Course Scheduling System |

Overview of the System

The Purpose:

The purpose of CSS- The Course Scheduling System - is to provide a mechanism for departments to submit updates, additions or deletions via the web for future course offerings.

Accessing the Application

Application Access

Access to the CSS application may be obtained by filling out a paper copy of the Administrative Computing Services General Access Form. The General Access Form can be downloaded at https://ess.rutgers.edu/getting-access.html. Access to the application will allow you to view (not update) the course information. In addition to access to the CSS application, access to update course information is obtained by filling out the paper copy of the Course Scheduling System Course Access Form.

If you work for the Scheduling Office and need permission to approve courses, please state so on the Access Form, and obtain approval from the Scheduling director. Your account will be created with an approver role.

Connecting to Application

After connecting to the Internet with your Browser, type in the following URL: https://sims.rutgers.edu/fco The Welcome page will appear. Once connected to this URL, save the site by using the "Favorites" drop down menu located on the top toolbar, within the Internet Browser. This will eliminate the need to retype the URL for subsequent connections.
Click the EDIT COURSE OFFERINGS button to continue to log in and view or edit course offerings.
Click the VIEW MASTER COURSE LIST button to continue to the public list of courses (log in not required).

Logon to Application

System Requirements

Software Requirements

Internet Browser
Internet Explorer 8 and higher, Mozilla Firefox 5 and higher or another browser of the same generation is required.
For Macintosh users, IE and Safari are supported.

Other Software
Some reports are viewed with Microsoft Excel. Some reports are in PDF format, and are viewed with Adobe PDF reader.

Javascript

Javascript must be enabled on the browser for convenience features, such as the cursor jumping to the next cell and deleting a meeting.

Cookies

Cookies must be enabled for this application to work. The cookie this application writes is memory-based (which means that it disappears when the browser is closed and can't be read by an outside entity), and does not contain any sensitive data. Every browser allows the user to control which cookies to accept and which to block, though the actual means vary. In general, it should be possible to accept cookies from Rutgers and reject all others if privacy is a concern.

Screen Printing

You can print the active document by clicking Print icon on the Standard toolbar or open the File menu and choose Print. Additionally, a PDF file can be generated for Section Listing screen (requires Adobe Reader). The PDF document is easier to read and takes less paper than the screen printout

Searching for Sections

Select the term from the dropdown box, and enter the index number of a specific section or a combination of Unit/Subject/Course/Section/Supplement codes for the course or group of courses you would like to retrieve. You may also search for sections by a combination of the term and activation, change, review and approved flags.

Click on the Search button to continue to the Course Listing page

Note:Large results sets may take a long time to be retrieved; in addition, the size of result set is limited. For faster performance and more meaningful results, use more specific criteria - enter as much data as you know. If you need a report on a large data set (for example, all changed sections for a term during active editing by departments), you may request it from one of the administrators.

Section Listing

The courses listed on this page are a result of the selection and sort information entered on the previous page. This page allows you a number of options:

  1. Clicking on Add a Course from Master Course List will transfer you to the Master Course List - Search page, where you can search for a course that is not scheduled to be offered this year/term and add it to the Course Scheduling System. For instructions on adding a course, see the instructions listed under the heading Master Course List - Search.
  2. Clicking on the Edit button will transfer you to the Course - Detail page. There you will be able to update course information pertaining to the selected section and mark it reviewed. For instructions on editing section information, see the instructions listed under the heading Section Detail.
  3. Clicking on the Add Section button will transfer you to the Section Detail page. You will be able to add a new section to the Course Scheduling System. The following information will be copied to the new section from the selected section:
    • unit
    • subject
    • course
    • title
    • prefix
    • exam code
    • special permission to add/drop
    • open to major
    • open to class
    • prerequisite
    • corequisite
    • class restrictions
    You will be able to change these values later. For instructions on adding a new section, see the instruction listed under the heading Section Detail.
    4. The button will be labeled Activate or Deactivate depending on the listed section's status. When the listed section is active the button will read Deactivate. When the listed section is inactive the button will read Activate. By clicking this button you may change the status of the section. PLEASE NOTE: deactivating a section will remove all its meeting times! The section will also be marked reviewed.
    PLEASE NOTE: The Edit, Add Section and Active/Deactivate buttons will only be displayed for course subjects that you have been authorized to edit
  4. To return to the Course Selection and Sorting page, click on the Search Again link. From there you will be able to modify your search and sort selection.

Marking All Course Sections Reviewed

There may be times when no changes are required to the listed course sections. To submit all sections without changes, click on the submit button. This will mark all listed sections as reviewed. See the following result page.
PLEASE NOTE: For this option to be available and the submit button displayed, the minimum selection from the Course Selection and Sorting page must be UNIT/SUBJECT/COURSE.
After submitting all sections an status message will be displayed and all listed sections will be marked as reviewed.
Note: You may still make changes to any of those sections until the end of your access window.
When viewing the Course - Listing page after updates have been made to the section, all information that has been modified will be bolded, underlined and highlighted in yellow. The Reviewed indicates that the section has been reviewed by the appropriate Department. Modifications can still be made to all reviewed sections until the Departmental time period closes. After that the Scheduling Office will reconcile all requests and create the final schedule, which you may be asked to review later.

Because the Scheduling office may override your requests, consider saving a record of your changes. To do that, click on the PDF version link which is near the top of Course Listing screen, and save or print the PDF file. This way, you will be able to compare the final schedule with the changes that your department requested.

