Table of Contents
Overview
Standard CSV Import
Advanced CSV Import
JSON Import Using API
Manual Import Using Requirement Sets
Additional Note
Related Articles
Overview
Course and Program requirement data (also known as requisite data) needs to be imported into Coursedog Curriculum to fully utilize the Curriculum and Catalog products.
Our team offers four different methods to perform a one-time bulk import of this data, which will then live and be owned inside Coursedog. You can choose from:
Standard CSV Import
Advanced CSV Import
JSON Import Using API
Manual Import Using Requirement Sets
Each option is described below and is available for any SIS.
Before you decide on an option, please ensure you have read our Understanding & Creating Requirements article.
Standard CSV Import
Overview
This option allows clients to provide requirements in a simple-to-manage CSV.
This can be used for program requirements, but is most often used to import very simple course requirements that only contain a list of a few courses that act as pre-requisites or co-requisites.
The CSV template you should use to format your data can be found here.
Pros
Simple CSV structure.
Can be easy to create and adjust, though that can vary depending on how your requirements are currently structured.
Cons
No nested rules or sub-rules.
No nested conditional and/or logic.
Resources
A Coursedog resource can be used for up to 5 hours to answer questions about the CSV import and help resolve issues with the formatting. Reach out to your Project Manager for guidance.
Additional services can be purchased to support this effort, and will require custom scoping as a part of our standard change request process. You can learn more about our change request process here.
Advanced CSV Import
Overview
The option allows clients to provide an extremely comprehensive CSV import that can support a much wider range of functionality.
With that greater support comes far greater complexity of the CSV template.
The CSV template you should use to format your data can be found here.
Pros
Supports nearly all types of requirement configurations that can be built in the user interface (UI).
Cons
Complex CSV structure.
Does not support course sets.
Will require time to transform data into such a structure, including potentially writing some parsing scripts or advanced Excel scripting.
Resources
A Coursedog resource can be used for up to 5 hours to answer questions about the CSV import and help resolve issues with the formatting. Reach out to your Project Manager for guidance.
Additional services can be purchased to support this effort, and will require custom scoping as a part of our standard change request process. You can learn more about our change request process here.
JSON Import Using API
Overview
This option allows clients to build exactly the types of requirements they want, in a fully customizable and configurable approach.
It requires a technical resource to map an institution’s requirements into Coursedog’s JSON data structure and then execute API calls to persist the data.
Details on the Coursedog API and the requirements data structure are defined here.
Pros
Fully customizable and configurable.
Supports all functionality that can be built in the UI.
Cons
Requires a technical resource on the customer side familiar with JSON and REST APIs.
The JSON data structure is complex and can be difficult to transform data into the structure.
Resources
A Coursedog resource can be used for up to 5 hours to answer questions about the data structure import and help resolve issues with the formatting. Reach out to your Project Manager for guidance.
Additional services can be purchased to support this effort, and will require custom scoping as a part of our standard change request process. You can learn more about our change request process here.
Manual Import Using Requirement Sets
Overview
This option requires clients to manually enter requirements into the UI. The Coursedog UI provides an intuitive interface to enter this data manually, which you get trained on during implementation. See more here.
You can group requirements into requirement sets that are shared across programs, which greatly simplifies the creation and maintenance of shared requirements. For example, let’s say there is a general education requirement that is the same across 100 programs; you will only have to create and maintain it in one place.
Learn more about Requirement Sets here.
Pros
Saves time with duplicated requirements.
Depending on your current requirements structure, this approach might be easier than formatting them into the CSV templates.
Cons
Requires upfront manual work to build the requirements.
If there are no duplicated requirements, this will not be a prudent approach.
Additional Note
Our CSVs support using HTML in any field that includes a WYSIWYG editor in app, provided they are standard HTML characters (e.g. <table>, <br>, <b>, <i>, etc.).