This document explains the steps needed to create the schedule of classes. Department chairs, program directors, deans, academic support staff, and the Office of the Registrar collaborate to prepare the schedule each semester.
To request access for to creating and editing course sections in Colleague, please complete the training, available online via LinkedIn LearningCanvas, and email registrar@valpo.edu when complete.
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Please use the new Daily Class Schedule Template with 15-minute passing periods when creating the Schedule of Classes. |
Follow any of the links below to navigate to a specific section.
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If your department has submitted a proposal to change a course, Faculty Senate will need to approve the proposal and the Office of the Registrar needs to process that change in Colleague before you create course sections with the new information. Creating new course sections before the change is entered in Colleague will result in outdated course details displaying on the schedule.
New in Spring 2023: Valparaiso University will use Curriculog to manage catalog and curriculum changes. Training and support will be made available as soon as possible.
Entering the Schedule Details
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Many of the fields will be populated with the information from the academic calendar and the catalog, such as term start date, term end date, course level, academic level, title, course types, and requisites.
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Enter the section number. Colleague uses the section number to build the course name (ENGL-200-A), which consists of the subject (ENGL), course number (200), and section number (A).
This information should be unique for every section of a course for a term. For example, there should not be two HIST-121-A sections in the term 2022FA.
The table below explains each of the standard section designations and how they're used in the schedule of classes.
| Section | Notes |
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| A, B, C, ... | Most common section designation - Course sections offered during the day |
| EV, EVA, EVB, ... | Evening - Course sections offered late in the day, after 4:30 pm |
| OL, OLA, OLB, ... | Sometimes used to indicate online course offerings Not required. Students can use Instructional Method as well as the "Online" filter in Search for Sections to identify online courses. |
| X | Indicates cross-listing. Add to regular section designation Examples: AX, BX, EVAX, ... |
| Initials | For Topics Courses: Use the instructor's initials in the section designation. |
| IS | Independent Study |
| Music | The Department of Music uses section designations to indicate specific instruments for studio lessons. |
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Enter the number of credit hours as shown in the Catalog. Use the Min field for the credit hours of this specific section. For courses that are always offered for the same number of credit hours.
Use all three fields (Min/Max/Inc) only for variable credit courses. This will be demonstrated during upcoming Workshops.
Course Level
Entering the course level allows Search for Sections to narrow down results to only courses at each course level: 100, 200, 300, etc.
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, use the credit value in the catalog. For variable credit courses, enter the credit hours for this specific section in the Min field and make sure that the Max and Incr fields are blank. Otherwise, you'll see students registered incorrectly for varying amounts of credit for taking the same section.
When creating a new variable credit course, we use all three fields (Min/Max/Inc) at the course (not section) level only for variable credit courses to show the range allowed. Each section on the schedule has a specific (not variable) number of credits.
Course Level
Entering the course level allows Search for Sections to narrow down results to only courses at each course level: 100, 200, 300, etc.
| Course Level | Description |
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| 100 | Undergraduate courses numbered between 100 and 199 |
| 200 | Undergraduate courses numbered between 200 and 299 |
| 300 | Undergraduate courses numbered between 300 and 399 |
| 400 | Undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 |
| 500 | Graduate courses numbered between 500 and 599 |
| 600 | Graduate courses numbered between 600 and 699 |
| 700 | Graduate courses numbered between 700 and 799 |
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The status of any course section being added to the schedule of classes should be A Active.
Please contact To cancel a course section, please update the status to C - Cancelled and email the Office of the Registrar if you must cancel a course sectionfor assistance.
Course Type
Course types are used to facilitate degree audit evaluation and other processes. Courses approved by the General Education Committee and Faculty Senate to meet certain degree requirements are given a course type, which allows them to display properly in the Program Evaluation (degree audit). Once the Progress feature is fully developed in the upgraded version of DataVU, it will replace the Program Evaluation and continue to use course types.
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The course type field is populated based on information from the catalog. Some topics courses are approved to meet a general education requirement based on the content being taught in a specific section, and in that case, this field can be customized to reflect approval from the General Education Committee. Once we move to Self-Service Progress instead of Program Evaluation, the course type will need to be controlled at the course level rather than the section level. See the Office of the Registrar for assistance with this.
