Academic Suite - Opening the DCU and Message Board Examples

Owned by Elysia Gallinaro
Last updated: Oct 07, 2024
10 min read

Purpose

 To change the DCU welcome message and settings when creating a new database for a term or updating the DCU welcome as we change the scheduling representatives’ access throughout the term.

 Procedure

DCU set up for the first time after the database has been created:

Log into the Admin site of the DCU (https://isacadweb.nexus.uwaterloo.ca/DCU/Admin/)

Ensure that it’s pointing to the correct database in

  • General Setup

    • Database Configuration

 The database you are going to be opening for reps should be listed under “Database Name:”

 

Enter the default term start and end dates:

  • Display settings

    • Timetables

 

 Change welcome board message (see below for examples)

 

For initial opening of the DCU for reps to enter course details:

 

FALL 2020 

DCU Data Entry Period: June 24th - July 9th. 

  

Please enter your instructor names, rooms and forced times. We will not be using meet pattern or forced meet pattern times this term.  

If you have remote courses that do not have times, you can still create a delivery to add an instructor to a course. 

 
Please keep the following points in mind while entering your term information: 

  • We are collecting within the DCU, if you want the time on a delivery to appear on Quest.  

    • If you have online/remote courses with times attached, if you choose not to have these times published, your instructor will be responsible for communicating this information to the students (i.e. LEARN). If you choose to have your times published in Quest you may be creating conflicts for students, so you will need to find a way to accommodate them so that student’s are not disadvantaged by having a synchronous time. 

  • You cannot force off-pattern times into Registrar-managed classrooms. 

    • Please keep in mind that if your deliveries for a section are more than one day, the start time and durations entered must be the same for each day of the week. If you have different times, you must create a new delivery. 

  • Both Registrar-managed rooms and faculty/department-managed rooms will seat students using 2m distancing protocols. If you are using a faculty/department-managed room, you must confirm the room capacity by having an official layout created using 2m distancing. Only designated seats will be permitted for use by students. The capacities of Registrar-managed rooms have been updated in the DCU. 

  • For on campus sections the maximum number of students per section is 30. We will not schedule a class with a limit that exceeds 30 students. This is a safety protocol and will be strictly enforced. 

  • Use early morning and late day times slots as often as possible. Because of the reduced room capacities and the need to schedule at least one hour in between classes, availability of teaching space is severely limited and as a result, we need to spread out in-person classes as much as possible. 

  • When scheduling into your own space: 

    • If uncertain of a particular room type, go to the Rooms panel (left sidebar) and look up your room type before attempting enter the building and room number on the actual delivery in the course editing panels. 

  • We are not collecting any instructor constraints, blockoffs, teaching windows, department meetings, or course combinations. If you need help finding a conflict free synchronous time please contact regstep and we will try to assist you. 

Additions/deletions/edits to sections, topics, reserves, and course capacities must be emailed to regstep@uwaterloo.ca 

The only changes that cannot be entered into the DCU is the request to add or delete courses or course sections 

  

Thank you so much - Happy Scheduling! 

 

 Links and resources:

UW Scheduling Reps Teams site  

Registrar's Resources for Staff and Faculty

Scheduling Office Email: regstep@uwaterloo.ca

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For Preliminary Review period, (the DCU change request form should be opened, and the “Time change requests now needs Associate Dean approval, does this have approval?” should be removed. The “Type” should be drop down list with “Yes”, “No - you may not submit this change until there is approval”, “N/A”:

FALL 2020

 

DCU Preliminary Review Period: July 10th - July 15th.

 

Please review your timetable and request any critical changes to your spring courses using the online Change Request Form within the DCU or via email to regstep@uwaterloo.ca. The only changes that cannot be submitted via the form within the DCU is the request to add or delete courses or course sections.

While the DCU will remains open during this time, only instructor name changes are permitted.

 

Thank you so much - Happy Scheduling!

 Links and resources:

UW Scheduling Reps Teams site  

Registrar's Resources for Staff and Faculty

Scheduling Office Email: regstep@uwaterloo.ca

 

Instructors:

  • Data entry settings

    • Instructors

      • Global Settings & Available Data

Instructor Types = TBA

Unavailability Types = Level 3 – Preferred – May be overridden

Unavailability types displayed in Timetables within the DCU = everything

Constraints there should be 6 constraints listed as the teaching windows

  1. No Back-to-Back Classes

  2. No Research Days Required (available 5 days/week)

  3. Teaching Window - 8:30-4:00

  4. Teaching Window - 9:30-4:30

  5. Teaching Window - 10:30-5:30

  6. Teaching Window - All day 8:30-5:30

 

Ensure the change request form is closed in the DCU when you have first opened the DCU, this will change later in the term and is described in the Message Board Examples below. The Change Request Form is found:

  • Change Request Form

    • Change Request Settings

      • “Allow DCU users to send change requests” should be checked off

 

Perform cleanup activities in the DCU after the DataBase has been created and the term is imported, and update the Task document found on the “Scheduling and Exams” teams channel once complete.

In Timetabler go to Secondary Files then Terms to check for term date accuracy example:

Once all the changes and edits have been made the DCU can be opened for the people with DCU access. This is done from:

  • General Setup

    • Database Configuration

Then selecting “Open: Data Entry”

Message Board Examples

DCU Data Entry Period

For initial opening of the DCU for reps to enter course combinations, notes, instructor information & room/time/pattern requests using the DCU.

Add the make up dates to this message if applicable for the term explaining what’s going to happen and consequences for scheduling make up lectures on those dates.

Message board message:

DCU Review Period

For the initial review period for the DCU for reps to enter course combinations, notes, instructor information & room/time/pattern requests using the DCU. Nothing changes with reps access, we take a back up and place a DCU review within the Teams channel.

Message board message:

During Schedule Creation

Once we have taken a back-up within Timetabler after closing the DCU for editing, we can re-open the DCU for View only and update the Message Board within the DCU Admin.

Preliminary Review Period

The DCU should be opened for “Open: Instructor Assignments Only”

For Preliminary Review period, the DCU change request form should be opened.

Open the DCU Admin (link above) and select “Change Request Form” then “Change Request Settings”.

The Access Points should have “Allow DCU users to send change requests” should be checked on and “From the Delivery Edit Page” should be checked on.

E-Mail Settings the “Subject” should be changed to the current term numeric code.

Remove the question of “Time change requests now needs Associate Dean approval, does this have approval?”. To remove the question, select the question and then select the tiny trash can icon. She gone.

Message board message:

Final Schedule Released

For Final Schedule Released period, the DCU change request form should remain open.

The “Time change requests now needs Associate Dean approval, does this have approval?” required question should be added. The “Type” should be drop down list with “Yes”, “No - you may not submit this change until there is approval”, and “N/A”. To add this question, select the small plus icon under Change Request Questions, this pop-up will appear:

Enter in the question. Select under “Type” the “Drop-down list” radio button, enter in the three “Label”s and check the “Required” box.

Select “Ok” when done, then move the associate dean question to the top of the list. This is done by selecting the question and using the small arrows to move it up.

Message board message:

 

DCU View Only Period

Once we have pushed the course delivery information from the DCU into Quest we keep the DCU open, but with “View Only” access. Under “General Setup” and then “Database Configuration” the status should now be “Open: View only”.

The change request form should be “closed”:

 

 Message board message: