Prerequisites

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Applies To:    Enterprise    Plus

Overview

Prerequisites are courses that are required or suggested to be taken prior to a specific course.  Notice that Prerequisites are set at the Course level, not the Section level.  Prerequisites set for a course are valid for all sections of the course.  Prerequisites are only available for Product Type = Course.

XenDirect has two methods for recording and displaying course Prerequisites.

• Method 1: In each Course record, there is a field called Prerequisites.  This is a text-only field.  Any suggested or required courses information entered here can be displayed in the WebReg module.  However, any Prerequisites entered here are for reference only and not enforceable.  Students will still be able to register for courses even if Prerequisites exist for the course.
• Method 2: In each Course record, while in view mode, there is a tab called Prerequisites.  As many Courses as desired can be added as Prerequisites.  Any suggested or required courses entered here can be displayed in the WebReg module.  Prerequisites entered here can be enforceable.

To Create Prerequisites

• Go to Main Menu >> Courses >> Courses.
• Search for the Course to which Prerequisites are to be added.
• Edit the Course record.
• Set the [Prerequisites Status] field = Active.  (Set this to Inactive to disable prerequisites.)
• Save the Course record.
• Go to view mode for the Course.
• Go to the Prerequisites tab.
• Click the New button to the upper left of the Results List window.
• Select a Course from the list.
• Select an Alternative Group if appropriate.  (see Alternative Prerequisites below)
• Click OK to save.
• Add as many Prerequisites as desired, but a Course cannot contain the same Prerequisite more than once.

Alternative Prerequisites

• If a Course Prerequisite is unique and does not have alternatives, leave the Alternative Group field blank. 
• If a Course Prerequisite has alternative options and a student must take one from a group of courses, then assign the Prerequisite to a group.  A Course can have up to nine (9) groups.
• Example where a Course has the following five (5) Prerequisites:
  • ENG101 = required but no alternatives.  Group is left blank.
  • ENG102 = required but no alternatives.  Group is left blank.
  • BUS101, BUS102, BUS103 = one is required, and all are tagged as Group 1.
  • SOC101, SOC102, SOC103, SOC104 = one is required, and all are tagged as Group 2.
  • MAT101, MAT102 = one is required, and all are tagged as Group 3.

To Enforce Prerequisites in the Admin Module

• Go to Admin Menu >> Settings >> Branch Profile >> Preferences tab.
• Set the Enforce Prerequisites field to the desired value.
• Click OK to close and save the setting.
  • Enforce Prerequisites = Yes: If a Course has one or more Prerequisites when a user adds a new Assignment to a Client, a check to see if the client has successfully taken the Course occurs.  If the Client has not, the user is prompted that a Prerequisite exists and cannot add the Assignment.  A successful course is an Assignment which has an Enrollment Status =  "Enrolled/Active" or "Completed-Satisfactory".
  • Enforce Prerequisites = Prompt: If a Course has one or more Prerequisites, when a user adds a new Assignment to a Client, a check to see if the client has successfully taken the Course occurs.  If the Client has not, the user is prompted that a suggested Prerequisite exists but they can continue to add the Assignment.  A successful course is an Assignment which has an Enrollment Status tagged as Allow Prerequisite. The default values are "Enrolled/Active",  "Enrolled/OnHold" or "Completed-Satisfactory". You can change these defaults via the Enrollment Status table.
    
  • Enforce Prerequisites = No: If a Course has one or more Prerequisites, when a user adds a new Assignment to a Client, no check occurs to see if the client has successfully taken the Course and no prompts display.
  • Note:  If the XenDirect version you use maintains each program year in a separate database when Prerequisite checks occur to see if the student has successfully taken the Prerequisite, that check only occurs in the currently opened database, not prior or future year databases.

To Enforce Prerequisites in the WebReg Module

• Go to Admin Menu >> Settings >> Branch Profile >> WebReg Options tab.
• Set the Enforce Prerequisites field to the desired value.
• Click OK to close and save the setting.
  • Enforce Prerequisites = Yes: If a Course has one or more Prerequisites when a client views the Course Details page, Prerequisites will display.  Additionally, if the client adds a new Assignment to their cart, a check to see if the client has successfully taken the Course occurs.  If the Client has not, the cart contains a prompt that a Prerequisite exists and they cannot purchase the Course.  A successful course is an Assignment which has an Enrollment Status tagged as Allow Prerequisite. The default values are "Enrolled/Active",  "Enrolled/OnHold" or "Completed-Satisfactory". You can change these defaults via the Enrollment Status table.
    
  • Enforce Prerequisites = No: If a Course has one or more Prerequisites, they will not display in the Course Details page, no check occurs to see if the client has successfully taken the Course, and no prompts display.  The client can register for the Course.
  • Note:  If the XenDirect version you use maintains each program year in a separate database when Prerequisite checks occur to see if the student has successfully taken the Prerequisite, that check only occurs in the currently opened database, not prior or future year databases.