULearn Gradebook
All-in-One Metacourse Creation and Setup Video
This video is 13 minutes, but it will walk you through the entire process, including the creation of groups based on section. If you don't care about groups, sorting your gradebook by section, or emailing sections individually, and you just want to combine all the students into a single section -- just skip to 3:28 in the video. All you need to do is add the metalink enrollment method and you're done.
If you have any questions or problems, please contact your college consultant.