KB1127 - Course Startup Checklist

The following is a GENERAL checklist to help you prepare for the start of your Moodle course:

In the days or weeks prior to your course starting, you should:

•  Ensure your course content meets current policy and best practices regarding Copyright and Fair Dealing (see KB1074 for more information). This includes, but is not limited to:
  • images (including those found online)
  • videos (including YouTube)
  • excerpts from books
  • electronic databases
  • course packs
•  Decide how your students will be enrolled. To find out about the various options, see KB1103 - How do students get enrolled into my course?
  • If you are using BANNER auto-enroll (RECOMMENDED), see KB1090 for instructions.  Be sure to check your course participants list for enrollments at least a week before the course start date, so that any technical issue can be resolved in time for the course start date.
  • If you are using self-enrollment, see KB1055 for instructions. Remember to contact your students with the enrollment key.*
  • If you are manually enrolling your students, see KB1070 for instructions.  If you cannot find a particular student in Moodle, it MAY be because they've never logged into Moodle before.  This exists with some students who have had a VCC account prior to 2011.  Simply ask the student to log into Moodle, and an account will be created. At that point, you can manually enroll them (or you could provide that student with an enrollment key).
•  Ensure the START and END dates of your course are set to match the OFFICIAL dates as shown in BANNER. See KB1026 for instructions.  This does not affect whether or not your students can access your course, but it does affect course logs and the appearance on the Dashboard/Course Overview (in progress, future, or past).  Also, if your course is still hidden the day before it's set start date, you will receive a reminder notification to "unhide" or "make visible" your course. This can be a welcome reminder. The END date is for reporting and archiving purposes, only, and will not have any affect on your course enrolment or student access. If your course does not have an end date (for example, a continuous enrolment course) then set the date to December 21, 2050. 
•  IF YOUR COURSE SHELL WAS COPIED from a previous version, it is important that you check anything that dates specific, such as availability and due dates. When courses are copied, Moodle will try to roll* the dates (and times) of all the content such as assignment due dates. These days and times may not be accurate according to your planned schedule. For example, Moodle won't care that an exam is opening up on a Sunday.
•  Ensure you have "tagged" your course appropriately, identifying what type of course shell it is. See KB1178 for more information.
•  View your course the way a student would, using one or more of the following methods:
  • Use DemoStudent. See KB1142 for instructions. (RECOMMENDED)
  • Use the "Switch role to... Student." See KB1064 for instructions.

The day your course starts, you should:

•  Ensure your course is visible to your students. See KB1097 for instructions.
•  If you are using self-enrollment check your course participants list intermittently to see if students are managing to self-enroll successfully.

* Rolling will change all dates based on the new start date. For example, if the original course started January 1, and the copy starts January 15, all dates in the course will be bumped forward 14 days.