Course Maintenance Tips

Maintaining your WebCT Course

In preparation for an upcoming semester, Dann Foster, Manager of User Services, will send faculty who have previously taught courses using WebCT an "Action Form" asking what you need set up in WebCT for the next semester. Typically, he copies the current WebCT course for the next semester.

Back up the current course.

This enables you to maintain a copy of assignments, grades, etc.

• You can back up the entire course to a zip disk or CD and file it. (The TLC has a CD burner.)
• You can also download a copy of your gradebook to a folder on your H: drive or to a disk.

Review the newly created WebCT course website for the next semester.

The instructor needs to review the newly created WebCT course website and get it ready for the next semester. Generally, this involves the following tasks.

1. Clear (delete) students enrolled in the current course.

2. Clear grades from the gradebook. Review column headings and the "release" toggle.

3. Clear (delete) discussion postings. You may want to maintain your initial question posted for each discussion topic. (Select all to be deleted and then unselect your initial message)

4. Clear your mailbox. You may want to maintain some of the messages in your outbox.

5. Update dates in the calendar, assignment/course schedule, syllabus.

6. Review any conditional or timed releases - quizzes, assignments

7. Revisit links (both external and internal) to make sure they are current.

TIP: To make the task of updating dates easier, keep a fall, spring, and summer version of your course.

CAUTION: WebCT does have the option to Reset the Course. However, resetting a tool clears ALL of the information associated with that tool. Often you don't want to clear everything, and unless you have a backup of your course, you cannot retrieve the information.

Add students enrolled in your course for the upcoming semester.

Generally, this cannot be done until after "Shambles." Dann will then add the students enrolled in online courses to the WebCT database.

Note: Faculty using WebCT with web-enhanced courses will need to tell Dann the course and section number of your class so he can add it to the OakSTAR ID extract and then upload to the WebCT database.