Courseleaf FAQs

CAT—this is the catalog system that generates the “catalog.canisius.edu” site.  The editable catalog can be found at https://courseleaf-next.canisius.edu/. You must have a user account to access this page and need permissions to make edits to content/pages. If you do not have an account or permissions, please contact Academic Affairs at acaf@canisius.edu. Please note, this editable catalog is used when preparing the next academic catalog. Once the catalog is live, please work with Academic Affairs to ensure your edits are visible in the live catalog.

CIM for Programs—this application feeds into the curriculum tab content for each major, minor, or concentration. In the catalog, you will notice the table of program requirements found on a major’s curriculum tab is grayed out. This is because that information isn’t editable through CAT. It is only editable through CIM for Programs. You can either click the edit link within the gray box or go to CIM for programs and search for the program to being edits. This application is also where new programs are created.

CIM for Courses—this application syncs with banner and provides the course details to the Catalog as well as the scheduling system CLSS. If a course needs to be changed, go to CIM for Courses and enter the course code. Then, click “edit course” to begin making edits. Once submitted into workflow and approved, the information will sync with banner overnight as long as there aren’t glitches. If the new course details are not showing up as approved or reflected in the catalog, please check in with Academic Affairs.

CLSS—this application is used for building course schedules for each semester. The information for each course is populated through CIM. For example, if you want to offer an online section of a course, it must have the online delivery format checked off in CIM for courses in order for that to be a scheduling option.

Click here for a video tutorial.

A text anchor will allow you to "jump" down to a designated area on your page. This is often used on pages with a lot of content so it's easier to navigate. You can also add a "toggle" header to expand and collapse information (see next question for those instructions).

To add your anchor:

1. Place the cursor where an anchor should be added and click the Anchor button (do not highlight the text, just have the cursor in front of the text that should have the anchor)
2. Give the anchor a name
   • Try to give it one that relates to the content so users know which anchor to link to when a link is created
   • Do not use spaces
   • Only use _ and - if you need to use special characters
3. Click OK
4. Now you can link it using the link button (Generally at the top of the page, you will type the text you want – I recommend the text of the header; highlight it; insert the link)

Or Click here to watch a video tutorial on how to add an anchor.

To add a link, highlight the linkable text and select the link button in the page editor menu. A popup menu will then appear where you can paste the link. There are 3 types of links to add to your content

1. External links—things outside the catalog, like canisius.edu, require the full URL to be pasted in and the “open in new window” to be checked off
2. Internal links—these live within the catalog and need to be relative links, which means you do not paste in the full URL. The beginning of the catalog URL changes once the catalog goes live. Therefore, you should only include the part of the URL after “catalog.canisius.edu”.
   1. Correct relative link: “/undergraduate/ college-arts-sciences/biology/”
   2. Incorrect relative link: https://catalog.canisius.edu/undergraduate/college-arts-sciences/biology/
3. Email address—if you want your link to open up an email type “mailto:” followed by the email address. Click here to watch video.
   
   1. For example: mailto:smith@canisius.edu
   2. Note, there are no spaces!

Courses can be linked to a pop-up course bubble to provide a quick snapshot of the course name and details. This can be done by typing the course subject code and number, then highlight the course and click the “pancake” button. By doing so, this course will be linked to the course bubble which will populate with the  current course information from CIM for Courses. In addition, it allows the site admin to keep track of any mentioning of courses that have been inactivated. If the course becomes inactive, it will be highlighted in a red box. In addition, an error message will be shared with the site administration so the course can be removed or replaced in the catalog content.

Most majors have existing roadmaps created. To edit, go to the roadmap tab and click “Edit Roadmap” to begin. Within that popup menu, you’ll see the roadmap tables are in blue boxes. To edit, double click within that blue box and a popup menu will appear. From this window, courses can be added or removed, comments can be edited, or courses can be moved around. To add a course, you can either enter the code via the “Quick Add” field or search for the course from the drop down menu and click the “>>” button to move it over to the applicable Year and Term. To remove a course, highlight it and click the “<<” button. You can also move courses up and down, add comments, course sequence, an “or” class, or footnote. The hours will not be displayed in the roadmap. In addition, you can adjust the formatting for each line entry with an indent or creating area headers. Indents are commonly used when you want to show multiple options in a term. For example, you can add a comment entry “select one of the following” and then list 3 or more courses below it all indented.

To learn more about editing a roadmap, click here.

To create a new course:

1. Click on the green “Propose New Course” button.
   1. Note that when you are in the propose new course screen, you can choose “Propose New from Existing,” which is great if you are creating graduate and undergraduate versions of a course or if you are creating a special version of a special topics course.
2. Any of the red boxes must be filled out before you can submit, however, you can save your work and return at a later time.
3. You should check the course numbers that are currently being used to pick a number that is unique.
4. Complete the form. All red fields are required.
   
   1. Most fields are self-explanatory, however, if you need additional assistance refer to the CIM for Courses Cheat Sheet or watch this tutorial video.

You can search for classes by using any on the following:

• Typing in the subject and number (e.g., ACC 201). Note that you need a space between the subject code and the
• Type in the subject code (this will give you a list of all courses in the subject)
• Search for the course by title. You can use an asterisk (*) as a wild card. So, *sustain* will return any course with sustainable, sustainability, in the title.

Click on the class you want to edit and then click on the green “Edit Course” button below the search

• All existing information will be populated, and you can edit course information as described below in “Completing the CIM Course Inventory form.”
• Any of the red boxes must be filled out before you can submit, however, you can save your work and return at a later time.

If you are applying for core credit for a course, please check “Are you adding, removing, or changing the Core designation for this course?” This will open an executive summary of changes to core credit and will allow you to change (add or delete) designations in the core. Please indicate all changes requested (e.g., dropping field 3 credit, adding advanced writing, etc).

• Click on the appropriate designation for the course. Most will be “Other Core Course” –which opens the section to choose fields, knowledge attributes, and/or skills attributes.
• You only need to fill out the questions for a designation you are adding (in other words, if you already have Field 3 credit and are just adding justice, you don’t need to fill out the sections related to Field 3– but you should mention that in the “Executive Summary.”
• You must attach a course syllabus, even a sketchy one, or a detailed course plan, which shows the texts and other materials that you plan to use in the course, the structure and grading weight of assignments and other information that you believe is pertinent to this attribute.

New majors, graduate programs, advanced certificates, and some program changes require New York State approval. Prior to building your new program or making a change to an existing program, please contact Academic Affairs for guidance during this process.

To begin creating a program in CIM, https://courseleaf-next.canisius.edu/programadmin, you can propose a new program via the green button. It is essential that all requirements be reflected accurately in the program inventory (and thus in the catalog). Most of this will be in the “Program Requirements” box. This needs to be carefully crafted to make the requirements clear and user-friendly for students and for advisors. 

Complete the New Program Form:

• Choose the department where a program will be housed (if you need a new department, please contact the AVPAA’s office to get one created). For most departments, when you choose a department, it will auto-populate the College.
• Indicate the level (Undergraduate programs refer to Bachelor’s or Associate’s degrees; Graduate programs include Master’s degrees and post-baccalaureate or post-masters certificates; Graduate & Undergraduate refers to a program that leads to both credentials at the end of the program)
• Choose the Credential Type (contact the AVPAA’s office if you need to get a new one created).
• The Program Code will generally be created by the Registrar, but you can suggest one if you would
• The NYSED Code and HEGIS code will be provided by the AVPAA’s office when the program is registered with New York State (NB all majors, certificate, graduate programs, and any concentrations within each of these must be registered with New York state). Minors will not get NYSED or HEGIS
• The effective catalog year determines which catalog changes will appear (and this feeds the website). For existing programs, changes that are “in the student’s favor” (like adding electives, or eliminating a required course) can be made in the current year, while changes that make things more restrictive (like adding a required course) must be made in the next year. For new programs, we recommend adding them to the current catalog so we can advertise them as soon as we have NYSED approval.
• The executive summary can be quite short. This is really just a way to see what is being proposed. For new programs, it could be as simple as “Proposing new post-baccalaureate ”
• The program requirements section will populate the catalog and will be used to generate a new GriffAudit (i.e., it will show up verbatim in the catalog). This needs to be EXACTLY as you want it to appear in the catalog and MUST have all the requirements to receive that credential. If you have narrative information you want to explain these requirements, you will be able to upload them in the “Additional Information/Supporting Materials”
  • Requirements may include non-course requirements (successful completion of a discipline- specific exam, completion of child abuse training, CPR certification, a study abroad experience, a specific GPA in the major, etc.)
  • Requirements will always include a course list (see below on how to insert a course list)
• The roadmap is not required, but provides an easy way to see the curriculum as a student would take it, particularly if you have courses that require specific I only recommend using it for majors or graduate programs that have specific sequencing.
• The “If this proposal involves changes to existing curricula, does this change require additional resources (faculty/budget)?” question should be checked “yes” if there are any budget implications (adding new faculty, teaching new courses, teaching additional sections). If you check yes, a new box opens asking you to explain the resources needed and the rationale. For new programs, you will also need to complete the “Program Enrollment-Revenue-Expenses Projection” form available from the Academic Affairs
• New programs must include the following attachments:
  • Program Learning Goals and Objectives (this does not have to be a separate document if it is included in the NYSED form).
  • “Program Enrollment-Revenue-Expenses Projection” form (available from the Academic Affairs Office)
  • The “New York State Department of Education form” (available from the Academic Affairs Office). Note that in the ideal situation, this form would be completed prior to submitting the application in this This is the official application that we file with the state.
• You may also include other supporting material by attaching files in the “Additional Information/Supporting Materials” section. You can attach as many files as you need to, but each must be attached separately. When you click “Save Changes” or “Save and Start Workflow”, they will be uploaded.
• If you want to continue working later, you can hit the white “Save Changes” button. Once you have added all the necessary information, you hit the green “Save and Start Workflow” button.

