SECTION II: ARTS Degrees
The purpose of this section is to show the reader how to create and maintain ARTS degrees. There are three main components to a degree that will be discussed in this section:
- Degree Requirements and Tree
- FIB (Fill-In-the-Blank) form
- Degree Map and Appendix Tables
These components work together to provide a flexible and powerful tool for creating and maintaining degrees.
Chapter 3: Defining a degree in ARTS
Last Revision: 02/23/06
Chapter Summary
In this chapter you will be provided an overview of what ARTS is capable of doing with respect to academic degree definition, ARTS degree design strategies, and an example of the degree design process. In addition, an overview of the FIB form layout will demonstrate how to create a FIB form and how to use it in the degree design process.
The remainder of this chapter is devoted to detailing the structure of an ARTS degree, what the ARTS dictionary is, and how it is used in the degree design and form generation processes. The makeup and definition of a degree requirement, degree maps, and how all these elements in an ARTS degree are accessed and managed via the catalog manager are also discussed.
ARTS capabilities
Within the ARTS system, an ARTS user is able to strictly define the structure, requirements, and other elements that makeup an academic degree. An academic degree, for the purposes of this manual, is considered to be that which is described in the university Course Catalog for a particular degree. Additionally, the relationships between degree components can be specified in a number of ways to further refine the degree structure logic.
ARTS also has auxiliary information stored in the form of a 2-dimensional array or table that aids in the processing of student extract data. This information is supplied by the ARTS user and includes a table that defines rules to help filter out certain courses from fulfilling a requirement. Another table tells ARTS what to do, for instance, if a student takes the same course two or more times. Yet another table tells ARTS the grade point value of letter grades and whether to use them in GPA calculation.
There are three more tables that ARTS uses to help calculate course equivalencies, course substitutions, and other course related processing. These three tables are combined logically into what ARTS calls an APPENDIX. NOTE: The APPENDIX will not be covered in detail in this chapter. Please refer to Chapter 4 for more information.
Recommended Approach
To implement an academic degree in the ARTS system prior to the existence of this manual required a lot of research, hard work, and luck. That's why I'm going to present a logical, straightforward approach to degree design and implementation.
The first step is to learn the "ins and out's" of the academic degree you're trying to setup. You'll need to know the following about the academic degree before proceeding on with the ARTS degree design:
- The degree requirement as specified in the Course Catalog or by the department that is responsible for it.
- The number of credit hours needed to obtain the degree and the number of credit hours needed to fulfill each requirement.
- The courses that could possibly be used in fulfilling the degree and its requirements.
- The rules and regulations of the governing academic department in regards to repeated courses, GPA calculation, etc.
- The grade point values for grade types assigned to completed courses.
Some policies, rules, and regulations apply to the university as a whole and are not department specific. For example, MATH 210 is considered the same as EECS 210 by most academic departments.
The ordering of the requirements and courses presented in the Course Catalog is a good starting point in the degree design process. For some degrees, the degree requirements are split up into chronological order. First year or semester courses are grouped together, followed by a suggested schedule for the remaining terms. This ordering aids in breaking of the degree requirements into logical elements or components.
Another common way of grouping the courses needed to satisfy a degree's requirements is to group them according to type, i.e. an ENGLISH grouping would hold all english course requirements, a MATH grouping would hold all math course requirements, etc.
Recommended Design Process
The grouping of degree course requirements aids greatly in ARTS degree structure definition, which is one of the first steps in the design process. It also aids in debugging degrees if problems occur. There are different routes a user can take when designing an ARTS degree. The recommended route is as follows:
- Lay out the FIB forms
- Design the Degree Tree
- Configure the Requirements and Course Lists
- Add the appropriate Actions, Criteria, and Grade Groups to their corresponding tables.
- Write the FIB language instructions for the FIB form.
- Adjust the Degree Map to accommodate the new degree.
FIB, or Fill In the Blank forms, are a vital link in getting the data from the computer to a piece of paper in an understandable format. In order to do this, ARTS provides a complete programming language to provide a powerful and customizable environment for displaying the necessary information however required. This language allows the user to design ARTS forms, formatted reports, fixed-width and comma-delimited files for processing with a spreadsheet or other software. The total form can be up to 400 lines long by 160 columns wide. This section will only cover the basic structure of a FIB form; FIB form design specifics will be covered in Chapter 6 of this manual. FIB forms are typically laid out as follows (see fig. 3.1):
Figure 3.1-Typical ARTS form layout
Building a FIB form skeleton
- Blanks\Text. The blanks and text that surround them are the first part of the ARTS form. The blanks (created by using the underline character) contain the data that is read in from processing, and the text is what is put on the ARTS form to explain the data, and provide general information, such as the school or department involved. In Figure 3.1, the full FIB form is shown. The text and blanks (section 1) mirror exactly how the ARTS form is to be laid out, until the transcript starts.
- Transcript\Explanatory Notes. The transcript on a typical FIB form starts after the blanks and text, towards the bottom of the FIB form. Figure 3.1 section 2 shows the transcript. Each line of the transcript must start with "@T#", where "#" is the number corresponding to the chronological sequence of the terms in the transcript. In other words, a line starting with "@T1" would be where the transcript starts. Once the transcript runs out of room on that column of "@T1"'s, ARTS looks for "@T2", and starts the next portion of the transcript there. Explanatory notes can exist anywhere within the FIB form. They are required to start with "@N". It is recommended that you have at least three or four Explanatory Note lines on your FIB form, to make room for different kinds of notes. Special commands within the FIB instructions are available to format the Transcript in certain ways. See Chapter 6 for details.
- Overlaid ARTS forms. This section (section 3 in Figure 3.1) contains any ARTS forms that have been overlaid, or inserted into this form. The "@M" indicator tell ARTS to go to the major code and look up another FIB form that corresponds to the major code in the Degree Map. Overlaid ARTS forms are discussed in more detail in Chapter 6 of this manual.
- Fill in the Blank (FIB) Instructions. This section (section 4 in Figure 3.1) must begin with a "$" in the leftmost column, as shown in the Figure. The rest of the line, which is ignored by ARTS, can be free-form text (a title, etc.). The "$" tells ARTS to read anything below it as an instruction. The FIB instructions themselves determine what is to be placed into the fields (blanks) on the form before printing. The maximum number of FIB lines per form is 500. Every ARTS form must have at least one instruction. See Appendix A for a complete FIB language guide and Appendix B for a FIB language glossary.
