Schools that are building a course catalog from scratch or adding new courses to their curriculum will enter course information in jmc Office. Creating courses allows you to build schedules, enroll students, and enable teachers to take attendance and access gradebooks in jmc Teacher. Whether it's a year-long required course or a one-trimester elective, adding a new course is the first step!
To create a new course, go to: Schedules > Course > Edit Course Data.
General Course Data
General course data defines key characteristics such as credit value, report card inclusion, and elective or required status. Properly setting this data simplifies scheduling and ensures teachers have the gradebook tools they need.
Course Name: the name that will appear on class lists and student schedules
Term Type: the duration required for the course to receive the listed credit(s)
Weight: the credit value used for graduation requirements and GPA calculations
Grade Scale: the grading scale (regular, raised, or lowered) used to calculate GPA
Alternative Course ID/Name: the ID number or name given to a course (often dual credit or college) to help further identify a course that may appear under a different name or course number
Block Length: the number of consecutive periods a longer-than-normal class meets during the day (as used in a block schedule)
Report Card: a checkbox to include/exclude the course from end-of-term report cards
Grad Credit Starts in Grade: a drop-down list indicating the grade level at which credit toward graduation will be awarded. This is most commonly grade 9, but can be changed in the cases where middle school students can earn credit toward graduation (such as Algebra).
Honor Roll: a checkbox indicating whether or not results from the selected course will be factored into honor roll calculations
Counts in GPA/Cumulative Starts in Grade: a checkbox indicating whether or not a course will be included in GPA calculations along with a drop-down list specifying the grade level that cumulative grade points will begin accruing
Required/Elective: the status of the class used in conjunction with the Scheduling Aid to prioritize courses to build the appropriate master schedule typically in high school situations
Include in Teacher Conference Schedules: a checkbox including/excluding a course from being selected during teacher conference sign up
Flag Students who Repeat: a checkbox used for advanced scheduling to help identify students that are registering for courses that they have already completed
Tabs
Beyond general course data, several tabs help schedulers add essential course details for scheduling and state reporting, organizing the "Edit Course Data" page to keep all course information in one place and save time. Office professionals use these tabs to set grading preferences, define class sections, and manage course details efficiently.
Sections: a "classroom" of students for the selected course that consists of the term, period and days the course meets along with the teacher, room number, bell schedule and a quick total of the students scheduled into the course and enrolled in each section
Constraints: a set of constraints including capacity and teacher availability used for scheduling students into the available terms and periods dictated by your staff availability
State Specific Section: items such as the institution providing the instruction, the organization and delivery method used for state reporting
Teachers: the teacher or teachers in a co-teaching situation with gradebook access for the listed section
Grading Schemes: the end of term reporting options for the selected course based on the term type
State Specific Course: the course codes and course numbers used for state reporting purposes
Fees: fees that are associated with the selected course
Description: a free text field displayed to students when signing up for classes online in jmc Student
Grad Requirement: a handy method for adding new courses to the Credit Checker right from the "Edit Course Data" page