Administrators can easily import courses/sections into their Collaboratory using the bulk import feature. Just remember, Units need to be uploaded first. While administrators can pick and choose which courses to import, it’s a smart move to collaborate with your registrar and import all courses for each academic term. This way, you capture engagement across the entire curriculum and save your faculty and staff from extra data entry. It’s a win-win!
TIP: Determine how frequently you want to bulk import Courses/Sections into your Collaboratory (e.g., once a year, once a semester). Once you determine how to best obtain course data, consider setting up a recurring process so you may request this data easily in the future.
How it Works
Administrators should work with their institution to complete the Courses/Sections Bulk Import Template (we suggest starting with the registrar's office).
Once the .csv template has been completed, email it to your Customer Specialist.
Our development team will handle the import, and your Customer Specialist will keep you updated on the timeline and any further details.
Once the bulk import process is complete, those Courses/Sections will be available in your Collaboratory Portal.
Formatting Guidelines for .csv Import
During the import process, we'll match each column in your file to the right field in our database. Please maintain the column labels and order of columns. This is critical to a successful upload.
Some fields, like term or active period, need to follow a specific format. To make this easy, we've included example data to help you communicate the correct formats to your campus data managers who are preparing the Course/Section export file. The following table defines each data point requested in the .csv template file (unless otherwise noted all fields are alphanumeric with no character number limitations):
HEADS UP! Each row in your .csv file should reflect one Course/Section combination. A Section is distinctly defined by the section number, its offered term, and the academic year (Period).
Field | Definition | Formatting Requirements | Required or Optional | Examples | Publicly Visible |
Course Code | Course code used by an institution | None | Required | ART; BUS-F | Yes |
Course Number | Course number used by an institution | None | Required | 222000; 274; A13 | Yes |
Course Title | Name of course | None | Required | Intro to Writing; Honors Finance | Yes |
Course Level | Student level | Graduate, Undergraduate or Both | Required | Graduate, Undergraduate or Both | Yes |
Cross Listed Course(s) | Additional listings of the course section | Separate more than one cross-listing with semicolons | Optional | BUS374; FIN101 | Yes |
Section Number | Section identifier | None | Required | 01; 300; 4200 | Yes |
Section Term | Term when the section is offered | One of the following:
Fall Spring Winter Summer 1 Summer 2 Other | Required | Fall Spring Winter Summer 1 Summer 2 Other | Yes |
Section Active Period | Academic year when the section is offered | YYYY-YYYY | Required | 2021-2022 | Yes |
Section Format | Format of section | Face-to-face Online, or Both | Optional | Face-to-face Online, or Both | No |
Instructor Internal ID | Institutional identifier for section instructors | Separate multiple instructors with semicolons | Optional | Instructor email, username, ID number | No |
Section Enrollment | Number of students enrolled in section | Numeric only | Optional | 25; 80 | No |
Section Internal ID | Institution's section identifier | None | Optional | 2943; 123456 | No |
Unit Name | Note: Providing unit name does not affect reporting hierarchy and serves only as a reference | None | Optional | School of Arts, Department of Biology, SLA1000, DPB | No |
Video Tutorial: How to Bulk Import Courses and Sections