| A. | The University of Kansas
NAME SOME STUDENT College of Liberal Arts & Sciences SOMEWHERE
KUID 123456 Academic Requirements Tracking System LAWRENCE, KS 66044
School/Level E 4 84x-xxxx
Initial KU Term: FA93 ACT Engl Math Soc NatSci Co
Degree(s): 0444 BS ENGR SCORES: 20 25 18 28 22
SP97 GRA
Total Hrs Completed 155.00 KU GPA (2.0 reqd) 2.20
LA-S Hrs Req 99.00 Transfer Hrs 057.00
Jr/Sr Hrs Req 40.00 KU Hrs (A-F) 101.00
In Res Hrs Req 30.00 KU Hrs (A-D) 098.00
In Res Majr Jr/Sr Hrs Req 8.00 KU Grd Pts 222.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BA & BGS REQUIREMENTS EFFECTIVE FALL 1987
ENGLISH-incomplete ORAL COMM/LOGIC-incomplete
101-ENGL 0101 COMS 130/230- 101 or 104-MATH 0101
102/105-ENGL 0102 -or- 105/106/111-MATH 0122
203-211- PHIL 148/310- 115/121/365
or BIOL 570
(CODES: HT=Historical Studies, HL=Literature & Arts, HR=Philosophy & Religion,
NS=Biological Sci., NE=Earth Sci., NM=Math & Computer Sci., NP=Physcial Sci.,
SC=Culture & Society, SI=Individual Behavior, SF=Public Affairs)
See UNDERGRADUATE CATALOG for list of courses that fulfill these requirements.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL BA LAB SCIENCE-FULFILLED FOREIGN LANGUAGE-incomplete
REQUIREMENTS 1. CHEM U L1 1. 2.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof School Hrs 64.00 ( 25. Max) Cancelled Hrs 13.00 (add on)
Phys Ed Hrs 0.00 ( 4 Max) Jr College Hrs 57.00 (64 Max)
Music Org Hrs 0.00 ( 6 Max) Major Hrs (40 Max B.A. only)
Remedial Hrs 0.00 (add on) Correspond Hrs 0.00 (30 Max)
Military Sci 0.00 (add on)
Overall GPA (KU + Xfer) 2.50 Total Hrs Req Increased by 52.00
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> ADVISOR: >>>> PROFHRS 39.00 Add-on ttl hrs req
CNCLHRS 13.00 Add-on ttl hrs req
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP95 JOHNSON CO CMTY JR C
ECON SP 1 INT MACROECONOMICS 3.00 C 2
ENGL 0102 COMPOSITION & LITR 3.00 B 2
MATH 0121 CALCULUS I 5.00 A 2
SP96 2 E Term: 2.60 Cum: 2.75
MATH NMM STATISTICS 3.00 A 2
MATH 0122 CALCULUS II 5.00 A 2
PHSX 0211 GENERAL PHYSICS I 5.00 A 2
PLEASE NOTE: An error on this form will NOT exempt you from a requirement.
please bring it to our attention in 109 Strong Hall.
FOR ADVISING ONLY * UNOFFICIAL RECORD
12/12/97 Form LAS-879/BA&BGS
|
| B. |
| C. |
| D. |
| E. |
| F. |
| G. |
Figure 3.2-Sample ARTS form layout.
In order to design a FIB form, you must first determine how you want your form to look. Most designers in the past have set them up so that the most important information is at the top, and
the information decreases in significance toward the bottom (see Figure 3.2 for a sample ARTS form). It is also recommended that you use other ARTS form designs and incorporate them into yours. Don't try to reinvent the wheel; use others' ideas to help you design a clear and well-made form. Using Figure 3.2 as a guide, we will move down through the sample ARTS form and explain the parts in a little more detail by using the letter designations per section on the left:
- Title, Description, and Demographics. The title of the form is very important. It is strongly suggested that, if your department has more than one ARTS form, you place the FIB form filename at the top. This greatly aids in troubleshooting the Degree Map (The Degree Map is discussed in Chapter 5). The student's demographics should immediately follow the title section. It is strongly recommended that you place the blanks for the student's name and demographic information at the top of the form, so that anyone who uses it will be able to quickly determine for whom student the form was produced.
- Overall Hours/GPA. This area contains the student's cumulative GPA and hours for all courses. This total is also broken down, depending upon school needs. For example, Total Hours could be broken down by Non-Residential Hours, Junior-Senior Hours, LA&S Hours, etc. This information is easily accessed by placing it below the demographic information. For the sample form pictured in Fig. 3.2, some totals are also placed below the Requirements section.
- Requirements. This area contains the requirements as defined in the requirements section, and their corresponding courses needed for satisfaction. This area may also contain other overlaid ARTS forms (see ARTS Form Overlays, Chapter 6 in this manual).
- Requirements (cont'd).
- Notes/Memos. This area contains memos created by you or ARTS. ARTS puts memos here when an Action happens, and there is a corresponding memo for that Action. NOTE: For more information about Actions, see Chapter 5.
- Transcript. This area contains a complete transcript for the student.
- Footnotes. This area is for disclaimers, legends, the date, etc. Some schools put a disclaimer at the top as well.
Creating a New Catalog
If you wish to create a new catalog in which to keep a new set of trees, requirements lists, and FIB forms, simply do the following:
- Go to the main ARTS menu. Click on "Setup", then "Degree Definition". Select "Create Catalog" (see Figure 3.3a). This will produce the dialog you see in Figure 3.3b.
- Type in the name of the catalog you wish to create and press "Enter", or Click on "Create". NOTE: Catalog names can only be up to eight characters long, and must follow DOS convention for directory names (can use extra characters except for ".", "\", and quotes). You may not use "CENTRAL" as a catalog name because ARTS uses this as the central set of requirements that can be shared between schools/departments.
- A message box will appear either confirming your catalog creation or giving you an error message.
Figure 3.3a--Selecting Create Catalog.
Figure 3.3b--Create Catalog Dialog.
Editing FIB forms
To edit a FIB form, do the following:
- Go to the ARTS main menu, and select the "Setup" menu item.
- Select "Degree Definition", then "FIB Forms Editor". An "Edit Fib Form" box as shown in Fig. 3.4 will appear. Select your catalog and form using the dropdown lists or type in the name of your new form, then click on "Edit" to bring up the FIB editor or "Cancel" to exit.
- Make the necessary changes or additions in your FIB form using the FIB editor. Be sure to save your work after you are finished and exiting (Click on the "File" menu, then "Exit"). The editor will prompt you to save before it closes if you have not saved.
Figure 3.4--Selecting a FIB form to edit.
Figure 3.5--The FIB Form Editor.
Using the ARTS FIB Editor
The ARTS FIB Editor is a comprehensive editing tool that lets you efficiently modify FIB forms and get the desired results quickly. The fields on the editor from figure 3.5 are explained below:
- FIB Text. This portion of the editor contains the actual blanks and the text that will show on the form when it is run from ARTS. If you make changes in this portion, those changes will show immediately on the actual ARTS form.
- Split Bar. This tool lets you change the size of the FIB Text window and the FIB code window by dragging the slider up and down. It also displays the file name of the file you are currently working on, whether you are in "insert" or "overwrite" mode, the "update lines" button (explained below), and the row and column position of your cursor.
- FIB Code. This portion of the editor contains the actual FIB commands that determine what goes into the blanks above.