This field can have more than one value in it. For example, some sections of THEO 200 have both the T2 and WIC course types. This means that they have been approved to fulfill both the 200-level Theology course requirement and the Writing Intensive Course requirement. Click in the Course Types field and use the buttons along at the top of the screen to scroll through all values in the field.
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Do not update the Instructional Method on this screen; use the Offering Info screen. Updates to the Offering Info screen are reflected here once they are saved.
Multiple instructors
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Click on the numbered button in the row of the instructor to be removed as shown below.
When asked to Select Table Operation to Perform for this row, click on "Delete."
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Use the Section Offering Info screen to change the Frequency from Weekly to “YW - Yearly, Same day” and change the start/end dates to match the meeting date. This will allow students to see the date of this one-day course section on their class schedule.
Also, be sure to enter Printed Comments on the Additional Information (shown below) screen stating the meeting date. Printed Comments are displayed for course sections in DataVU.
Section Requisites
This screen is populated using information from the Catalog. View this screen to make sure that any requisites are displayed as expected. Remember to refer to the Schedule of Classes Archive to view the requisites used for previous schedules.
Restrictions, Including Capacity
Enter section capacity, schedule capacity, and minimum enrollment values as described in the Adjusting Course Section Caps article linked below. Section capacity determines the number of students permitted to register for this course section. Schedule capacity does not impact registration; it's a reference tool that helps us to remember the highest number that should be allowed (this may factor in seats in the room or a maximum determined by the department or college).
Classrooms are assigned near the start of each term. Once you have an assigned classroom, please keep the room capacity in mind as you adjust any section caps. Also, please follow guidance from your dean regarding appropriate caps for course sections.
Coming Soon: An article is being written with current classroom capacity information for your reference.
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If this course section requires instructor approval for registration, enter a Y for Instructor Consent. Otherwise, leave an N in this field.
If this course section requires department chair or program director approval for registration, enter a Y for Petition Required. Otherwise, leave an N in this field.
Allow Audit should be left with an N. It is only changed to a Y when a student uses an Audit a Course form and is approved.
Only Pass/No Pass should have an N for courses that use the full grade scheme or a Y for courses that are always graded S/U according to the Catalog, such as internships.
Allow Pass/NoPass should be left with an N. It is only changed to a Y when a student uses a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading form and is approved.
Allow Waitlist should be Y for any course that uses a waitlist.
Waitlist Maximum isn't required, but it can be used to set a limit on the number of students permitted to use the waitlist.
You can use the Cross-Listing button to access the Cross-Listing screen described in the Cross-Listing section below.
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For full details, please read Adjusting Course Section Caps. |
Billing Information
Check the Billing Method to make sure it has a T for "From Tables."
Enter the number of credits for this course into the Billing Credits field. Credit hours and Billing Credits should match.
Examples:
- 3-credit courses need 3 Billing Credits.
- 2-credit courses need 2 Billing Credits.
Cross-Listing
Before entering details on the Cross-Listing screen, you must first create all of the sections that will be cross-listed. Once you have them all created, return to the primary course section, select the Cross-Listing page, and enter the cross-listed course sections as shown below.
Example: Type "ART-132-AA" into the Cross-List Sections field in row 2. Tab through and update the other fields as needed.
Only 1 section is the Primary ("Yes"), and the rest should have "No" in this column.
Regarding Global Capacity and Section Capacity for cross-listing Read the Adjusting Course Section Caps article for more information, including examples of cross-listed course section capacities with registration scenarios.
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For additional information, please read the Course Cross Listing and Common Room Grouping Policy and Adjusting Course Section Caps. |
Be sure to check load credits to make sure they are distributed appropriately across cross-listed sections. See notes above in the Faculty Assignment section for more details.
If the cross-listed courses include both undergraduate and graduate academic levels, set the primary course as the undergraduate one. Remember to give the primary section the load credits and enter 0 for the load of all other cross-listed sections.
, Same day” and change the start/end dates to match the meeting date. This will allow students to see the date of this one-day course section on their class schedule.
Also, be sure to enter Printed Comments on the Additional Information (shown below) screen stating the meeting date. Printed Comments are displayed for course sections in DataVU.
Section Requisites
This screen is populated using information from the Catalog. View this screen to make sure that any requisites are displayed as expected. Remember to refer to the Schedule of Classes Archive to view the requisites used for previous schedules.
