Course Merges

Introduction:

Course merges are only recommended when an instructor has been assigned to teach multiple course sections. All sections included in the merge will have the same course content, gradebook, and due dates/times.

Process:

1. 1. Submit a COLTT Help Desk ticket.
2. 2. Provide the required course information(indicate the parent course section and child course section(s)) to merge your courses.
3. 3. Our Support Team will inform you once courses have been merged in the LMS.

Best Practice:

Important: Communicate with Your Students

If your courses are merged, students from all included sections will access course content and complete their coursework through the designated parent course in Brightspace. The individual child course(s) included in the merge will be set to inactive and will no longer be visible to students.
Before or immediately after the merge, instructors should notify students of the change and explain which Brightspace course they should use for the remainder of the semester.

This communication is especially important if students have already accessed their original course section, as the course they previously saw in Brightspace may no longer appear after the merge.

Troubleshooting Tips:

• • When merging courses in Brightspace, class rosters are kept in separate sections(Section A, Section B, etc.). If you want all the students from the different course sections to interact, you must create a cross-section group with members of all the merged sections so that users can see and interact with all learners.
• • Child courses are set as inactive by default when you do a course merge. Only instructors will be able to see inactive courses.
• • We do not recommend unmerging courses after the semester starts, as you may lose data.

FAQ's:

• • What are the risks of unmerging courses?
  • Loss of student data: Unmerging can result in the loss of discussion posts, assignment submissions, grades, and other activity that occurred after the merge.
  • Confusion for students: Students may lose access or see duplicate courses, leading to frustration and support requests.
  • Gradebook complications: If grading has already started, unmerging can disrupt grade calculations and reporting.
• • When might unmerging be appropriate?
  • If the merge was done in error before any student activity occurred.
  • If the wrong courses were merged and no grading or submissions have taken place.
• • What are some recommended best practices?
  • Avoid merging courses after the semester begins, especially once students have started submitting work.
  • If merging is necessary, do it before the term starts and communicate clearly with instructors and students.
  • Always back up gradebooks and student data before making structural changes.

Support:

For additional support, please contact our COLTT Help Desk at 956-665-5327 or 956-882-6792.