Frequently Asked Questions

CIM is a course management module with a workflow component. In CIM you can propose, edit, or delete courses and programs and send them through workflow for the relevant governance approvals. Once you submit a proposal in CIM, the system guides the proposal through the approval processes. Approved changes are updated in the calendar and/or Colleague as appropriate and for the correct academic year or semester.

How do I edit an existing course?

The course details I see in CIM do not match what I see in the published calendar. Which one is correct?

Can I start a proposal and go back later to edit it?

A course I am viewing does not show the ‘Edit’ button. How do I create a proposal to modify this course?

I made a mistake on my proposal, and it was processed in Colleague and the calendar that way. What do I do?

How can I view what changes were previously approved for a course?

Why aren’t my course changes showing in the published calendar?

What does it mean when a course displays with the header “Changes saved but not submitted”?

How do I edit an existing course?

1. Log into CourseLeaf CIM. 
2. In the blank box under “Search,” enter the subject abbreviation and course number of the course you wish to edit. Click the green “Search” button. (Or, to search for a course by title, type an asterisk, part of the title, and another asterisk, then click “Search.”) 
3. If you see a green “Edit Course” button, click that button to open an editing window. (Note: The editing window sometimes opens behind the main window.) 
4. If you do not see an Edit button, the course is already in workflow. Please contact the curriculum committee/graduate program coordinator related to request course changes. Some changes may be possible while the proposal is still in workflow.  
5. In the editing window, update the course record as needed. Be sure that all required fields (outlined in red) have been completed. 
6. If you do not know the correct value of a required field, put a placeholder such as “N/A” or “XXXX please answer” in the blank. 
7. To save your work and continue later, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click “Save Changes.” 
8. Click “Save and Submit” when you are done editing 
9. When you have made all your changes and are ready to start the workflow, select “Start Workflow” 

The course details I see in CIM do not match what I see in the published calendar. Which one is correct?

Once the calendar is published, all changes approved after that date will be rolled to the next available edition of the calendar. The discrepancy may be because the course was updated in CIM after the calendar was published. You should rely on the record in CIM for the latest version, but the calendar for what is the correct version for the appropriate academic year. If you believe the error is legitimate, contact your courseleaf@uoguelph.ca.  

Can I start a proposal and go back later to edit it?

Yes! If you are in the middle of creating a new course or program or editing an old one, you can click the Save button at the bottom to Save your work. Once you have completed all changes and want the proposal to move forward, you must click Start Workflow to submit the proposal. You can go back and edit the proposal as many times as you like before you hit the Start Workflow button. Once you hit Start Workflow, the proposal is submitted, and you will be unable to make changes 

A course I am viewing does not show the ‘Edit’ button. How do I create a proposal to modify this course?

This may be a deactivated or deleted course. This course is included in the CIM system for record keeping but is not available to be edited or reactivated.  

• When viewing the course in Course Management, the item status will show as Deleted in the results menu below the Search bar 
• The course will also show a header of ‘Course Discontinuation Proposal.’ 

Alternatively, this course may already have changes proposed in workflow. Further edits to a proposal in workflow would need to be made by the user in the role where the course change is currently sitting. If you’d like to propose changes to a course in workflow, connect with the curriculum committee chair or graduate program chair for advice.   

I made a mistake on my proposal, and it was processed in Colleague and the calendar that way. What do I do?

Once the course change has been processed in Colleague, your proposal is considered ‘Complete.’ You will need to create a new proposal which corrects the error and submit it to workflow. 

How can I view what changes were previously approved for a course?

If the change was made and approved in CIM, you can view the course’s history in CIM. 

1. Go to Course Management 
2. Search for the course. 
3. Select it from the results menu. The results will display. If any changes were made to the course in CIM, you will see a box to the right of the course details titled History.  Each numbered entry listed in this area will correspond to a course proposal which was approved. Select on of the entries to see the full details of that approved proposal. 

If the change was made and approved before CIM was implemented, files will be available in the Office of Quality Assurance or the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.  

Why aren’t my course changes showing in the published calendar?

Changes are proposed for future iterations of the calendar. Once the upcoming calendar is in print, fully approved course changes will be published. Until then, approved changes will stay in the CIM system until Colleague is revised and the new calendar version is published.  

What does it mean when a course displays with the header “Changes saved but not submitted”?

Someone had already started a proposal and saved their changes on this item, but they have not yet submitted it in workflow. You may select Edit Course to open up the proposal and add your own changes. You must select Start Workflow to start the proposal on its approval path.

I am editing a program, what program modification type should I select?

How come I can’t submit a new program to workflow?

How do I make program modifications which involve new courses which have not yet been approved?

Why aren’t my program changes showing in the published calendar?

How do I build a course list or plan grid?

I am editing a program, what program modification type should I select?

Multiple program modification types may be selected for any one proposal. The selection of modification types drives the questions that the proponent will be asked to respond to. For definitions of different program modification types see the links in the help bubble associated with the question or the Graduate Program Modification Types.pdf and UG- AD Program Modification Types.pdf files in the Courseleaf Teams / SharePoint site.  