The "Update Blanks" feature and heads-up blank tracking are important features for editing your FIB forms efficiently. If you open a document and click on a blank in the FIB Text portion of the editor with your mouse, you will notice a hint that shows the blank number, which is 15 in the example below (see Fig. 3.6a). NOTE: If you don't have a corresponding code to a blank, the hint will say "No Code". If you right-click on a blank, you will see a drop menu that will give you the opportunity to go directly to the corresponding code to that blank (see Fig. 3.6b) in the FIB code section below. Right clicking also allows you the opportunity to cut/copy a selected piece of text, or to paste a piece of text on the clipboard.
 |  |
Fig. 3.6a--Left-clicking a blank to get the number. | Fig. 3.6b--Right-clicking a blank to edit the code. |
The "Insert" menu item lets you insert various character codes that format what you would see if you generated an ARTS form--codes that cause the text to appear bold, italicized, or underlined (see Fig. 3.7 for an example). Clicking on the "Update Lines" button on the split bar (or hitting the key) tells the editor to go and update the blank positions so that you can click on a blank and get the correct blank number.
Building Expressions
You can use the Expression Builder to help you make FIB code expressions if you are new to FIB programming. All you need to do to access this feature is place your cursor in the FIB code section of the editor, right click and select "Build Expression". See Fig. 3.8 for an example.
Fig. 3.7--Inserting a "Begin Bold" formatting code
Fig. 3.8--Selecting "Build Expression".
Once you have selected this, the Expression Builder will appear (see Fig. 3.9a). This window contains any possible FIB code words that you may use. You only need to click on a button to produce a list of the particular type of FIB work you are trying to find (Fig. 3.9b has the "ATOMS" button clicked). NOTE: To see definitions of what Atoms, Modifiers, Formatters, and Operators are, please see Chapter 6. You can right-click on most of the words in the right-hand window (or hit the key) to go to the ARTS help website for their respective definitions. Select the words you want and double-click the mouse or hit the key to put phrases together. Once you have the code you want, click on "Add" to place the code in the code section of the document. If you wish to clear the builder's code window, you can click on "Clear". The "Cancel" button closes the window. The "Degree" button, which is greyed out to begin with, will be enabled when you load a set of degree requirements. To load degree requirement names into the list for reference, do the following:
Click on the "..." button next to the window next to "loaded", below the "degree" button. This will bring up a dialogue that allows you to open up a requirements file. From here, you can find the degree requirements you wish to reference in this FIB code. Find the degree requirements file you wish to reference, and click on "Open". This will load the requirements from the file, and they should show up in the list (see Fig. 3.9a). Figure 3.9b shows FIB code built using a requirement name ("BGSMINOR") and some other words.
 |  |
Fig. 3.9a--Loading a list of degree requirements. | Fig. 3.9b--Building FIB code and adding it. |
Incrementing and Decrementing FIB Lines
You can use the FIB Editor to increment and decrement the numbered FIB lines in the FIB form after you"ve made changes. To do this, do the following:
Add or remove the appropriate FIB line(s). Select the first line you wish to increment or decrement. Right-click the mouse, then click on "Increment Lines (+1)" or "Decrement
Lines (-1)", depending upon what you want to do (see Fig. 3.10). In the example, the line and all lines after it are being decremented because a line was deleted before it; the line will be changed from "004" to "003", the "005" line will be changed to "004", etc. The line, and all subsequent numbered lines in the form, will be incremented or decremented by one.
Fig. 3.10--Decrementing lines in FIB code.
After you have completed the changes to your FIB form, you will need to save your work. Select "File" on the top menu and then "Save" or "Save As.." to save it as another FIB form.
Using the FIB form Report Generator
The FIB form Report Generator is an important tool that helps you design FIB forms correctly. It is used to print out a report for a FIB form that you are designing. Figure 3.11b shows a sample FIB report. Note how each blank is numbered for you, and how the syntax checker prints error messages for incorrect lines (Line "005" has an invalid FIB word "STATER"). This can be a valuable timesaver when it comes to linking and troubleshooting the numbered blanks with the corresponding FIB language and line numbers below the dollar sign. In order to print a FIB report for your form, do the following:
- Access the ARTS menu and select "Setup".
- Select "Degree Definition", then "FIB Forms Editor". An "Edit Fib Form" box as shown back in Fig. 3.3 will appear. Click on the "Report" checkbox to access the reporting options, as shown in Fig. 3.11a.
Figure 3.11a--FIB report screen with options dropped down.
- Options. The options available are "FIB Lines Off", which tells ARTS to suppress printing of the FIB language lines, and "Syntax Checking Off", which tell ARTS to suppress syntax checking of the FIB language lines. If you select "FIB Lines Off", all you will get is the layout of the ARTS form. No FIB language will be printed or checked. These options are for if you only wish to view a layout of your form. The bottom box shows the name of the report file, which will always have ".FPT" as its extension.
- Click on "Report" to run the FIB report. The report will then appear in the Viewer, like what is shown in Fig. 3.11b. You can print this report or copy and paste it into another application from here if desired.
The FIB report contains information that is very helpful in designing and debugging your FIB forms. In the FIB report, ARTS has gone through and numbered all of your blanks on the ARTS form for you, with the numbers contained within the first spaces of each blank. These numbers should correspond to the numbered FIB commands at the bottom of the form. If they do not, you can use this report as a guide to help you correct problems of this nature. Another important feature of this report is the FIB language syntax checking that happens when this report is run.
The University of Kansas
NAME 1______________ College of Liberal Arts & Sciences 2_____________________
KUID 3_____ Academic Requirements Tracking System 4_________ 5__ 6_____
School/Level 7__ 8_
.{Other Blanks}
.{Other Blanks}
$
*** LISTING TERMFORM
001 NAME
002 "NO ACCESS" IF NAME CONTAINS "--" ELSE STREET
003 ID
004 CITY BLNKSUPP
005 STATER
----- Unknown FIB word: STATER
006 ZIP
007 SCHOOL
008 LEVEL
|
Figure 3.11b--Portion of a Sample default FIB report
This feature prints error messages immediately below the instructions that contain them, so you can check the syntax of your FIB language on the form. Be aware that the syntax-checking feature of this report does not catch every error on the form. It only checks the spelling of the FIB language commands and variables. Troubleshooting a buggy FIB form can be a long and involved process, but this is one of many techniques available to help streamline the debugging process (See Design Tips in Appendix A for more details).
A Degree Tree consists of branches, or nodes, that are the requirements and their sub-nodes or children (see Figure 3.12 for a sample). The Tree determines the relationship between the requirements, and it also uses requirements from other degrees (called "sub-trees") to complete the degree requirements. As shown in Figure 3.12, each node (parent) may have sub-nodes (children) and may itself be a sub-node (child) of another node. Sub-nodes (children that are siblings) connected together at their parent by a yellow ampersand ("&") box are necessary nodes, meaning that they all must be satisfied in order for their parent node to be satisfied.
Figure 3.12--Sample Degree Tree.
