Dict-Physical

View VMD_Course

Card of view VMD_Course

Name	VMD_Course
Comment	See MD_Course in the StarsAcademicRecord package (and elsewhere). Note that reporting should generally be done off of fields in VMD_Section, not VMD_Course.
Dimensional Type	Dimension

SQL query of the view VMD_Course

select
MD_Course_SurrogateKey,
MD_Course_ID,
MD_Course_Name,
MD_Course_Title,
MD_Course_CIPCode,
MD_Course_Level,
MD_Course_LevelCode,
MD_Course_MinCredit,
MD_Course_MaxCredit,
MD_Course_CreditType,
MD_Course_Load,
MD_Course_PrimarySubject,
MD_Course_PrimarySubjectCode,
MD_Course_PrimaryDepartment,
MD_Course_PrimaryDeptCode,
MD_Course_CapacityRange,
MD_Course_SessionCycle,
MD_Course_YearlyCycle,
MD_Course_StartDate,
MD_Course_EndDate
from
MD_Course

List of incoming view references of the view VMD_Course

ViewReference_30

VMF_SectionSeatsByTerm

ViewReference_32

VMF_SectionEnrollmentByTerm

ViewReference_65

VMF_SectionGradeByTerm

ViewReference_68

VMF_DistroGroup

ViewReference_73

VMF_TeachSection

ViewReference_159

VMF_SectionEnrollment

ViewReference_160

VMF_SectionSeats

ViewReference_167

VMF_SectionGrade

List of shortcuts of the view VMD_Course

VMD_Course

VMD_COURSE

View

ViewsAcademicRecord

List of diagrams containing the view VMD_Course

ViewsAcademicRecordDiagram

List of permissions of the view VMD_Course

SELECT,VIEW DEFINITION

AcadRecordReader

SELECT,VIEW DEFINITION

FacultyReader

List of view columns of the view VMD_Course

MD_Course_SurrogateKey

numeric

MD_Course_ID

varchar(16)

The business key for MD_Course; a unique ID for each course (not section).

Has become an opaque numeric identifier (in more recent Colleague revisions), so don't use it in reports. Use the course name (or "description" as it's called in Colleague) instead, if you're generating a report.

This attribute should not be exposed to users.

MD_Course_Name

varchar(16)

This is the course-level "description," i.e., a human-readable version of the course ID.

Use this instead of the course ID in reports. Course IDs may not be human-readable. I.e., they may (in recent Colleague revisions) be just an opaque identifier.

MD_Course_Title

varchar(64)

MD_Course_CIPCode

varchar(12)

CIP course identifier.

The purpose of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is to provide a taxonomic scheme that will support the accurate tracking, assessment, and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity. CIP was originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1980, with revisions occurring in 1985 and 1990. The 2000 edition (CIP-2000) is the third revision of the taxonomy and presents an updated taxonomy of instructional program classifications and descriptions.

MD_Course_Level

varchar(32)

Text or description corresponding to the level code. Stuff like "OCS Non-Carleton Program," "300 lvl non-comps/non-ind," "Credit Lab."

Unless this field is too large, use this in preference to the level codes (two-digit numbers that only a retricted range of individuals on campus know the meaning of).

This field should generally not be used. Use the equivalent field in (V)MD_Section instead! It is not as consistently filled out.

MD_Course_LevelCode

char(5)

Currently not populated. Course level 01 - 20 (as of 2009). 99 if unknown or NULL in Colleague (should not happen).

This field should generally not be used. Use the equivalent field in (V)MD_Section instead! It is not as consistently filled out.

MD_Course_MinCredit

float(32)

Some courses can be taken for variable credits. This attribute stores the minimum credits for a given course. Cf. MaxCredit.

Should be a whole number from 1 to 6, but allows for fractional amounts, should we need these.

MD_Course_MaxCredit

float(32)

Some courses can be taken for variable credits. This attribute stores the maximum credits for a given course. Cf. MinCredit.

Should be a whole number from 1 to 6, but allows for fractional amounts, should we need these.

MD_Course_CreditType

varchar(32)

One of: INSTITUTIONAL, Quarter hours, Off-Campus Study, or Unknown (the last of which corresponds to NULL in Colleague).

Also available at the section level.

MD_Course_Load

float

Load values for courses are based on the idea that a typical load for a typical 1-trimester course = 1, and that if a faculty member is on a full teaching load, the total of load values for all their courses for a given academic year should = 5 (or 6 for those on a six-course load).

Note that the way in which loads are entered changed in 2009. This field reflects the new system.

MD_Course_PrimarySubject

varchar(64)

Courses are associated with subjects, sometimes more than one. Subjects are often like departments, but not always. This field contains the name of the primary subject associated with a given course.

Subjects look a lot like majors, but aren't quite the same.

This field should generally not be used. Use the equivalent field in (V)MD_Section instead! It is not as consistently filled out.

MD_Course_PrimarySubjectCode

char(5)

Courses are associated with subjects, sometimes more than one. Subjects are often like departments, but not always. This field contains the 2-to-5-letter code for primary subject associated with a given course. Unless subject names are just too long to use, they are generally to be preferred over codes.

This field should generally not be used. Use the equivalent field in (V)MD_Section instead! It is not as consistently filled out.

MD_Course_PrimaryDepartment

varchar(64)

Courses are associated with departments, sometimes more than one. This field contains the primary department associated with a given course. Basically we just take whatever department comes first in the ETL feed from Colleague.

In general, you will want the subject, not the department.

This field should generally not be used. Use the equivalent field in (V)MD_Section instead! It is not as consistently filled out.

MD_Course_PrimaryDeptCode

char(5)

Courses are associated with departments, sometimes more than one. This field contains the 2-to-5-letter code for primary department associated with a given course. Unless department names are just too long to use, they are generally to be preferred over codes.

In general, you will want the subject, not the department. See below, though, on the general utility of this field -

This field should generally not be used. Use the equivalent field in (V)MD_Section instead! It is not as consistently filled out.

MD_Course_CapacityRange

varchar(32)

Overall course capacity, not section capacity, averaged across all terms.

This field is specifically NOT useful for operational reports, and most trend analysis, since, as noted, it holds a value that's averaged across all terms in which a course is taught.

MD_Course_SessionCycle

varchar(32)

What terms a course is taught in. Possible values include, e.g.: Fall, Winter, Spring; Fall Term Only; Unknown.

MD_Course_YearlyCycle

varchar(32)

How often a course is taught, from the standpoint of years. Values include: Every Year, Alternate Years, One Time Only, Unknown, etc.

MD_Course_StartDate

datetime

Start date of course. This value may be NULL in Colleague, meaning that we have entered no value here. NULL values typically pose problems in queries and reports, so use of this field is discouraged.

MD_Course_EndDate

datetime

Date when course stopped being taught. Defaults to a distant future date, 9999-12-31. Because this date's partner, the start date, may be NULL (i.e., not entered) in our systems, and because NULLs pose problems in reports and analyses, we discourage use of this field.

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