How come I can’t submit a new program to workflow?

New programs can only be submitted to workflow if an approved notice of intent is attached to the proposal. Ensure a notice of intent has been completed and approved by relevant stakeholders in the intent module before starting workflow on a new program. Exceptions exist for new co-op programs where a major or program already exists and new areas of concentration where a major already exists.  

h3 id="How do I make program modifications which involve new courses which have not yet been approved?">How do I make program modifications which involve new courses which have not yet been approved?

You may make your program modifications once the course proposals have been created and are in workflow. Note that: 

• the course proposals do not need to be fully approved in order for you to add the course in to your program in CIM-Programs 
• if the course is not approved but your program is approved, you will need to go back and edit the proposal to your program to remove that unapproved course 

Why aren’t my program changes showing in the published calendar?

Once the calendar is published, all changes approved after that date will be rolled to the next available edition of the calendar. The discrepancy may be because the program was updated in CIM after the calendar was published. You should rely on the record in CIM for the latest version, but the calendar for what is the correct version for the appropriate academic year.  

If you believe the error is legitimate, contact your courseleaf@uoguelph.ca.  

How do I build a course list or plan grid?

See the instructions in the Schedule of Studies – Course List Formatting.pdf located within the Program from Resources folder in the Courseleaf Team/Sharepoint site.  

What is the courseleaf ecosystem and how do I use it to know if my proposal affects another course or program?

What is the courseleaf ecosystem and how do I use it to know if my proposal affects another course or program?

The ecosystem displays all existing relationships, including the calendar pages referencing your course/program and courses referencing your course/program, including as a prerequisite, equivalency, or bundled course. 

To view the ecosystem: 

• Go to Course Management or Program Management. 
• Enter your selected course/program into the Search field and select Search. 
• Select your course/program from the results display beneath the Search field. 
• The course/program details will display directly below the results menu. The ecosystem will display directly beneath your course/program title. You may see the label Catalog Pages referencing this course. 
  • Each of the listed items in this field is a clickable link which will direct to the applicable page in the catalog. 
  • Be sure to scroll down using the arrows on the right side of the box to see all results. 

How do I know what workflow my course (or program) will go through?

How do I see where my proposal is in the process?

I already approved a proposal, but I realized I have to make a change to it. What do I do?

I’ve submitted a proposal, but I need to make changes, how do I do that?

I received a proposal that requires more revisions. What do I do?

I rolled a proposal back in error. What do I do now?

My colleague says that a proposal is waiting for my approval, but I lost/never got an email. What do I do?

I received an email notification about a proposal waiting for my approval, but when I select the approval link, I do not see it. What do I do?

How do I know what workflow my course (or program) will go through?

At any time, you may preview the workflow for any existing course/program: 

1. Go to Course Management. 
2. Search for your course in the search bar. 
3. Select your course from the results menu. The course details will show below the results menu. 
4. Select the Preview Workflow link beneath the green Edit Course button. Note that if you course is currently in workflow, the Preview Workflow link will not show. 
5. A window will display which shows both the Roles and the specific users who will be involved in the course’s workflow path. Note: the workflow preview will display based on information in the ecosystem and will not yet pull in fields on the form that will direct workflow. In particular, you will may not see curriculum committees, program committees, graduate program coordinators, or division committee fields until they are selected within the course proposal.  

How do I see where my proposal is in the process?

1. Go to Course Management or Program Management. 
2. Enter the name of the course/program you are interested in into the search bar. 
3. Select the item from the results menu. 
4. The proposal will display. On the right side you will see a box labeled In Workflow. 
5. Green-shaded items signify roles which have already approved the proposal. 
6. Burnt-orange items signify the role which currently has the proposal for review/approval. 
7. Other items signify roles which still need to review/approve the proposal after the yellow-shaded role approves. 
8. A second box called Approval Path appears directly below the In Workflow box. This outlines who approved the proposal at each stage so far and the date and time it was approved.  

I already approved a proposal, but I realized I have to make a change to it. What do I do?

Once you approve a proposal and it drops out of your approval queue, you will be unable to edit it. If the proposal is still mid-workflow, you can contact the individual who currently has the proposal and ask them to either: 

• Make the change for you; or
• Roll the proposal back to you so you can make the change. Keep in mind that the proposal will have to be approved once again by all the Roles who fall between you and the person the proposal is currently with. 

If the proposal has been fully approved and pushed to Colleague and/or the calendar, you will need to start a new proposal which corrects the error. CIM makes it easy to contact the right person. 

1. Go to Course Management or Program Management. 
2. Enter the name of your course/program into the Search bar. 
3. The item will display. 
4. Find at the In Workflow box to the right of the item title. 
5. The burnt orange shaded step indicates who currently has the proposal. Select that step, and a blank email already addressed to the users in that role will automatically generate for you to complete and send with your request. 

I’ve submitted a proposal, but I need to make changes, how do I do that?