- Sub-nodes (children that are siblings) connected together at the parent by a yellow "OR" box are alternate nodes, meaning that only one of the sub-nodes must be satisfied in order to satisfy the parent node. Nodes that have no sub-nodes (children) are detailed requirements, which are described in the requirements section of the catalog.
-
Special nodes that have no sub-nodes and are marked with a gray "+" box are the sub-trees, and the actual trees are contained in a separate degree named in the node itself. These sub-trees may reside in another catalog altogether. If a sub-tree node does not start with a "*", you can edit existing sub-trees by double-clicking these nodes. If the node name starts with an asterisk ("*"), then it refers to a special sub-tree containing either major, minor, or area requirements, which are contained in another file to be determined by ARTS at processing. Special nodes marked with a gray "+" box that have names not beginning with an asterisk ("*") are called static sub-trees, because the degree that is referred to never changes. Special node names beginning with an asterisk are called dynamic sub-trees, simply because the sub-tree actually used depends upon the major/minor/area being processed. These sub-trees must therefore be named *MAJOR, *MINOR, or *AREA. The "*" tells ARTS to look up the major, minor, or area (depending upon the name of the node) in the current degree map being used (degree maps will be covered in Chapter 5). ARTS then selects the appropriate degree in the degree map corresponding to the student's major, minor, or area given, and attaches it to the appropriate major, minor, or area node.
It is helpful to group like requirements together, for simplicity's sake. Only the rightmost nodes (detailed requirements), also called leaf nodes, will be listed in the requirements section, so it is important that you select names for these leaf nodes that are understandable and easy to remember. You may wish to bring up an existing Degree Tree in the editor first, in order to understand a typical degree structure. Follow the steps below to bring up the degree, and use the arrow keys or mouse to navigate the structure. Watch the top of the screen for the description of each node (if the designer typed any). Be sure to expand any nodes that have a "+" to the left of them so you can make out the entire tree structure. Simply press to return to the ARTS menu when you are done, so that the existing degree structure is not changed. NOTE: In order for dynamic sub-trees to work, you must use a degree map when processing.
Editing/Creating A Degree
NOTE: The below instructions contain "right-clicking" the mouse. If you are unable to right-click your mouse, you can simply go up to the "Edit" menu item and click on the same commands there after the node you wish to change is selected.
In order to design a Degree Tree, you must take the following steps:
- Go to the ARTS main menu, and click on "Setup".
- Click on "Degree Definition", and click on "Degree Editor" (see Fig. 3.13a).
- Use the drop boxes (see Fig. 3.13b) to select your catalog and degree, or type them in. Click on "Edit". NOTE: Do not use file paths or extensions.
- Type the name you wish to call your degree and hit twice. If a message "File \.tre not found! Do you want to create it"" appears, click "Yes" (see Figure 3.14).
Figure 3.13a--Selecting the Degree Editor.
Figure 3.13b--The Edit Degree Dialog.
- If a complete degree tree comes up, you have selected a degree title that is already in use. If you wanted to create a new one, press to get back to the menu, and try a different title.
- Your degree tree will appear on an editing screen (see Fig. 3.15). The only node that exists is the title of the degree "HIKING" is the example listing below in Figure 3.15. You will be adding on nodes and branches from this node. You can enter a description for this degree if you wish.
Figure 3.14--Not found, do you want to create it?
- Select the first node. Right-click and select "Add Child" to create your first node (see Fig. 3.16a for an example of right-clicking on a node to create another one). The first thing you must do is enter the name of the requirement using a maximum length of eight characters. As previously described in this chapter, it is highly recommended that you have your list of requirements already established and ready to enter. Press "Enter" after the name is entered. If you do not desire to enter an external catalog for this requirement, press the "Enter" key again.
Figure 3.15-Degree Tree Screen with One Root Node.
- Now you must enter the description of your requirement, using a maximum of 30 characters. This will appear in the description box later when you bring up the requirements editing screen, so you may wish to include any useful notes about the requirement (i.e. "Math-minimum 12 hrs req") to help you configure it when we get to the requirement editing phase. Hit "Enter" after the name is entered.
NOTE: If you have mistyped the node name, you can simply right-click on it and select "Rename", or press "Enter" to rename the node. You will again be prompted for the catalog and description afterwards, and you must press "Enter" to complete each entry.
- If this node needs no sub-nodes (i.e. "ENGLISH" might have "ENGL1" and "ENGL2" as sub-nodes), and you wish to add the next node, simply right-click and select "Add Sibling" to create a fresh node. Enter the name and description of the new requirement, hitting "Enter" afterwards each time. See Figures 3.16a through 3.16c for an example.
- If this node needs sub-nodes (children), right-click and select "Add Child" to create the first one. Enter its name and description, hitting "Enter" afterwards each time and leaving the catalog name blank.
- To create a second sub-node (child), simply right-click on the first sub-node (child) and select "Add Sibling". Enter its name and description, just like the previous node. You can also right-click on the parent node and select "Add Child" to do this.
- Repeat this process, using your mouse or arrow keys to navigate through the tree, until you have created the basic structure. Now we will configure the node relationships, and add the special nodes.
- To configure the relationships between sub-nodes, use the arrow keys or mouse to move to the parent of the sub-nodes (i.e., to configure the relationship between "ENGL1" and ENGL2&3" given in Figure 3.16a, move your cursor to the "ENGL" node).
- To toggle the sub-nodes between necessary (a logical ANDing of the nodes together) and alternate (a logical ORing of the nodes together), press "F2". Note how the icon on the parent node changes from "&" to "OR", and vice versa. You can also right-click and select "'And' Children" or "'Or' Children" to do this.
Figure 3.16a-Sample Degree Tree with a user right-clicking and adding Child and Sibling nodes.
Figure 3.16b-Sample Degree Tree with new node created.
Figure 3.16c-Sample Degree Tree with new node named "IGDAVG".
- If your degree tree requires special nodes, you need to know the names of the catalogs and sub-trees that are to be referenced by these special nodes. Once you know these names, you can create the special nodes.
- If you are creating a special node referring to a static sub-tree, simply use your arrow keys or mouse to navigate to the node next to which you plan to place the special node. Right-click and select "Add Sibling" to create a new node, just like you did with the regular nodes.
- Type the name of the node, hitting "Enter".
- Enter the name of the Catalog, which contains the sub-tree to be used. Press "Enter" after this entry. A "+" graphic should now appear on the node, indicating that it indeed refers to a
Figure 3.16d-Sample Degree Tree with description typed in.
sub-tree outside of this catalog. If you are creating a node referring to a dynamic sub-tree, simply use your mouse or arrow keys to navigate to the node adjacent to where you plan to place the new node. Right-click on the node, and select "Add Sibling". Type the name of the new node, which must be either *MAJOR, *MINOR, or AREA, and press . The software knows that you are entering a dynamic sub-tree name. See Figure 3.7 for an example of static and dynamic sub-trees. "MATH", "*MAJOR", and "*AREA" are examples of these types of nodes.
- Now type the Catalog to which the node is referring, and press afterwards. Type the description of the node, and press . A "+" graphic would appear next to the node name, indicating that the node name indeed refers to a sub-tree outside of this catalog.
