Create a Link Between Templates
Linked templates in Concourse can be created manually or automatically via feed processing. This How-To will only show you how to create a link between templates manually. If you are interested in utilizing feeds to link templates, consider referring to the Construct and Process System Data Feeds article in our support center. Additionally, you must have the System level permission to Create and Clone courses. Consider checking your permissions with a Concourse administrator at your institution before proceeding with the tutorial below.
Many schools implement a linked template hierarchy to help manage common information across multiple syllabi from a single point. This tutorial assumes that you've already created an Institutional Template, which will be the highest-level template in a template hierarchy (to learn more about template hierarchies, consider getting started with our Linked Course Templates support article before proceeding with this tutorial).
Step-by-Step Tutorial
1. To begin, click on the Create dropdown menu in the main navigation and click Clone Course.
2. The resulting page is the Advanced Search and Results area. From here, you'll be able to search for the course you wish to clone. This is a good time to take advantage of all the Advanced Search options to narrow your search results. In our example, we want to find the Institutional Template so we utilized the following fields in Advanced Search to yield the best results:
- Course Title: Institutional Template
- Timeframe: -Any-
- Templates: Templates only
Once you are satisfied with your search parameters, click Search. The results will load in the Results area. In our example, our parameters were very specific so it yielded the exact template we wanted to clone.
3. Click the Clone button.
Watch out: A common mistake made at this step is clicking on the hyperlinked title of the template instead of the Clone button. The hyperlinked title is only going to load the syllabus, not the cloning page. You should only click on the hyperlinked title if you need to ensure you're about to clone the correct template. If you do choose to preview a template before cloning it, click the "back" button in your browser to return to the Results area and clone the course properly.
4. You will be redirected to a page prompting you to insert specific information about the course you’re creating. Here you can update each field accordingly:
- Course Title: Enter the title for your course template.IMPORTANT NOTE: During the cloning process, this defaults to the name of the template you are cloning. You will need to rename the course appropriately.
- Campus: Select the appropriate Campus. For many clients, this may simply be a campus called "Template."
- Department: Select the appropriate Department. Similarly, this may simply be a department called "Template."
- Start Date: The date the course template becomes effective. Defaults to the date of the template being cloned.
- End Date: You may opt to use an end date several years into the future because this is a template and will most likely get longer usage than a term-related syllabus; this can be updated accordingly. Don't worry; the template will not disappear when the end date passes. Defaults to the date of the templated being cloned.
- Sections: When creating new templates, be sure the “Create New” radio button is selected. You may opt to enter a label like "All Sections" or "Template" in the field. It has been helpful for clients to decide what these sections will be called and use the same nomenclature across departments to ensure consistency.
- My Group: This determines what role, if any, you will have in the cloned course. Typically, individuals at client institutions who have access to create courses and templates within Concourse select Managers if they will need to edit any information on the cloned syllabus.
- Template: ALWAYS check the "Template" box when creating a new linked course template. This is what links the course to the Institutional Template (or whichever course you're cloning for this purpose) so when changes are made on the Institutional Template, they will filter down to your new course!IMPORTANT NOTE: You MUST check this box during the initial cloning box. You will not be able to retroactively chenge this setting after creation.
- External_ID: The format for the External ID used by most client institutions is subjectnumber_TMPL (i.e. ACCT100_TMPL).
5. Click Clone.
After step 5, the new template will load. Double-check to make sure everything looks correct, and then you're ready to edit your new template!
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