If you have already hit Start Workflow on your proposal, you will need to see where it is in workflow and contact that person to have them roll the proposal back to you so that you can make changes. Keep in mind that once a proposal is rolled back, it must complete all of the workflow steps again. If the proposal is almost done with the approval process, you might want to wait until the changes are approved and the proposal is at rest before making additional changes. Depending on the change and stage in workflow, you could also contact the person listed in the current stage of workflow and ask them to edit the proposal.  

I received a proposal that requires more revisions. What do I do?

1. Confirm that you are in the CourseLeaf Approval Console 
2. Select your Role and then select the proposal in question. 
3. To make the changes yourself, select the Edit button in the approval console. 
4. To send the proposal back to someone earlier in the workflow, select the Rollback button. You will be required to add comments as to why you are rolling it back. 
5. To make changes but also send it back to someone earlier for review: select Edit, make your changes, then select Rollback. 

Be advised that when Rollback is selected, the proposal will have to go back to the same approval steps for a second round of review and approval. 

I rolled a proposal back in error. What do I do now?

Once the proposal is rolled back, it must be reapproved by all the Roles listed in workflow after the roll back point. 

For example, if your proposal is at step 5, and you roll it back to step 2, the proposal will have to be approved again by steps 2, 3, and 4. 

You may want to contact each of these individuals and request that they expedite approving the proposal so that it can quickly come back to your step in workflow. 

CIM makes it easy to contact the right person:

1. Go to Course Management or Program Management. 
2. Enter the name of your course/program into the Search bar. 
3. The item will display. 
4. Find at the In Workflow box to the right of the item title. 
5. The yellow-shaded step indicates who currently has the proposal. Select that step, and a blank email already addressed to the users in that role will automatically generate for you to complete and send with your request. 

My colleague says that a proposal is waiting for my approval, but I lost/never got an email. What do I do?

• Go to the CourseLeaf Approval Console 
• Look for the Your Role drop-down menu at the top of the display. Select your Role from this menu. 
• All of the items awaiting your approval will display in the blue-bordered menu. Select the appropriate item to view it and to Edit/Rollback/Approve. 

I received an email notification about a proposal waiting for my approval, but when I select the approval link, I do not see it. What do I do?

Two things may have happened: 

• another individual also assigned to the same role has already approved the proposal. 
• another individual assigned to the same role has rolled the proposal back to an earlier step in workflow. 

To check: 

1. Go to Course Management or Program Management. 
2. Enter the name of the course/program that you had received an email about into the Search field and select Search. 
3. The current proposal will display. Look at the In Workflow box to the right of the course title. 
4. Items shaded in yellow will indicate who currently has the proposal. 
5. If the burnt orange-shaded item appears as a step after your Role, it means the proposal was already advanced/approved to go to the next step. 
6. If the burnt organge-shaded item appears as a step before your Role, it means someone rolled the proposal back to a previous step. 
7. If either of the above applies and you are uncertain of who approved/rolled back the proposal, look at the box below the In Workflow box, labeled Approval Path. This box lists all the associated users who have taken action on the proposal for each role. 
8. If the burnt orange-shaded item is your Role, the proposal may have been moved back into your queue. To approve: 
9. Go to the CourseLeaf Approval Console 
10. Look for the Your Role drop-down menu at the top of the display. Select your Role from this menu. 

All of the items awaiting your approval will display in the blue-bordered menu. Select the appropriate item to view it and to Edit/Rollback/Approve 

I received a proposal for review/approval and I’m not sure why. What do I do?

I should be assigned to a Role but I am not, what should I do? | I am no longer the person responsible for approving for this role. How do I remove myself?

I cannot access the system. What do I do?

I receive too many notification emails. How can I make them stop?

I received a proposal for review/approval and I’m not sure why. What do I do?

One of two scenarios may be at play in this situation.  

• You may have received the proposal because the ecosystem of the proposal identified your department as a unit impacted by the proposed change. The ecosystem pulls on meta-data from calendar pages and department course offerings. This includes pulling in pre-requisite chains and courses in restricted elective lists. You should review the proposal and select Approve to move it forward in workflow if you have no questions about its content.  
• Alternatively, a role may have been incorrectly selected on the form by a proponent.  

If the proposal is not for your department or your role, contact the Courseleaf Administrators at courseleaf@uoguelph.ca to review the situation and investigate current and longer-term solutions.  

I should be assigned to a Role but I am not, what should I do? | I am no longer the person responsible for approving for this role. How do I remove myself?

Complete this brief form to have your role updated by a system administrator.  

I cannot access the system. What do I do?

If you have never logged into CIM before, then you may not have access. Access to the system should automatically be provided to all faculty and instructors, members of relevant committees, and those in approval roles. We are working on automating academic department staff user authentications. Complete this short form to request access if you do not have access.  

I receive too many notification emails. How can I make them stop?

You can set up a filter in your Outlook box which automatically files all CourseLeaf emails into a folder and out of your inbox. Be advised that you still need to review these emails and approve your items in CIM. 

If you do not want to set up a filter and also do not want to receive notification emails, send a request to the courseleaf@uoguelph.ca account or update your role settings using this brief form.