Editing Nodes
Editing Nodes will be covered later in this chapter, under "Configuring Requirements and Course Lists".
Moving Nodes
A node's location within a tree can play a very important part in ARTS processing. Remember that ARTS processes degree trees from the top down, therefore the most important requirements that get the priority should be at the top of the tree. You can move a node up or down within its tree structure by doing the following:
- Navigate to that node in question.
- Right-click on this node, and select "Move Up" or "Move Down", depending upon what you want to do.
NOTE: You cannot move a node out of its family. You can move parent nodes up or down as well as child nodes. The children will simply move with the parents.
Deleting Nodes
If you wish to delete a node, simply navigate to the node in question, right-click and select "Delete", or press . If the node has sub-nodes, you will be prompted as to whether you wish to delete that node and its sub-nodes (children). The node will completely disappear, and your cursor will be placed on the node immediately above it (if there is one--it will go to the left if there isn't).
Renaming Nodes
You can rename a node simply by selecting that node and doing one of the following:
-
Single-clicking on it with the mouse, OR
- Right-clicking on it, and selecting "Rename", OR
- Hitting the Delete key.
You will have to navigate through the catalog and description blanks after you make the name change.
Forced Satisfaction and Non-satisfaction Values
You can set up a node so that it is always satisfied, perhaps for troubleshooting purposes. Simply navigate to the node in question, and right-click and select "Force T/F/N" or press to toggle through the "not" (N), "true"(T), "false"(F), and "off" values. As you toggle through these values, their corresponding symbols should appear in the box on the upper-right-hand corner of the screen.
Their meanings are as follows:
- Not (N)--This forces the node to have the opposite of its current satisfaction value. In other words, if the node's requirement has been satisfied, it will show a "false" value, and vice versa.
- True (T)--This forces the node to always pass a satisfied value on to its parent node, even though this does not affect whether the node is satisfied or not on the ARTS form.
- False (F)--This forces the node to always pass an unsatisfied value on to its parent node, even though this does not affect whether the node is satisfied or not on the ARTS form.
- Off--This simply turns off forced satisfaction. It has no symbol; the symbol simply disappears from the upper-right-hand corner of the screen.
Saving/Exporting
-
If you are finished editing your degree tree and wish to save your work, press "F10" or click on the "File" menu item, then "Save\Exit".
- If you wish to exit without saving, press "Esc", close the window, or click on "Cancel" and then on "OK".
- If you wish to save your work without exiting, click on the "File" menu item and select "Save".
- If you wish to save your work to another file, click on the "File" menu item, then "Export As"". This will bring up a dialog that asks, "Exporting Requirements File. Export Tree Structure file also"" You can select whether you wish to export only the Requirements file, or both the Requirements file and the Tree structure file. Usually, you can click on "Yes", which replaces both the .TRE and .REQ files. You can then use a dialog to select the name of the file(s) to which you wish to export. NOTE: It is necessary to export both the tree structure and the requirements file to run ARTS forms with the requirements you are exporting.
Undoing Changes
You can undo the last change you made to the degree tree by clicking on the "Edit" menu item and selecting "Undo Last Change". The tree will reload completely. NOTE: You can only undo the last change you made to the degree tree. If you have made a significant number of changes that need to be discarded, you will need to exit without saving and start over.
Finding Duplicate Nodes
A node name within a sub-tree may be the same as a node name in the main tree. For example, a static or dynamic sub-tree can have an "ENGL1" node, as well as the main tree. It is recommended that you avoid doing this, however, in order to avoid confusion. You can search for duplicate detailed requirement names by selecting the node in question, clicking on the "File" menu item, and then selecting "Find Duplicates".
Editing Sub-Trees
You can edit or create static sub-trees by simply double-clicking on them once their nodes are created. ARTS will automatically open (or ask you to create) the sub-tree in a new window. Nodes in a sub-tree may themselves be external sub-tree nodes. These nodes can refer to yet another sub-tree outside of the sub-tree in which they exist. More than one sub-tree node may occur in the main tree, but the same sub-tree should not be attached to two different places in the main tree. In other words, you shouldn"t use a sub-tree twice within the same degree tree.
Editing Centralized Requirements and FIB Forms
A CENTRAL catalog exists in the root directory of ARTS that may contain requirements and FIB forms for all schools to use. If you have privileges, you can access these by checking the "Centralized Requirements" checkbox when you have the "Edit Degree" or "Edit FIB Form" dialogs open (see Fig. 3.17 for an example). A "CENTRAL" catalog appears up in the catalog box, and any requirements or FIB files that exist in the CENTRAL catalog appear in the degree or FIB form box. Select the appropriate degree and click on "Edit" to begin editing the requirements or FIB form.
Fig. 3.17--Edit Degree for Centralized Requirements
Adding External (Dynamic or Non-Dynamic Sub-Tree) Requirements to a Tree
You can access and pull in another existing set of requirements that is centralized within your school/department, or even within the entire ARTS community, to any set of requirements you are creating. Fig. 3.18a shows a freshly created requirement that links to an external set of requirements.
 |  |
Fig. 3.18a--Using CALCS external requirement file. | Fig. 3.18b--Using dynamic *MAJOR from the MAJORS catalog. |
The catalog name shows in the "Catalog" box above as "GENED", which is the example catalog for the existing requirements we wish to pull in. Typing the catalog of the requirements you wish to pull in creates the "plus" icon for the node. The name of the node, excluding "*MAJOR", "*MINOR", and "*AREA", has to match the specific degree requirements file to which you are trying to link. In this case, the dynamic sub-tree requirements file is named "CALCS", so the node has to also be named "CALCS". Another example of using external requirements is by using the "*MAJOR", "*MINOR", and "*AREA" nodes to dynamically use the student's major, minor, or area depending upon what the degree map tells ARTS to pull (also called a "Dynamic Sub-Tree". Fig. 3.18b shows a node called "*MAJOR" that was created to dynamically pull the student's major depending upon their major selected by the degree map. All major requirements are kept in the MAJORS catalog in this example, so MAJORS is entered into the "Catalog" box above. When ARTS has a major set of requirements that is pulled using a row of type "M" in the degree map that matches up with the student's major code (see Chapter 5 for more information about the degree map), these requirements will be attached to this tree and used along with it for degree processing.
The Tree screen has a menu item that you can use to change the ARTS Appendix that this degree uses in ARTS processing. The ARTS Appendix consists of the Repeatable Courses, Crosslisted, and Course Translation tables. NOTE: The ARTS Appendix is covered in Chapter 4 of this manual. A single Appendix can be shared by many degrees, and the Appendix file can be in a different catalog from the degrees that use it. The defaults for these fields are "LIBRARY" and "APPENDIX". If you wish to change the Appendix that this degree uses, do the following:
- At the degree editor screen, select the "File" menu item, then select "Appendix/Date". You will see a screen like the one in Fig. 3.19.
