This Semester Start-Up Guide details the process of creating your Webcourses@UCF course section(s). Don’t forget to review the End of Semester Guide to help you conclude your course and submit final grades.

Simple Syllabus is a centralized, template-driven platform that enables instructors to quickly personalize and publish interactive class syllabi directly within Canvas. All syllabi are automatically stored in a campus-wide repository. All courses will be required to use simple syllabus by Fall 2024. For simple syllabus help check out the Simple Syllabus Knowledge Article  or contact syllabi@ucf.edu

Courses identified as general education core courses are required to post their syllabi by the 45-day deadline. These courses are identified at UCF as black diamond courses. A full listing of courses required to meet this deadline can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog. All other courses are required to post their syllabi in Canvas by the first day of the term.

To access the Faculty Webcourse Manager, take the following steps:

1. Sign on to the myUCF Portal with your NID and NID password.
2. In the myUCF Menu, click Faculty/Advisor Self Service.
3. Click Instructors.
4. Click Faculty Webcourse Manager.

I. Course Creation: Faculty Webcourses Manager (FWM)

The Faculty Webcourses Manager (FWM) is a self-service tool that allows faculty to create Webcourses@UCF course section for their classes. The course section is generated within 24 hours and enrolled students are automatically added to the course. Via FWM, faculty may combine multiple course sections and customize the date when a Webcourses@UCF course section opens for students.

A. Create Course Sections

1. Sign on to the myUCF Portal with your NID and NID password.
2. In the myUCF Menu, click Faculty/Advisor Self Service.
3. Click Instructors.
4. Click Faculty Webcourse Manager. You will see your list of course section(s) for the current term. Note: If you wish to view a different semester, click Select a different term at the top of the page.
5. If you wish to create a Webcourses@UCF section, click the box to the left of the section. Wait until the screen refreshes before selecting another course.

Note: If your section is already selected and you are co-instructing that course section, please contact your co-instructor before contacting support services as the co-instructor has already created the course.

Note: If you do not cross-list (combine) sections or do not teach with lecture capture, then skip to D. Set Release Date.

C. Video for Lecture Capture Courses

If you are teaching a course section with a video course mode (V or RV), the check box to the right of the section under Video Lecture Capture will be automatically checked.

D. Set Release Date

To select the date your section(s) are released to students, either click on the calendar page to the right of the date field and click on a specific date, or manually edit the date that appears in the Release to Students on column.

Click Save at the top or bottom of the page. A confirmation page will appear. Within 24 hours you will have access to your Webcourses@UCF section(s). You will see them in your Courses list at the top of the Canvas Home area. Students are automatically populated as they add and drop courses.  

 

• Once you Publish the course students will have access to your Webcourses@UCF courses on the date you selected. If you do not set a date, the course will be released to students on the first day of classes for the semester but only after you Publish the course.
• You may change the date that the course is released to students at any time. If you wish to change the date after students have access, you may change the date in the Faculty Webcourse Manager, and the change will appear within 24 hours. However, students will not have access until the new release date, and they may have questions if a course disappears.

II. Add Course Content

You have two major options for adding content once your course section is created in FWM:

• Option 1: Create content from scratch
• Option 2: Import content from another course

A. Import Content from Another Course

Follow the steps below to Import Content from Another Course if you want to use content from a development course or from the same course taught during a previous semester. You can also find an illustrated guide.

1. Sign in to http://webcourses.ucf.edu with your NID and NID password.
2. Navigate to your newly created course with the Courses tab in the global navigation menu.
3. Click the Settings tab in the course navigation menu.
4. Click the Import Content into this Course button to import content.
5. In the Content Type drop-down menu, select Copy a Canvas Course.
6. In the [Select Course] dropdown menu, choose the course that you wish to copy from or type in the course name. If you do not see your course in the drop-down menu, click the box to select Include Completed Courses.
7. Toggle the checkboxes for these Options as needed:
   • Check off Select migration content if you do not want to copy the entire course.
   • Check off Adjust events and due dates if you want to automatically adjust dates by clicking on the Calendar icon and clicking on the date. You can also use the Substitution option. For example, if you taught a Monday/Wednesday class last semester that falls on Tuesday/Thursday this semester, the Substitution option can adjust this.
8. Click the Import button.

The Current Jobs menu displays any prior import history, as well as the status of any reports in process. There are various job statuses, as displayed in the image below.

• Queued or Pre-processing: Your import is being prepared.
• Running: Your import is currently running. A time remaining bar will also appear.
• Waiting for select: This status only appears when selecting individual course content. Click the Select Content button to continue the import.
• Completed: Your import is complete. The Completed status can be green or orange.
  • Green: No issues were found in your import.
  • Orange: One or more errors were found in your import. Click the issues link to view the recorded error(s).
• Failed: Your import was not completed. To view the specific error(s), click the issues link.

B. Ensure You Have Access to Imported Materia Widgets

If the imported course content includes Materia widgets, ensure you have ownership or proper permissions for widgets that will be used as an assignment in your course. If this content was authored by another instructor, you will need permission to make edits or access student scores. The widget author can share their Materia widgets by taking the following steps:

1. Go to https://materia.ucf.edu
2. Click Login
3. Click My Widgets
4. Select the widget you’d like to share
5. Click Collaborate
6. Enter the user’s name or email address in the search box
7. Click on the user’s name
8. Select View Scores or Full from the drop-down
   1. View Scores will give the user access only to view students’ scores
   2. Full access will allow the user to do anything the original author can, including editing or copying the widget and sharing the widget with other collaborators.
9. Click Save

C. Ensure All Links Work Using the Link Validator

Follow the steps in the How do I validate links in a course? guide to ensure that all of the links in your course are valid and working.

D. Is Your Online Course Ready for Take-Off?

Use the Online Course Pre-Flight Checklist to find out. Items in the checklist come from the Quality Online Course Review.

III. Publish Your Course

Unpublished courses will have a notice at the top of the course home page. Until the course is published, this notice will not disappear.

1. Navigate to your unpublished course with the Courses tab in the global navigation menu.
2. Click the Publish button under the Course Status menu to publish your course.
   

   

3. A banner will appear at the top of the page to confirm the course has been published.
   

   

IV. Hide Inactive Sections (Optional)

As you teach using Webcourses@UCF, the number of courses you are enrolled in will increase. We suggest that you hide inactive courses to limit the length of your course list. This process does not delete or deny you access to a courses. It simply prevents inactive courses from appearing in the Courses sidebar of the global navigation menu.

1. Log in to http://webcourses.ucf.edu with your NID and NID password.
2. Click the Courses tab in the global navigation menu.
3. Click the All Courses link.
4. Click the star icon next to the course you want to add to your list.

V. Request Additional Instructors, TAs, or Other Users(Optional)

Contact your department scheduler to add individuals needing these roles to your course using PeopleSoft. If you do not know who your department scheduler is, please contact your department chair’s office.