Quercus courses are generally created based on ROSI's course database. For academic courses, this works great! If you are assigned to the course, not only will it be automatically generated (as per the creation schedule) but you will also be assigned to it (if you cannot see your course, please contact your departmental ROSI contact).
There are cases, however, where you might want to request a permanent course that exists outside of the academic schedule. Permanent courses are often used as hubs for co-curricular activities (e.g. EngSci's Communication Hub), faculty development (e.g. ECE Departmental Forum) or certification tracking (e.g. Safety Module tracking). For each type of use, there are some drawbacks and we recommend a conversation with the Education Technology Office before you request creating a course (to help ensure this is the appropriate solution for you).
To request a new, permanent, self-managed Quercus course:
1. Consult with the EdTech Office to ensure this is the right solution for you.
The recommendation for a solution can depend on the audience that will be using the new digital collaborative space. If you are building something that is largely faculty- and staff-facing, you might consider creating a MS Team instead (see our guide How do I request a Microsoft Team? for details). If you are creating something student-facing, then a Quercus course is likely the best solution.
2. Submit the new course request form.
- To request a new course, please submit the form on the following page: Request a New Quercus Course
3. Review your new responsibilities as a course manager and builder.
- You will be responsible for managing enrollments this course. There is no feature for automatic enrollments and if a student requires removal, this has to be managed by your administrative team. Since this course is "permanent," it exists outside the academic timetables and, once enrolled, people will have access until you remove them.
- You will complete your own data export and analysis. It is highly recommended that before you spend too much time developing the course, that you fully investigate if Quercus will give you the data and analytics that you need. There are times where it does not work as well as desired for tracking achievements and competencies (especially across courses).
Students should never be assigned the "Teacher" role. If this is a student-directed club or organization, please advise them that a U of T faculty or staff advisor is required to remain enrolled in the course. You might also consider having students sign a non-disclosure agreement, based on your department's policies regarding student information and what is visible to student leaders within a Quercus course shell.