Section Detail

Page Overview

The Section Detail page is the main page used by Departmental clients to view and request modifications to detailed section information. The data is initially created by 'rolling over' (copying) all course data from the prior year�s term. Rollover data includes general section data as well as meeting times, prerequisites, and co-requisites. This data is known as the original course data. It is important to note that any changes entered on this page are requests for modifications. All requested changes to the data are stored and later reviewed and approved by the Campus Scheduling Officers to create the final Course Schedule. You may be asked to review the schedule once the approval is complete.

  1. Original course data - reflects the state of the course during the previous semester. Original data can not be modified.
  2. Updatable Fields - use any ediatble fields to request modifications to the original course data.
  3. Delete Time/Building/Room/Campus (X) - use this button to delete a meeting (Javascript is required; if you do not have Javascript enabled, manually delete all values in the row in order to get rid of a meeting).
  4. Create another meeting (C) - use this button to insert a copy of the current row below it. You can then make necessary changes to the new meeting data (requires Javascript). Note: pressing the button will have no effect if all meeting rows are already filled with data.
  5. Request Enhanced Classroom button - when clicked will transfer you to the Enhanced Classroom Request page, where you can request a room with special equipment.
  6. Memo Text box - use this for any special instructions to the Scheduling Office, such as prerequisite and co-requisite additions and changes. The text box is limited to 2000 characters.
  7. Save button - click to save all modifications and mark the section reviewed.
  8. Back to Listing button � Returns the user to the Course Listing page and scrolls to the section that was being edited. All unsaved changes are discarded
  9. Other buttons will appear if the user�s account is set up with an Approver role (Scheduling Office). If you have this role, please refer to the User Guide for more details.

How to Use this Page

It is important to review the original course data. When modifications are needed, enter the changes in the appropriate text box or select an entry from the drop down box. When submitted, these changes will be saved separately from the original values. The original values will not be modified.

All required fields are marked with a red *. Validations are done on these fields. If the data is missing an error message will be displayed stating the missing fields.

The following logic applies to Requested Time/Building/Room/Campus. If a validation error exists, an appropriate error message will be displayed.

A Note Regarding Lead Sections

Sometimes several sections of the same course meet for lectures together. In this situation, the lecture room assignment is associated with only one of those sections, called a lead section. Other sections are linked to the lead section. The CSS system will not allow you to change a room assignment for a lecture on a linked section. You can only change the lecture room assignment for the lead section, and then the system will automatically update all sections linked to it.
You can distinguish between lead and linked sections as follows:

Note: Deactivating a lead section will cause it to also be unlinked. A new lead section will be chosen

Saving or Discarding the Changes

When all modification have been made, click the Save button to save the data and mark the section reviewed. You will return to the Course Listing page, and the page will scroll to the section you have just finished editing.
Note: if the updated section no longer meets the listing�s search criteria, it will no longer be on the screen (for instance, if you have searched for inactive sections and then activated one of them, it will �disappear� from the listing)

If you do not wish to save the changes, press the Back To Listing button, to return to the same place in the listing that you left off from. This will discard all the changes since the last save.

Approver Instructions for Section Detail Screen

Please refer to the User Guide for the approver-specific information

Editing Instructors of Record

The Section Detail page allows users from both academic departments and the Scheduling office to add instructors of record. Changes to instructors entered by academic departments do not require approval from the Scheduling office and are effective immediately.

Only individuals who have a valid record in the Rutgers employee database can be added as instructors. You may click on "Add instructor" and then on the search icon to search against the employee database. Once you find the instructor you need, click on that instructor's NetID to return to the Section Detail screen.

The following fields can be edited on the Section Detail screen:

Please refer to the User Guide for more on instructor assignment

Enhanced Classroom Request

The Enhanced Classroom Request page is displayed when the Request Enhanced Classroom button is clicked. To submit a request for an enhanced classroom:

  1. Enter Contact Person, Phone Number and Email address of the Contact Person. These fields are required.
  2. Select the meeting times for which the Enhanced Classroom is needed. To do this, check the boxes next to the Meeting Days/Times. You must select at least one meeting time in order for the request to be valid
  3. In the drop down boxes located after the equipment, select the frequency of use for the listed equipment ("Will not Use" is the default, and means that this type of equipment is not needed). You must select at list one piece of equipment
  4. Click on the Request Enhanced Classroom button to submit the request. Your request will be saved and you will return to the Section Detail page. You will also see "Enhanced Classroom Requested" on the Section Detail page

Searching Master Course List

Enter the Unit (required) and Subject/Course/Supplement codes for the course or group of courses you would like to retrieve. Select the Sort Option according to your preferences.

Click on the Search MCL button to continue to the Master Course List page

Master Course List

The courses listed on this page are a result of the selection and sort information entered on the previous page. To add a course from the Master Course list, click the Select Course button located next to the course you would like to add. When the Select Course button is clicked, control will be passed back to the Section Detail page (see Section Detail). The following fields will be mapped:

PLEASE NOTE: You must be logged in in order to be able to add a course. The Select Course button will only be displayed next to courses that you are authorized to update. See Authorization Requirements.

Approver-Only Features

Please refer to the User Guide for instructions on using approver features

Administrator-Only Features

Please refer to the User Guide for instructions on using administration features