- From here, you can change the Library folder and the Appendix file that will be used to process this set of requirements.
- If you wish to change the effective date of the degree, you may do so here. Default is "99/99/99".
Fig. 3.19--Appendix/Date Screen.
Printing Degree Trees
To print a degree tree and its related sub-trees, use the following procedure:
- Bring up the ARTS menu. Go to the "Setup/Edit Degree" dialog previously shown in Figures 3.8a and 3.8b. Use the drop down lists to select your catalog and degree.
- Click on the "Report" checkbox. This will produce the dialog shown in Figure 3.20.
- Click on the "Report" button.
NOTE: See "Printing Requirements" later in this chapter to configure course crosslistings and printing a particular requirement's detail. These settings are unimportant for printing a degree tree.
- You should get a dialog box asking if you want course lists of your requirements listed in comma-delimited format. If you wish to receive your requirements this way for importing into a spreadsheet, click "OK". If you wish to receive the report in Fig. 3.15, click on "Cancel".
Your Degree report should now be showing in a Wordpad window (see Fig. 3.15 for part of a sample Degree Report). You can view and close it, or print it out. NOTE: Before printing, you will want to reduce the font to 10-point or reduce the left margin so that the lines don't wrap.
Figure 3.20--Degree Report Dialog
Degree Trees & ARTS Processing Order
ARTS degree tree processing will go through the Degree Tree in depth-first order, starting with the root node (the furthest left, highest up node on the screen). It then proceeds to the rightmost node, and works its way down until it runs out of nodes. Referring to Figure 3.22, ARTS would first proceed to GEN, then HRS&GPA, then TOTALHRS, LASHRS, etc., down to the bottom of the HRS&GPA sub-tree. Next, it would move down to CORE, and proceed through ENGLISH and RES-ENGL to process ENGL-1, ENGL-2, and ENGL-3. ARTS would then process XFR-ENGL, and move down to MATH to process MATH-1 and MATH-2. ORALCOMM would be next, and then ARTS would process the WESTCIV nodes WC-CLASS and WC-EXAM. NWCULT would be the last node processed within CORE. ARTS would then process DEGREE, and move through BA and process LABSCI, FORLANG, etc. BGSMINOR would be next, and then it would move down to the MATH+, *AREA+, and *MAJOR+ sub-trees and process them. NOTE: Processing Order is important for the calculation of co-satisfaction conflicts. Co-satisfaction is described later in this chapter.
The rightmost nodes on the degree tree are called detailed requirements for a good reason. These nodes are listed and defined in detail in the Degree Editor. The Degree Editor is a powerful and flexible tool that, when used properly in conjunction with the FIB form, allows schools to define a highly complex set of requirements for a particular degree. To edit your degree's detailed requirements, do the following:
- Access the ARTS menu. Select "Setup", then "Degree Definition".
- Select "Degree Editor". The "Edit Degree" dialog (see Figure 3.21) will appear.
- Use the drop down lists to select your catalog and degree. Click on "Edit".
Figure 3.21--ARTS Requirements Editor Dialog.
- You should see a list of your requirements appear that looks much like Figure 3.22. This is the degree editor that was explained earlier in this chapter.
Figure 3.22--Sample Requirements Tree Screen.
- To edit a particular requirement, select the requirement and double-click on it. You will see a screen that looks like the screen in Figure 3.23, which shows the "ENGL-1" requirement. You can also right-click on the node and select "Edit". Note the title of the Catalog in the upper left corner of the screen, as well as the degree and requirement titles immediately to its right.
NOTE: You can press when your cursor is on any field to get a help message describing the function of the field. Many of the explanations here are almost exactly like the help entries for these fields.
Figure 3.23--Sample Requirement Editor Screen.
- You may use the key or the left/right arrow keys to navigate this screen. This manual will now cover the fields in this screen, which read left to right and down:
The Course List is a critical part of the degree design process. To access the Course List, simply click on the "Course List" tab near the top of the screen. The Course List shown in Figure 3.25 is a sample list from an existing degree. The courses and their parameters shown in Fig. 3.25 have already been entered. As you can see, each row contains a separate course or range of courses, and the corresponding columns each contain a parameter for that course. For example, the fourth row contains AIR 0144, or Air Force 144, and its corresponding Effective Terms are 2002-3889 (These columns will be explained in detail later in this chapter). The even rows are colored green to distinguish them from the odd rows.
When you first pull up the course list screen, you will see a dark cursor that indicates your position on the screen. You may navigate through the columns of each row by pressing the key repeatedly, just like the requirement editor screen. If you have to change an entry, just bring the cursor to the appropriate course using your mouse or up and down arrows, and Press "Enter" to begin editing that selection. You can use or to add new courses, and the courses will be sorted by department and course number automatically after you hit on the last column. You can press "F1" when your cursor is on any field to get a help message describing the function of the field. Many of the explanations here are almost exactly like the help entries for these fields. Each field in this editor is now explained:
- Dept. The first column contains the three- or four-letter code for the course department. The wildcard department "*ALL" can be used to signify that any department will match this entry. The wildcard departments "*MAJ" and "*MIN" can be used to stand for the departments corresponding to the student's major and minor, respectively. Department is one of the many levels of exclusivity that ARTS can provide (see Appendix, Design Tips for more details).
- Course No. The second column contains the four-digit High Course Number, and the four-digit Low Course Number. Most courses only use three digits, so you must start any three-digit course number with a zero. A course must have a course number that falls between these two numbers to match this entry and become eligible. If the High Course Number field is left blank, then the course number must match the number in Low Course Number exactly in order to be eligible, and vice versa. Instead of an actual course number, either of these fields may be a wildcard course number consisting of one or more stars ("*"). Wherever a star appears in the number any letter or digit will match. Four stars will match anything. If both of these fields are wildcards, then a match can be made to either field.
- Type. This field is normally left blank, denoting a regular course. The following special codes are available:
- Area(A). Same as "N" except only courses matching one of the areas used by optimized courses are passed to the printing program. If there are no optimized courses in the list, this course will be included anyway.
- Department(D). Same as "N" except only courses matching one of the departments used by optimized courses are passed to the printing program. If there are no optimized courses in the list, this course will be included anyway.
- Area. This column contains the area that the course belongs to. Groups of courses can be divided up into specific areas, and processed accordingly. For example, CHEM courses and BIOL courses can be placed into two different areas within a Natural Science requirement, in order to assure that a student has taken both a physical science and an biological science. The CHEM and PHSX courses could be placed into an area called "p", for physical sciences, and BIOL and MCRB courses could be placed into an area called "b", for biological sciences. When the courses are processed, ARTS can use what is entered into the Area fields in the Requirement Editor and the Area Editor to specify how many courses out of each Area can be used. The Area can only be one letter, upper or lower case. Area is one of the many levels of exclusivity that ARTS can provide (see Appendix, Design Tips for more details).
- Effective Terms.
