Courses

The Courses app allows you to create and manage course reserves.

Note: In order for the courses you create in the Courses app to be discoverable by your patrons, you need to have an external interface or discovery layer set up and capable of interacting with FOLIO.

Table of Contents

Permissions

FOLIO community documentation for Courses includes the permissions required to interact with the app, and that determine what you can or cannot do within the app.

You can assign permissions to users in the Users app. If none of these permissions are assigned to a user, then they will be unable to see the Courses app or any related information.

Implementation considerations

Before you implement the Courses app, make sure you have completed the following:

Implemented the Inventory app.
Configured your circulation rules.
Loaded or created users.

If you are configuring the Courses app for the first time, you need to first set up the following features in the Settings app, if applicable:

Once you configure the above settings, you can:

Integrations

The Courses app can be integrated with these applications:

EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS)
VuFind

In addition, you can connect the Courses app to your learning management system using the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) protocol. There is a separate module to install for LTI support. For more information, see Course Reserves - LTI connectivity.

If you are implementing the Courses app with any of these applications, each have their own features to consider in regards to the migration of courses, sections, cross-listings, and separate courses and how they interact with FOLIO.

Searching for courses

You can search for courses in the Search & filter pane. All courses are shown and selected by default. To search for courses, enter your search terms into the box. Select the All fields drop-down list to search through one of the following fields: Course name, Course code, Section, Instructor, Registrar ID, and External ID. All fields is the default search.

You can also search for courses by selecting any of the filters in the Courses Search & filter pane: Department, Course type, Term, and Location. Additionally, you can apply the filters after you perform a search to limit your results.

Searching for reserves

You can search for items on reserve in the Search & filter pane. Click **Reserves **to start your search. Courses are shown and selected by default. To search for reserves, enter your search terms into the box. Select the All fields drop-down list to search through one of the following fields: Title, Barcode, or Call Number. All fields is the default search.

You can also search for reserves by selecting any of the filters in the Search & filter pane: Processing status, Copyright status, Permanent location, Temporary location, and Term. Additionally, you can apply the filters after you perform a search to limit your results.

Creating a course

When creating a course, you should keep the following in mind:

You must have the Courses window open in order to create a course.
Once a course is created, it can only be deleted if all reserve items are removed.
If you are adding one or more cross-listed courses to a course, the information you enter into Course listing information also applies to each cross-listed course.
Reserve items added to the course are automatically assigned with the Start Date and End Date of the Term you selected, as specified in the Term settings. If needed, you can edit the dates by editing the reserve item.
Any item assigned to a Course automatically has its temporary location set to the value specified in the Location field. If needed, you can change the temporary location by editing the reserve item.

Click New.
In the Create course window, enter a Course Name
Select the Department from the drop-down list (make sure you select the correct institutional code prefix).
Enter to Course code, making sure to match the course listing.
Enter the Section number, if necessary.
Under Course listing information, select the appropriate Course type (institution).
Enter Registrar ID to match Learning Management System
Select the Term.
Select the Location where the reserve collection is housed. Items added to the course will inherit this location by default.
Click Save & close.
Next steps: Adding an instructor and Adding a cross-listed course (optional).

Editing a course

Find the course you want to edit and click on it in the **Courses **list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Edit.
Make your desired changes to the course and click Save & close.

Deleting a course

Courses can only be deleted once all items are removed from the course.

Find the course you want to delete and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Edit.
Click Delete.
Click Really delete to delete the course. The course is deleted and removed from the Courses list.

Adding a cross-listed course

Cross-listed courses share instructors, course listing information, and reserve items. Once a course is created, cross-listed courses can be added to it. When you cross-list a course, the information you have in the original course’s Course listing information section also applies to the cross-listed course.

Find the course you want to add a cross-listed course to and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Crosslist.
In the New course within listing window, enter a Course name and optionally fill in the other boxes under Basic course information. The Cross listing information section is populated with information from the original course.
Click Save & close. The course is saved and appears in the Cross-listed courses section of the original course. It also appears in the main course list.

