Setting Conditional Item Logic
This article will be most useful for Concourse Admins, Domain Users, and Instructors.
Overview
Conditional Item Logic allows syllabus editors to set a condition that has to be met in order for an item to present to users with view permission. For example, a condition might be that the course’s campus is Main Campus. If the course is stored in the Main Campus, then the condition is true and the item displays to viewers; if the course is not stored in the Main Campus, then the condition is false and the item does not display to viewers.
Conditional Logic includes three components:
- Parameter: Tag, Campus, School, or Department
- Operator: Is or Is Not (domains) and Is Applied or Is Not Applied (course tags)
- Value: The label of the tag or domain used in the condition (e.g., Main Campus)
Selections must be made for all three components, and the item must be saved in order for the Conditional Item Logic to apply to the syllabus.
Once a Conditional Item has been added to a syllabus, that item is always visible in edit mode; the item only displays in view mode if the condition is true. In edit mode, a blue indicator ribbon appears above the item to indicate if the item is shown or is not shown in view mode, including a brief explanation of the item’s Conditional Logic (see image below).
Any user with edit permission for syllabus items that can be added in multiples may include Conditional Logic on those items. Conditional Item Logic can be added to templates or live courses, depending on your institution’s needs.
Including Conditional Logic
To include Conditional Logic on a syllabus item, a user with edit permission should:
- Navigate to the syllabus to be edited.
- In the secondary navigation menu, select Syllabus > Edit.
- Open the editing interface for a subitem. If the subitem has not yet been added to the syllabus:
- Add the top-level item by selecting the item’s name from the list of available items in the upper-left corner of the syllabus.
- Once the top-level item has been added to the syllabus, select the subitem’s name to the left of the item to add the subitem and start editing.
- In the editing interface, select the option to Include Conditional Logic.
- Next, select the appropriate parameter (tag, campus, school, or department), value (specific tag or domain label for the condition), and operator to create the condition–Is Applied or Is Not Applied for tags; Is or Is Not for domains (see image below).
- Finish editing the item and select Save.
Conditional Logic can be removed from items without deleting the item. To delete Conditional Logic, open the editing interface for the item in question, select Remove Conditional Logic, and Save.
Note that the order of value and operator in the condition depend upon the parameter selected. When tag is the selected parameter, the value appears first, followed by the operator (e.g., “Tag Undergraduate Is Not Applied”). When a domain is the selected parameter, the operator appears first, followed by the value (e.g., “Campus Is Main Campus”).
Example Conditions
To better understand the display results of Conditional Item Logic, we’ll work through some examples. Let’s say your institution’s course template for Introduction to Visual Analytics is stored in the Template > Template > Template domain hierarchy and has only the Graduate course tag applied. Following are some conditions and their results for that course template.
Condition | View Result |
Tag Graduate Is Applied | Condition is true; item displays in view mode |
Tag Graduate Is Not Applied | Condition is false; item does not display in view mode |
Tag Undergraduate Is Not Applied | Condition is true; item displays in view mode |
Tag Undergraduate Is Applied | Condition is false; item does not display in view mode |
Campus Is Main Campus | Condition is false; item does not display in view mode |
Campus Is Not Main Campus | Condition is true; item displays in view mode |
Typically, course templates are copied to create live courses that may have different domains. If the live courses created from the Introduction to Visual Analytics Template is stored in the Main Campus, then the item containing Conditional Logic “Campus Is Main Campus” will display in view mode because the condition is true in the live course. See Conditional Item Logic Template Behaviors for more information.
Copying Conditional Items
Conditional Items can be copied in the same way that other syllabus items can be copied. Users can manually copy to or from a syllabus or copy to many syllabi; when the user selects the item category to copy, Conditional Items are included. Both the content of the item and its condition are copied to the destination syllabus. If the destination syllabus does not have the same domains or applied tags as the original syllabus, then the copied Conditional Items may not display as they did in the original syllabus. For example, a user may copy Course Policies from one syllabus to another. If a course policies subitem on the original syllabus includes the Conditional Logic “Tag Service Learning Is Applied,” that item may not have displayed on the original syllabus if the Service Learning Tag was not set on the course. If the destination syllabus has the Service Learning course tag applied, however, the subitem will display even though it did not on the original syllabus.
Best Practices and Recommendations
Conditional Item Logic is a powerful feature that can optimize the syllabus administration process; however, it may not be immediately intuitive to all users and its accidental misuse may be challenging to remediate. We recommend that you exercise caution and implement this feature carefully. Test all Conditional Item Logic operations in your sandbox before attempting them in your production environment where real data can be impacted. Following the steps below also increases the likelihood that your implementation of Conditional Item Logic will be successful.
- Conditional Item Logic is most efficient to manage on templates instead of numerous live courses. We recommend that you start your implementation of Conditional Item Logic with templates and branch into live courses if needed once you feel more confident with the feature.
- Some syllabus editors, like Instructors, are able to include Conditional Item Logic on the syllabus level but can’t set course tags or control domains. They may not understand why Conditional Content does not display as they expect. It’s important to help all editors understand how this feature works so they can use it effectively.
- Editors may include Conditional Item Logic on live courses in unexpected ways as they learn to use the feature. It’s important to track Conditional Content so that you can:
- provide guidance if needed
- support ongoing quality assurance and completeness reviews
- locate false conditions more easily. False conditions cannot be reported upon, and course tags and domains cannot be deleted from your system if they are associated with Conditional Item Logic.
To learn more about this feature, check out the following help articles:
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