Requirements FAQ for Administrators

This FAQ addresses frequently asked questions regarding the setup of major/minor/certificate/cluster requirements, the CIM Course form, WesMaps categories and subcategories, and the certification forms.  Please contact the Registrar's Office with any questions and for additional information or trainings. 

Disclaimer: This page is meant for department/program chairs/coordinators, administrative assistants, faculty, and staff.  It is an adminsitrative FAQ and not meant to be used for or to replace student advising. 

• Should I use WesMaps or the CIM Course form to verify whether a course satisfies program requirements?

  Always use WesMaps as the source of truth for whether a course satisfies major, minor, certificate, and/or cluster requirements. 

  Wesleyan uses a homegrown system for major/minor requirements that CourseLeaf does not integrate with.  Consequently, when the university implemeneted CourseLeaf, CIM Courses could not be populated with pre-existing major/minor/certificate/cluster information.  This is why, in some cases, you will see on the CIM form that it says "none" for "does this course satisfy major, minor, certificate, or cluster requirements" when it in fact does. 

  Please always look at WesMaps when verifying if a course satisfies a requirement, as that data is the most accurate and up-to-date.  CIM course forms can be updated to match, but please be aware that the Requirements portion of the CIM form does not automatically update and does not sync with any of our systems.  

• I put requirement information on the CIM course form. Why is not appearing in WesMaps?
  The requirements information is completely manual and does not automatically sync with any of our systems.  The Registrar's Office runs a report on a regular basis to capture changes made to the requirements section of existing courses as well as the information on brand new course proposals.  The major/minor/certificate/cluster lists are then manually updated by the Registrar's Office.  Because this process is entirely manual, there will be a delay from the time the changes (or new course proposals) are submitted in CIM Courses to when the requirement data will appear in WesMaps.
• Does the host department udpate requirement information for cross-listed departments?

  All faculty, chairs, directors, and administrative staff have access to edit any course in CIM Courses (this is not the same in CLSS where only host dept faculty/staff can edit section-level data).  That means that any department can make edits to a course, including adding cross-listing numbers and their own major/minor/certificate/cluster information on the CIM course form.  The first step in workflow is always the host department and the Proposer's name field is uneditable so that department chairs and administrative assistants can determine if the changes were appropriate or if they were submitted accidentally (in which case the course can be rolled back to the proposer).  

  Host departments can add/remove cross-listings and update associated requirements if they choose to do so on behalf of the cross-listed departments, but it is not mandatory that host departments be responsible for this information. 

• Faculty in my department are concerned that our hosted courses are satisfying requirements for another department/program. Who updates this information?
  Only the director/chair/curriculum coordinator for a program can determine whether or not a course can satisfy their own program requirements.  For example, the History Department cannot ask that one of their hosted courses not satisfy a Religion Major Requirement. Only the Religion Department can determine whether a course satisfies their rquirements or not.  Each department/program will manage their own requirements, regardless of which department hosts the course.
• Certificate, Cluster, and Subcategory course lists in WesMaps are incorrect. How does this get updated?

  Certificate, cluster, and subcategory course lists in WesMaps are maintained manually.  Each program director/coordinator should review these course lists and notify the Registrar's Office if courses need to be added or removed from these lists. 

  There may be old course data on these lists.  This is not a technological glitch.  Because departments/programs reuse course numbers frequenty, and because those course lists are driven by subject/catalog number (and are manually maintained) if the Registrar's Office is not asked to remove these courses, they will remain on the lists in WesMaps, even though the course may have changed significantly or may be a new course entirely. 

  Chairs/directors/coordinators shoud review their certificate, cluster, and subcategory course lists in WesMaps to ensure accuracy.

  An example of a cluster course list is:  Christianity Studies

  An example of a subcategory list can be found on the PSYC WesMaps page, beginning with "Introductory."

• My course satisfies a minor requirement. Why isn't it appearing under the Minor course listings in WesMaps?
  If one of your courses is not appearing under the minor course lists and should be, please contact the Registrar's Office by e-mail to have it added.  The minor course lists are maintained separately from the lists that populate the minor certification forms.