The Catalog Master stores basic information about the courses that are offered at your institution. This information is then used to create course sections for the years and terms that are needed. Catalog Master information usually changes only when you create a new catalog or create special course offerings. The course catalog row will contain information about a course that usually remains the same across all sections and terms. By recording data such as Division, Default credit hours, and the Grade Scale Code at the course level, you can avoid the need to re-enter those pieces of information each time you create a new section.
A course row must exist in the Catalog Master table before a section can be created based upon that course. This information is then stored in the Section Master table. From the information in the Section Master, students can then be registered for courses based on the sections offered. This information is then stored in the Student Course History table.
· Catalog Master contains all courses. You can create sections using information from the Catalog Master which are then stored in the Section Master.
· Section Master contains all sections for all courses. You can register students using information from the Section Master which are then stored in the Student Course History
· Student Course History contains all sections for all courses in which a student is registered
In Registration, the Catalog Master table serves as the basis for all course activities. To enter the Catalog Master table, you must first set up the definition tables that affect the course data entry.
Once you have set up the definition tables, you can create the Catalog Master table. Registration provides a data entry window for you to enter this information. Unless you have electronically converted catalog data from a previous system, you will need to manually enter each record. Since these records provide default information for the Section Master table and the Student Course History table, it is important that you accurately enter the catalog information as you begin to set up your Registration system.
You may enter or alter catalog information at any time. Be aware that if you change course catalog information after you have created sections, the system will not automatically apply your changes to the Section Master records.
Registration provides two different course title columns on the Catalog Master table, Section Master table, and Student Course History table. Course title is 35 characters in length and Short title is 15 characters in length.
The Short title 1 column exists because there is not always enough room on forms and reports to print a 35-character course title. The Short title 1 is used on several transcript formats that print two columns of courses and therefore cannot support the course title. Since Registration uses both titles, you should enter both when creating your Catalog Master table entries. You may want to create some abbreviation standards for your short course titles, such as using "Prin." for every occurrence of "Principles of" in a course title.
An Advising Requirement Code (ARC) must be associated with all course offerings in order to utilize them in Advising. The Student Course History must have ARCs. If you currently use curriculum IDs in the course catalog, they may be converted into ARCs.