Overview

Purpose: This article will provide instructions on how to add topics to sections in CLSS, particularly special topics/variable topics courses, as well as outline guidelines and limitations regarding topics

Background

Special Topics vs. Variable Topics

A Special Topics (xx95) course is to be used for developmental purposes to pilot a course that may eventually be added to the catalog as a permanent course. Certain schools and colleges have rules that apply to special topics. CAHNR, CLAS, and UICC (for UNIV and INTD courses) require that new topics be approved by their course and curriculum committees before a topic may be added. They also limit the number of times a topic may be offered (two times for CAHNR courses, and three times for CLAS and UICC). The process to add a special topic is done outside of CLSS and will require an approval workflow that can be started by emailing your department's Committee on Curricula and Courses representative. Special Topics courses that require approval will have this Course Attribute in CLSS:

Special Topics courses have the 'Registrar Admin Attribute - Special topic may not be scheduled until approved' Course Attribute

Special Topics courses that require approval for new topics have the 'Registrar Admin Attribute - Special topic may not be scheduled until approved' Course Attribute.

A Variable Topics (xx98) course is to be used for topics such as those with very timely content (about a specific election, for example) or taught by a visiting faculty member. No formal approval is required, and these may be scheduled by the Office of the Registrar upon request. Variable topics courses and special topics courses that do not require approval will have this Course Attribute in CLSS:

Variable Topics courses and Special Topics courses that do not require approval have the ‘Registrar Admin Attribute - Topic course - new topics don’t require approval' Course Attribute

When proposing a new topic, please keep in mind that Student Admin has a 50 character limit and any topic longer than that will require us to truncate words or exclude them.

Instructions

Before a topics course can be made active on the schedule of classes, a topic must be selected from the Title/Topic drop-down menu. If the required topic is not in the list, request a new topic to be added as follows:

Navigate to the Section Editor for the Variable Topics section you want to add a new topic to.
Enter an Internal Comment with the words NEW TOPIC and the requested topic.

Check that the Title/Topic field has the default value selected.

Select Save.

This should prompt Workflow 0027a. to show in the Validation Details confirming that a workflow has been started alerting us to add this topic to the course in the course catalog.

Return to Instructions

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why is the ‘NEW TOPIC’ internal comment not generating a workflow?

A: Section must have the default Title/Topic value selected for the workflow to be generated. Please note that any course with the Course Attribute of ‘Registrar Admin Attribute: Special topic may not be scheduled until approved’ requires the topic to be approved by the dept C&C rep and therefore the CLSS workflow would not apply to it.

Q: The New Topic workflow has been processed but I still do not see the new topic in CLSS.

A: Any new topic added in the course catalog requires a CLSS overnight refresh before it is visible in CLSS.

Q: I started the process of adding a Special Topic and I do not know the status of it.

A: Reaching out to your department’s Committee on Curricula and Courses representative is the best way to check on the status of a special topic.