Learning Management System (Brightspace) - Merge Course Sections

Service Description

If you find yourself posting the same materials to different course sections of the same course during a semester, you can request that your course sections be combined into a single Brightspace course site.

 NOTE:  This is not an official cross-listing process.  Courses that should be cross-listed in the registration system (Banner) will need to be done through the Registrar's Office.

Based on best practices from D2L Brightspace:

  • A merged course cannot have a user available and active in two child sections.
  • Two courses with different content and lessons should not be merged. 
  • Courses should never be merged during a semester. Courses that already have student activity, never merge them together. The activity will not propagate to the parent course, and the students’ activity will appear to be missing.
  • Content added to a child will not be added to a parent.

Standard Features

  • Multiple course sections will be combined into the course site with the lowest CRN. ( A new course site will not be created)
  • Automatic course enrollments for classes listed in Banner
  • In Brightpsace, students will not see the course for which they are enrolled but will see the course with the lowest CRN in the title.
  • Students will only view students from their section on the roster
  • Students can view own submissions and/or group submissions (if group assignments are utilized). They cannot see other group’s members.
  • Students can only email students from their section.
  • Collaboration with SUNY Online for support.

Optional Features

  • Discussions can be configured by the instructor to be open to all users or limited to each section. Visibility depends on how the discussion is configured by the instructor and follow all FERPA guidelines.

Roles and Responsibilities

  • The requester must be the instructor of record listed in Banner to have these courses combined.
  • The instructor must communicate to the students that the course sections are merged and the course title so that students know where to access and participate in the course.
  • The instructor must communicate to the students if discussion forums are with just the students in which they are enrolled or if the discussion will include all course sections.

How to Request     

Click the Open a Ticket button and complete the request form.

Service Audience 

Faculty and staff.

Service Level Agreement

Response and resolution times are based on operational hours (Monday through Friday from 8:00AM to 5:00PM).

Service Level 2 - Normal  
Response Time 1 business day
Resolution Time 5-10 business days
Please Note: Brightspace courses are automatically created months in advance of the semester start. Requests can be made as early as when the courses are created.

Institutional Policies

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Regulations (FERPA)

 
Open a Ticket

Related Articles (1)

An overview of cross-listed and merged courses in Brightspace.

Details

Service ID: 18921
Created
Fri 3/31/17 5:57 AM
Modified
Tue 1/31/23 9:32 PM