Feature Overview and Requirements

The series feature can serve to auto-enroll students into a set of courses that are set to allow interests and do not require any type of approval or prerequisite course completion. When a student enrolls in a course that is part of an established Series, but requires approval or prerequisite training, related courses will automatically pull into the “Interest List” section of the student’s Courses to Complete.

When setting up a course series, it helps to first map out how you want it to work. Please consider the following:

1. Which courses should be included?
2. In what order should the courses be completed?
3. Is any part of the recommended sequence strict, or can students start anywhere in the series and work forward or backward through the coursework?

When building a longer series, it may be useful to map it offline first so that you have a reference to check off as you complete various relationships.

Course Relationships and Enrollment Functionality

The system generates interest records, or auto-enrollments, based on how you define course relationships within the series. The Series function is a flexible course configuration tool, allowing you to design unique tracks of learning in many ways. This document provides just a few examples of how a Series can be defined using Predecessor (>) and Successor (<) course assignments. It also shows how interest records are generated for certain courses in the series, using different enrollment scenarios:

• Defining both predecessor and successor relationships (A <> B <> C) results in the student getting interest records added for all courses in the series, regardless of which course the student enrolled in first.
• Defining just the successor course relationships (A < B < C) results in the student getting interest records for all courses following the initial course enrollment. For example:
  • If you enroll in A, an interest record is created for both B and C.
  • If you enroll in B, an interest record is created for C, but not for A.
  • If you enroll in C, no interest record is created.
• Defining just the predecessor course relationships (A > B > C) results in the student getting interest records for all courses preceding the initial course enrollment. For example:
  • If you enroll in A, no interest record is created.
  • If you enroll in B, an interest record is created for A, but not for C.
  • If you enroll in C, an interest record is created for both A and B.
• Defining the following course series ( A <> B < C < D < E) supports the following scenarios:
  • If you enroll in A, an interest record is created for all courses in the series.
  • If you enroll in B, an interest record is created for all courses in the series.
  • If you enroll in C, an interest record is created for both D and E, but not for A and B.
  • If you enroll in D, an interest record is created for E, but not for A, B or C.
  • If you enroll in E, no interest record is created.

If there is a need to enforce course completion in sequence, the Series feature can be used in conjunction with course Prerequisite setup.

Step by Step Procedure and Field Description

To group a set of courses into a new series: 

1. From the Administration menu, navigate to Courses > Search Courses to find and edit one of the courses you want in the series.
2. On the Course Details page, select the Update/Series tab.
3. Under the Update/Series tab, complete the following:

• • New/Update Definition: This has nothing to do with Series courses, leave New Course without Associated Update Course as is, by default.
  • Series Course: Select Yes.
  • Series Predecessor Course: If you want to establish a course preceding this course in the series, click the Choose Series Predecessor Course link to search for and select the course.
  • Series Successor Course: If you want to establish a course following this course in the series, click the Choose Series Successor Course link to search for and select the course.

4. Click Submit.

Remember, if you edit one course to give it a predecessor and/or a successor, you must always make sure to go to the predecessor or successor courses and add the course you just updated as the successor to its predecessor and the successor to its predecessor.