From Term. This is the first academic term for which this course can be used in this requirement. If left blank, this defaults to the From Term value on the requirements screen. If this field is non-blank, it overrides the From Term field on the requirements screen. Terms are entered as CYMM where C is the century, YY is the year and M is the month, for example 3889 (Fall 1988).
The following special codes may be used here:
*INT = initial term of enrollment
*CUR = current term as defined at run time
*C-x = x terms before the current term
*C+x = x terms after the current term
*LST = last term completed
Relative hours may also be entered:
+nnn = nnn hours from initial enrollment
-nnn = nnn hours from current total hours
To Term. This is the last academic term for which this course can be used in this requirement. If left blank, this defaults to the To Term value on the requirements screen. If this field is non-blank, it overrides the To Term field on the requirements screen. Terms are entered as CYMM where C is the century, YY is the year and M is the month, for example 3889 (Fall 1988).
The following special codes may be used here:
*INT = initial term of enrollment
*CUR = current term as defined at run time
*C-x = x terms before the current term
*C+x = x terms after the current term
*LST = last term completed
Relative hours may also be entered:
+nnn = nnn hours from initial enrollment
-nnn = nnn hours from current total hours
- Cosat. This field is the same type as the Cosat field in the requirement editor. If left blank, Cosatisfaction values default to the requirement editor. If not blank, this field overrides the Cosat values in the requirement editor.
- Criteria. This field contains any additional Criteria you wish to place on the course. If this field contains a criterion, then the course must not only meet this criterion, but must also meet the standard and general criteria on the requirement editor. You can click on this unedited area with the mouse and it will show a drop list of available criteria.
- Mx. This field indicates the number of slots that a course fills in the same requirement. The default value is 1 (or blank). Values from 1 - 9 are acceptable. For example, a value of 2 will cause the course to appear in the course list twice. If an "S" is placed here, it indicates that the course satisfies the requirement regardless of the other criteria in the requirement. This code can also be used to turn off crosslisted course checking for this course. If an "X" is placed here, it will eliminate the possibility of a crosslisted course from being used here. The Crosslisted Courses Table is covered in Chapter 4 of this manual.
- Ex. Besides Areas, courses may be further divided up into Exclusion Groups. Courses within the same Area may be put into separate Exclusion Groups. This field indicates what exclusion group the course belongs to. If more than one course in the same exclusion group occurs in satisfying a requirement, only one will be retained. Any character may be used here, but a blank indicates no group. Exclusion Group is one of the many levels of exclusivity that ARTS can provide (see Appendix, Design Tips for more details).
- Mk. This field is used to place a mark next to the course's transcript listing on the ARTS form if the course is used in this requirement. The mark will consist of the character entered here. This field can be used as a debugging tool (see Appendix, Design Tips for more details).
- Credit Hours. This field is used to override the transcript value for credit hours of the course. This can be used to split a course's hours across two requirements, or apply the total credit hours of a group to the second course in the group.
FBL. This field is not currently used.
If you wish to exit the course list after you have finished entering your data, simply click on the "Main" tab in the upper left corner of the screen. This will return you to the Requirement Editor.
Sorting Courses in the Course List
You may re-sort courses in the course list screen by clicking on the "Sort" button. The editor will sort the courses by department and course number. NOTE: The order of your courses is significant in processing, particularly if you have duplicate courses in your course list. If you have duplicate courses in your course list, or you want the courses to be checked for in a certain order that is non-alphabetical, you may not want to change the order of the courses.
The Area editor is used to set course limits for and to describe Areas that are used within the course list (see Fig. 3.26). NOTE: It is not necessary to list areas in the Area editor in order to use them in a requirement's course list. This editor is accessible by clicking on the "Areas" tab that is right next to the "Courses" tab. You may move through these fields by typing . The first column contains the title of the area, which has a one-letter limit. Area titles are case-sensitive, so be consistent with case when you are naming and using your areas throughout the requirement.
- Min. The second column contains the minimum number of courses required in the area to satisfy the requirement. The default for this field is 0.
- Max. The third column contains the maximum number of eligible courses allowed within the area for processing. Any excess eligible courses will not be used for this requirement. The default for this field is 99.
- Description. The third column contains a description of the area. The maximum length for this field is 29 characters.
After your data entry is complete, you can type to exit this editor. Area descriptions are not used in processing.
Figure 3.26--Sample Area Editor.
The Exempt Editor
The Exempt Editor is used to set up test names, sections, minimum scores, and valid terms for students who have high enough scores on standardized testing (like the ACT or SAT) to exempt them from certain requirements (see Fig. 3.27). This editor is accessible by clicking on the "Exempt" tab, which is next to the "Areas" tab in the upper left area of the screen. You can use the mouse to select a field and begin editing, and you can move through the fields by typing . The fields within the editor contain the following:
- Test. The first column contains the name of the test that can be used to satisfy (or exempt the student from) the requirement. A typical example would be "ACT". This field will have no effect unless "SECTION" and "SCORE" are also filled out.
Sect. The second column contains the name of the section of the test that can be used to satisfy (or exempt the student from) the requirement. If the test is "ACT" an example section might be "ENGL" or "MATH". This field will have no effect unless "TEST" and "SCORE" are also filled out.
- Score. The third column contains the minimum score required on the test and section required to satisfy (or exempt the student from) the requirement. This field will have no effect unless TEST and SECTION are also filled out. The default for this field is 00.
- From/To. The fourth and fifth columns contain the range of dates (in YYYYMM format, i.e. 199802 being Spring 1998) that this exemption is applicable for. This range is checked against the testing date for the student. A student with a blank testing date will default to all zeroes.
After your data entry is complete, you can click on the "Main" tab to exit this editor.
Figure 3.27--Sample Exempt Editor.
If you wish to navigate to another requirement in the list, you can do one of the following:
- Click on the blue left or right arrows by the drop list of requirements to navigate through the available requirements. Figure 3.28a shows this method.
- Drop down the list of available requirements and select a requirement to edit. Figure 3.28b shows this method. NOTE: You can only use these navigation methods with requirements that have already been created and edited. If you create a requirement on the tree, you always have to double-click or select "Edit" from the right-click menu on that requirement to initialize it in the Requirement editor.
Fig. 3.28a--Using the "Prev" arrow button to navigate between requirements.
Once you have configured the requirements to your satisfaction, click on "Close" in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. This will return you to the requirements (tree editor) screen. You can then navigate to another requirement and Press "Enter" to configure it. If you have finished configuring your requirements, you should be at the requirements screen. No "*"'s should appear next to the requirements at this time, because the requirements have all been set up. If a requirement has a "*" next to it, navigate to that requirement, and double-click the mouse or Press "Enter" to set it up.
Fig. 3.28b--Using the Drop Down List to navigate between requirements.
If you wish to quit and save your work, click on "Save/Exit" or press . This will return you to the ARTS menu. If you wish to quit without saving any changes you have made, either press "Esc" or click on "Cancel". Click on "OK" to confirm, or "Cancel" to resume editing the requirements.
Figure 3.29--Requirements printing dialog.