CIM for Programs "program requirement" section is pulled into each major/minor's "Curriculum" tab. To edit the information pulled into this tab, you must edit the CIM record here: https://courseleaf-next.canisius.edu/programadmin. Follow these steps:

• Search for the program using “*” as a wildcard. *PSC* will give us both the PSC major and the PSC Choose the program you wish to edit
• The NYSED Code and HEGIS code will be provided by the AVPAA’s office when the program is registered with New York State (NB all majors, certificate, graduate programs, and any concentrations within each of these must be registered with New York state). Minors will not get NYSED or HEGIS Please do not change these fields.

• The effective catalog year determines which catalog changes will appear (and this feeds the website). For existing programs, changes that are “in the student’s favor” (like adding electives, or eliminating a required course) can be made in the current year, while changes that make things more restrictive (like adding a required course) must be made in the next year. For new programs, we recommend adding them to the current catalog so we can advertise them as soon as we have NYSED approval.
• The executive summary can be quite short. This is really just a way to see what is being proposed. For existing programs it could be as simple as “Adding new electives” or “Creating new data analytics concentration”.
• If you are making changes to an existing program, you will need to indicate if they are fast-track, non-substantive, or substantive. This will open up a series of check boxes that indicate items in each of these categories that might apply. Please check all boxes that apply to the change you are making.
• Change justification may be brief, especially if just adding electives (e.g., new course offered by new faculty, replacing course x with this course to provide option related to border studies). However, if you are making changes that will need to go to New York State, the justification should be more extensive – why are these changes needed and how will they affect students.
• The program requirements section will populate the catalog and will be used to update the GriffAudit (i.e., it will show up verbatim in the catalog). This needs to be EXACTLY as you want it to appear in the catalog and MUST have all the requirements to receive that credential. If you have narrative information you want to explain these requirements, you will be able to upload them in the “Additional Information/ Supporting Materials” below.
  • Requirements will always include a course list
  • Requirements may include non-course requirements (successful completion of a discipline- specific exam, completion of child abuse training, CPR certification, a study abroad experience, )

• The roadmap is not required, and is not recommend using it in CIM for existing programs because you will also have to make the same edits in the catalog.
• The “If this proposal involves changes to existing curricula, does this change require additional resources (faculty/budget)?” question should be checked “yes” if there are any budget implications (adding new faculty, teaching new courses, teaching additional sections). If you check yes, a new box opens asking you to explain the resources needed and the rationale. If you have a lot of information, spreadsheets, or other supporting documents, you can attach them either in the “Additional Information/ Supporting Materials” below
• You may attach additional documents as needed:
  • Program Learning Goals and Objectives (this does not have to be a separate document if it is included in the NYSED form).
  • “Program Enrollment-Revenue-Expenses Projection” form (available from the Academic Affairs Office)
  • The “New York State Department of Education form” (available from the Academic Affairs Office). Note that in the ideal situation, this form would be completed prior to submitting the application in this system. This form is required if changes need to be approved by the
  • “Additional Information/Supporting Materials” section. You can attach as many files as you need to, but each must be attached separately. When you click “Save Changes” or “Save and Start Workflow”, they will be
• You can attach as many files as you need to, but each must be attached separately. When you click “Save Changes” or “Save and Start Workflow”, they will be uploaded.
• If you want to continue working later, you can hit the white “Save Changes” button. Once you have added all the necessary information, you hit the green “Save and Start Workflow” button.