Restrictions, Including Capacity
Enter section capacity, schedule capacity, and minimum enrollment values as described in the Adjusting Course Section Caps article linked below. Section capacity determines the number of students permitted to register for this course section. Schedule capacity does not impact registration; it's a reference tool that helps us to remember the highest number that should be allowed (this may factor in seats in the room or a maximum determined by the department or college).
Classrooms are assigned near the start of each term. Once you have an assigned classroom, please keep the room capacity in mind as you adjust any section caps. Also, please follow guidance from your dean regarding appropriate caps for course sections.
Coming Soon: An article is being written with current classroom capacity information for your reference.
The Reg Restrictions field shows any registration restrictions from the Catalog, such as those allowing students only with specific majors or minors. Use information from the Schedule of Classes Archiveto check this field for consistency.
If this course section requires instructor approval for registration, enter a Y for Instructor Consent. Otherwise, leave an N in this field.
If this course section requires department chair or program director approval for registration, enter a Y for Petition Required. Otherwise, leave an N in this field.
Allow Audit should be left with an N. It is only changed to a Y when a student uses an Audit a Course form and is approved.
Only Pass/No Pass should have an N for courses that use the full grade scheme or a Y for courses that are always graded S/U according to the Catalog, such as internships.
Allow Pass/NoPass should be left with an N. It is only changed to a Y when a student uses a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Grading form and is approved.
Allow Waitlist should be Y for any course that uses a waitlist.
If this field is set to Y to allow a waitlist for the section, be sure to enter a "1" in the "Waitlist Enroll No Days" field to indicate that students who are sent an email to register from the waitlist have one day to respond before the next student is contacted. If this field is left blank (null value), it will cause errors in the waitlist process, and the students on the waitlist will not be notified when seats are available.
Waitlist Maximum isn't required, but it can be used to set a limit on the number of students permitted to use the waitlist.
You can use the Cross-Listing button to access the Cross-Listing screen described in the Cross-Listing section below.
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For full details, please read Adjusting Course Section Caps. |
Billing Information
Check the Billing Method to make sure it has a T for "From Tables."
Enter the number of credits for this course into the Billing Credits field. Credit hours and Billing Credits should match.
Exception: Some courses, such as MBA, have sections with a different billing method. Please read the Billing Method article for more details.
Examples:
- 3-credit courses need 3 Billing Credits.
- 2-credit courses need 2 Billing Credits.
Cross-Listing
Before entering details on the Cross-Listing screen, you must first create all of the sections that will be cross-listed. Once you have them all created, return to the primary course section, select the Cross-Listing page, and enter the cross-listed course sections as shown below.
Example: Type "ART-132-AA" into the Cross-List Sections field in row 2. Tab through and update the other fields as needed.
Only 1 section is the Primary ("Yes"), and the rest should have "No" in this column.
Regarding Global Capacity and Section Capacity for cross-listing Read the Adjusting Course Section Caps article for more information, including examples of cross-listed course section capacities with registration scenarios.
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For additional information, please read the Course Cross Listing and Common Room Grouping Policy and Adjusting Course Section Caps. DO NOT cross-list sections and also use common room group - choose one or the other, based on the policy linked above. |
Load Credits for Cross-Listed Courses
Be sure to check load credits to make sure they are distributed appropriately across cross-listed sections. See notes above in the Faculty Assignment section for more details.
If the cross-listed courses include both undergraduate and graduate academic levels, set the primary course as the undergraduate one.
Remember to give the primary section the load credits and enter 0 for the load of all other cross-listed sections.
Common Room Group
To create a co-roomed section, start by navigating to CRMG and entering the name of the common room group. It’s best practice to include the term and section details in the name for clarity—for example, “SP25ENGL260/360.” Once you’ve entered the name, click OK to proceed.
The Group ID has now been created. Next, enter the term in the Term View Filter field.
Enter each section into the rows provided. The system will prompt you to confirm the correct section—select the appropriate one from the options provided.
Once you’ve selected the sections, they will populate in the rows below.
Save All.
To confirm that a section is common room grouped, go to the 'Offering Info' tab under SECT.
You'll see an 'X' in the box under the instructional method, indicating that the section is part of a common room group.
After detailing in, you can see the Common Room Group ID displayed.
Additional Information - Printed Comments
Click on the button with the page icon next to Additional Info.
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