To print a set of requirements and its corresponding course lists, use the following procedure:
- Bring up the ARTS menu. Select "Degree Definition", then "Degree Editor". The Degree Editor dialog should now appear (see Figure 3.22 earlier in this chapter).
- Use the drop down lists to select what catalog and requirements list you wish to print, then check the "Report" checkbox. This will produce a dialog like the one in Figure 3.29.
- Print Course Crosslisting (Y/N). This option lets you select whether or not you want a course index to be printed listing each course used more than once in the requirements along with all page numbers in which it occurs in the printed report. If you select "Y", the course index (see Figure 3.30b for an example) will be printed at the end of the requirements report. If you select "N" in this field, the course index will not be printed. This field has no effect on the requirements index, which will always be produced unless the Requirement field is filled in.
The Name of Requirement (Omit for ALL) field allows you to select a particular requirement from the requirement list to print. If you leave this field blank, all requirements will print. Figure 3.30b shows part of a sample report. NOTE: The degree tree will appear first in the report, then the report shown in Fig. 3.30b will appear.
|
DEGREE STRUCTURE
PETR BSPE BSChE 11/20/00
----------------------------------------------------------------
BSCHE -//MATH -//CALC-1&2
|| \\CALC3-DE-/-MATH250
|| \-MATH123
||
||SCIENCE
||ENGL -//ENGL-1
|| \\ENGL-2&3
||
||HSSREQ +
||ESCI-EX
||CPE-REQ
||ENGRHRS
||ABETHRS +
||GEOL
\\TOTALHRS +
REQUIREMENT TITLES
PETR BSPE BSChE 11/20/00
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DEGREE DESCRIPTION CATALOG (True)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ABETHRS ABET
BSCHE BSChE
CALC-1&2
CALC3-DE
CPE-REQ
ENGL
ENGL-1
ENGL-2&3
ENGRHRS
ESCI-EX ENGR SCI ELECTIVES
GEOL
HSSREQ HSS
MATH
MATH123
MATH250
SCIENCE
TOTALHRS TOTAL HOURS |
Figure 3.30a-Sample Degree Report.
Index of Requirement Names | Date 05/05/98 |
Requirement Name | Title | Page Number |
---------------- | ----- | ----- |
BGSMINOR | BGS MINOR (3 JR/SR COURSES) | 62,14,12 |
CORRHRS | CORRESPONDENCE HOURS | 14 |
CURRENT | Current Enrollment | 17,6,2 |
CURRGPA | current term gpa | 28 |
ENGL-1 | ENGLISH 101 | 29 |
Figure 3.30b--Sample Requirement Report.
Importing Requirements
You can use the Importer to bring in existing requirements or course lists that can replace or append to the requirements you are editing. To import an existing requirement and/or course list, do the following:
- Bring up the requirement you wish to replace or append to in the Requirement Editor (Fig. 3.23).
- Click on the button in the upper right-hand corner that has the picture of the lightning bolt, which will bring up the screen pictured in Fig. 3.31. Note the layout of this screen; the requirements you are editing are in the left window, and the requirements you will be importing from will be in the right window. The requirement you wish to replace or append to will be selected on the left-hand screen, which should be populated with existing requirements that you are currently editing. For example, the requirement being edited in Fig. 3.33 is "LASHRS".
Fig. 3.31--Import Requirements Screen.
You can change your selection on this screen any time before importing.
- Once you verify that the requirement you wish to edit is correct, you will need to go get a set of requirements from which you can import the requirements. Click on the "..." button in the lower right-hand corner of the Import screen to bring up the dialog shown in Fig. 3.32a.
Fig. 3.32a--Import Screen Open File Dialog.
- Once the Open File Dialog appears, select and hit or double-click on the catalog (folder) for the set of requirements from which you wish to import. For this example, Fig. 3.32b shows that the catalog "LAS-879" was double-clicked. The available requirements files within the catalog should now show in the left-hand window. NOTE: You can import requirements from ANY catalog or department on the ARTS server.
Fig. 3.32b--Selecting and double-clicking a catalog for importing.
- Select the requirements file from which you wish to import. In this example, Fig. 3.32c shows that the requirements file "ANTHRO.REQ" was selected. Double-click or hit on the file, or click on "OK". This will bring up all existing requirements within the file you selected to the right-hand window, as shown in Fig. 3.33. The filename for the file you wish to import will be displayed in the "Import File:" blank at the bottom of the screen.
Fig. 3.32c--Selecting and double-clicking a file for importing.
- Select the requirement you wish to import. Use the radio buttons in the middle of the screen (as shown in Fig. 3.40) to select whether you wish to import the course list, the settings, or both ("All"). If you choose to import setttings only, the Course List radio buttons will become disabled. If you choose to import course lists or all, you will be able to choose whether you wish to append to or overwrite your existing course list. In this example as shown in Fig. 3.33, the requirement being imported has the same name as the requirement being edited, but this is not required. The Import configuration is set up to import "All", which includes both settings and course lists. The Course List radio buttons are set to "Overwrite", which means that the requirement in the left-hand window will have its course list discarded and replaced by the course list in the requirement in the right-hand window.
NOTE: Importing settings will update every field within the requirement editor (Block Code, Cosatisfaction settings, Description, General Criteria, Required Grade, etc.) If you don't change these settings after the import, you will need to make sure that your current Grade and Criteria Tables contain those values or the requirement will not process properly.
- After you have configured the way you wish to import the requirement, simply click on the blue arrow button, as pictured in Fig. 3.33. The import happens almost instantaneously.
- Once the import occurs, you can select another requirement in the left-hand window to import to and repeat steps 3-7. NOTE: You can import from different requirements in different degrees, catalogs, and schools to the same set of requirements, if you desire.
- When you are done importing requirements, simply close the window or click on the "Close" button.
Fig. 3.33--Importing a Requirement.
Requirements and EFS
EFS can be used to influence requirements on a per-student basis. For example, if a student has a special situation where he or she meets a requirement in an unusual way, EFS can be used to force that requirement satisfied. EFS can also be used to substitute courses within requirements, so transfer courses can be used to meet requirements without matching the exact title of the course on the course list. For example, "MATH U" was taken by a student at a different college, but it is not on the MATH requirement course list. EFS can be used in this case to equate "MATH U" and a similiar course on that requirement's course list to make sure that course went toward the requirement. A Pseudo-course can be a NOTE from EFS, and this course can be used to satisfy a requirement just like any other course. See Chapter 8 in this manual for more details.
Personal Requirements
If a higher level of requirement customization is needed, You can use EFS and personal requirements to define requirements on an individual basis, or substitute special values for existing requirements by putting a "Q" in the SPECIAL field of the requirement being substituted. These personal requirements are used for students who have many different ways to satisfy a requirement, or students who satisfy a requirement in an uncommon way that requires its own set of requirements and degree tree. Personal Requirements are created in the same way as other requirements, except that they must exist within your department's FOLDER catalog. These requirements also have to be named after the student's ID number. See Chapter 8 in this manual for more details.