Editing a cross-listed course

See Editing a course.

Deleting a cross-listed course

You are able to delete a cross-listed course with items as long as one course remains.

Find the cross-listed course you want to delete and click on it in the Courses list.
In the course details window, select Actions > Edit.
Click Delete.
Click Really delete to delete the course. The course is deleted and removed from the Courses list.

Adding an instructor to a course

Instructors can only be added once a course is created. The instructor does not need a user record in FOLIO, but adding an instructor with a user record facilitates reports.

Add an instructor with a FOLIO user record:

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, click Add instructor.
In the Add instructor window, click Look up user.
In the Select User dialog, find the instructor you want to add, and click on them in the User Search Results list. The instructor’s name and barcode appears in the Name and Barcode boxes.
Click Save & close. The instructor appears in the Instructors section.

Add an instructor that does not have a FOLIO user record:

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, click Add instructor.
In the Name box, enter the instructor’s name.
Click Save & close. The instructor appears in the Instructors section.

Editing an instructor

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, find the instructor you want to edit.
Click Edit instructor.
In the Add instructor for [course] window, edit the Name or Barcode of the instructor.
Click Save & close.

Deleting an instructor

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
Under Instructors, find the instructor you want to delete.
Click Remove. The instructor is removed from the course.

Adding a reserve item to a course from Inventory

When you add an item to a course, the following information is copied from the original record: Title and Contributor from the Instance record; Barcode, Status, Permanent location, Copy, Volume, Enumeration, and URL/PDF link from the Item record; and Effective call number.

The Start date, End date, and Temporary location are automatically updated based on the Term and Location applied at the courses level. If you need to change these fields, or update reserve item level information, you will need to edit the reserve item.

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, either scan the item barcode into the box, or enter the barcode and click Add item. The item is added to the course and appears in the Items section.
Next step: Editing a reserve item to set the temporary Loan type.

Creating and adding a reserve item to a course (AKA Fast Add)

Find the course and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, click Add Fast Add item.
Select Instance status term “Reserves Personal Copy”?
Enter Title, Publication date
Select Resource type. For books, use text.
Under Contributors, enter Name - Last name, First name. Select Name type - Personal name. Click Primary.
Select Permanent location.
Select Call number type - Library of Congress classification. Enter Call number using capital letters and spaces between alphanumeric sections (e.g. BF575 .H27 G55 2006).
In Barcode field, scan barcode.
Select Material type and Loan type.
Add a Check in note or Check out note, if desired. If not needed, click the trash can to the right of the note field.
Click Save & close. The instance is added to inventory and the item is added to the course.

Editing a reserve item

Note: If you add an item to a course and later make a change to the item via the item record (in the Inventory app) after that item is added to the course, then the change will not be reflected in the reserve record. To update the course reserve record, you need to delete the item and then re-add the item to the course.

Editing a reserve item allows you to change or add information to the following fields:

Temporary location. If you change the reserve item’s temporary location, once you save the changes, the selected Temporary location is added to the Item record in the Inventory app.
Temporary loan type. If you change the reserve item’s temporary loan type, once you save the changes, the selected Temporary loan type is added to the Item record in the Inventory app.
Processing status. This field only applies to the Courses app and is available as a Reserves search filter.
Start Date and End Date. When an item is placed on reserve, the start and end date are inherited from the selected Term.
Copyright information. This section facilitates copyright tracking.

Find the course with the item you want to edit and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, find the reserve item and click Edit reserve.
In the Item title window, make your changes.
Click Save & close. The item is updated.

Removing a reserve item from a course

Note: Removing an item from a course does not remove it from the Inventory app.

Find the course with the item you want to remove and click on it in the Courses list.
In the Items section, find the reserve item and click Remove. The item is removed.

See the FOLIO community documentation here.