• First, request a user name and password to access the course data entry form,at:
  distancelearning.wisconsin.edu/admin/request.cfm
• You will receive an email containing your password and username and instructions.
• Fill out the form as completely as possible. When you are done click "Add this Course."
• If you need to make changes after the form is submitted, return to the admin site, and select the "Manage Active Courses" link.
• The login for the administrative site is at: distancelearning.wisconsin.edu/admin/login.cfm.

• Spring Courses - October 15
• Summer Courses - February 15
• Fall Courses - March15

1. Subject Area
   1. Indicate the subject area under which your course(s)should appear in the search (you can choose up to 3 subject areas for each course).
   2. Click on the link, "see our subject area page," for a list of possible topics for each subject area.
2. Course Title
   1. Use upper and lower case.
3. Course Number
   1. Include course number and section number, as appropriate. Omit if not applicable
4. Course Description (120 word limit)
   1. Punctuation goes inside quotation marks.
   2. Single space between sentences.
   3. Titles go in quotation marks,e.g."The Complete Works of Shakespeare."
   4. Use present tense throughout your description,e.g.:This series teaches ...not...This series will teach.
   5. Use active voice,e.g.:Participants explore ways to communicate ...not..Ways to communicate are explored.
   6. Course URL
      1. List a link to more information about the course. Hint: Use the URL that will be of most help to prospective students. Remember, prospective students may not be able to login to course sites.
5. Instructor's Name and Title
   1. List name and title.You may use a brief one sentence description, if applicable.
   2. Abbreviate degrees (MFA, PhD, etc.). Abbreviate CPA, but spell out other professional certifications such as registered physical therapist, etc.
   3. Titles used after a name are not capitalized: Sally Smith, associate professor of art history at UW-Milwaukee
6. Sponsoring Institution or Organization
   1. Select from the list of institution(s)sponsoring the course or program. Select all that apply.
7. Sponsoring Department
   1. List the department(s) within the institution(s) sponsoring the course (i.e.Department of Chemistry, Department of English, etc.)
8. Degree or Certificate Program
1. If the course is part of a degree or certificate program delivered via distance learning, select "yes."
2. If yes, list the name of the program.
3. Add a link to more information about the program.
4. If student's must be admitted to the program in order to take this course, check the box, "Admission to program required to enroll in this course."
5. Course Notes
   1. Add any extra notes or comments important to the course (i.e. deadline for registration, special fees, site information, etc.).
9. Number of Credits or CEUs
   1. Select "Noncredit" for noncredit courses
   2. List number of graduate/undergraduate credits or CEUs for noncredit courses (if applicable)
10. Prerequisites
    1. List any prerequisites required for the course
11. Delivery Method
    1. Check all delivery methods which apply to this course from the list on the form.
    2. For more information on delivery methods, see the delivery methods definitions document (pdf).
    3. Receive Site(s)
       1. For courses with specific locations where attendees must participate, enter the locations here.
       2. Separate names in a list with semicolons, e.g. UW-Eau Claire; UW-Oshkosh; Northwest Area Technical College.
       3. Avoid the use of abbreviations which may be unfamiliar to the reader, e.g. use UW-Eau Claire...NOT UWEC
    4. Travel to campus
       1. Select "yes" if the student must be present on-campus for any part of this course.
       2. Select "no" if the student can complete the course without coming to campus.
       3. If yes, briefly explain the on-campus requirements.
12. Technology Requirements
    1. For online courses, list any special technology required to take this course (i.e. Internet connection, required software, browsers, etc.)
13. Dates and Times
1. For asynchronous courses which have no semester schedule, check the "ongoing" box. The course will appear in all semesters. You may enter a start and end date. In the box below. The end date entered will be the date the course is archived.
2. For semester-based courses, check the "semester-based" box. You may then check all semesters in which the course will be offered. You may also enter a start and end date, if you choose.
3. For synchronous courses, enter the start and end dates and the dates and times the course takes place.
   1. Abbreviate days of the week: M,T,W,R,F,S,Sun
   2. Abbreviate months: Jan, Feb, Mar, etc
   3. For even hours,do not add minutes.
      Example: M,W,F,Jan 15-May 15,1 -3:15 pm
4. Use the schedule notes to add any additional information about the course schedule that would be of help to students(i.e. holidays, breaks, etc.).
14. Tuition or Fees
    1. List all applicable tuition or course fees.Books or special fees may also be listed here.
    2. If the fee is unknown at the time of submission use:
       UW-River Falls fall 2005 credit fees apply
       OR you may estimate fees: $185.70 (estimated fee)
    3. No zeros for even amounts. If you have two fees,separate by a semicolon.
       1. Noncredit program example: $32; $42 with critiques
       2. Credit example: $294.45 undergraduate; $486 graduate
15. Registration Method
    1. Check if registration online registration is available for the course. .
    2. Add the registration URL, if online registration is selected.
    3. Add any registration dates or deadlines which apply to this course.
16. Contact Information
    1. Each course must have contact(s)listed. You will only need to enter each contact once. You can enter all contacts for all courses prior to entering course data, or you may enter new contacts as you are filling out the form. When you enter another course, you can check the appropriate contact from a list of your contacts.

1. Course Title:
   1. Use the full title of the course -- even if it's abbreviated in the campus timetable. Students searching this database may not understand campus abbreviations.
   2. Spell out words in a course title. For example use Business, not Bus. Spelling out words will help in searching for courses. The keyword search looks in the title, number, and description fields.
2. Course URL:
   1. Always use a link that's specific to the course, program or department. Alwaus use a link that takes students directly to the most specific information.
   2. Avoid using a general campus URL. The potential student will often not know how to navigate the site, and will "leave" it quickly never finding the course information.
   3. Avoid linking to password protected pages such as the D2L site on your campus site. A password protected site does not help a student who is not already registered for the course. Recommended link: the course info page from the timetable.
3. Missing information in the course record:
   1. Balance the amount of helpful information with the time it takes to enter it. Currently only a few fields are "required" to submit the course.
   2. Remember to come back to re-enter missing data. You can edit your course at any time. As soon as the form is submitted, the data is "live" for the public to view.
   3. If a course has a regular schedule, i.e. a date and time when class "meets" over a semester, be sure to enter that into the form. That information is critical for potential students making a decision on whether on not they can take a course.
   If you have suggestions or tips you've encountered and would like to add them to this list, please email Milly Jones, jones@ics.uwex.edu.

If you have questions or need assistance with the form, contact Milly Jones at jones@ics.uwex.edu.