For sites using Drupal 7, The Department Web Framework allows departments to provide detailed lists of course offerings, with most information pulled from the Time Schedule and Canvas. Departments have the ability to add custom titles, flyers, and other details if desired.
How to Add Courses
- Add courses in Time Schedule Construction. Even if the Time Schedule is not published yet, the information you enter will be available via Student Web Services for importing into the website.
- On the department website, go to Manage Courses and add a “Course List.” Select the appropriate options for the curriculum abbreviation and academic term, and Save.
- When the import of courses is complete, you will see a list of all the Course Feeds that were imported. Delete feeds for any courses that you do not want listed on the website.
- Wait 24-48 hours for the course information to populate. Every Course Feed that was added by your import will generate a Course Section.
- Edit individual Course Sections to add custom titles, course flyers, and multiple instructors. The Canvas Syllabus Description for each course will automatically appear if it is available. You can also add additional details that appear only on the website.
As long as a Course Feed exists, the Course Section will be synchronized with the information in the Time Schedule. Course Feeds are deleted one year after they are created. They can also be deleted manually.
How to Add Individual Courses
If a course is added after the initial import of the Course List from Student Web Services, you will have to add the Course Feed to the site individually. Go to Manage Courses and add a “Course Feed,” following the instructions.
How to Remove Individual Courses
- Delete the Course Feed, if it has one.
- Delete the Course Section.
How to Add Featured Courses
Some sites have a Featured Courses page or show a Featured Course on the homepage. To add a Featured Course, edit the course section that you want to feature and attach an image. Some sites also require you to check a box indicating that you want to feature the course.
Syllabus Descriptions from Canvas
The Canvas Syllabus Description for each course will automatically appear if it is available. We strongly recommend adding descriptions in Canvas and making them public because they have wider visibility than descriptions entered on department sites. Students can see them in MyPlan, the main tool they use for discovering courses. If desired, additional details can be added on the department site that are not included in the Canvas description.
If you are unsure who to contact to obtain access to Canvas course sites for your department, please email asweb@uw.edu.
Courses FAQ
I noticed some courses have a course website button at the top and others don't. How do I add a course website link?
The course website link is included in the data we receive from Student Web Services. Instructors should add the link to their course website in MyUW on the course detail page where it says "Website." Then it will appear for students on our sites, in MyPlan, and in other systems. Instructors have many options for creating class websites - Canvas, Catalyst, Google Sites, Moodle, personal sites - so they must enter the link for each course in MyUW. Even though MyUW shows the Canvas course link automatically, the course link will not be shown in other applications unless you fill out the "Website" field.
My courses or featured courses page is blank. What happened?
Two weeks into the quarter, the classes for the current quarter stop appearing on the "Upcoming Courses" page. If you have not added course lists for an upcoming term, it will be blank until you do so. Students have indicated that once a quarter is underway, they are no longer interested in information about the current quarter. Their focus shifts to registration and planning for the next quarter. So we have adjusted the timing on our sites to match this feedback.
If your featured courses page is blank, it could also mean that you haven't promoted any courses for the upcoming quarter. Adding a Promo Image to a section will make it appear on this page. The idea is to create a visually engaging gallery of courses that you want to encourage students to enroll in. You can then share the link to this page in emails, social media, and other websites.