Course Number Change - Best Practice

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David Berndt

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Sep 24, 2025, 3:22:02 PM9/24/25
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Hi Tomas, 

Each term it's typical that a few of our courses will be renumbered to support various curriculum updates.  For example Math courses are renumbers and MAT-150 becomes, MAT-1500.  When a course number changes but the content and function is similar (name, same students require, same majors require), what would you advise the best practice be to implement this change?

It's easy to make course number updates through edit course offering when preparing section prior to running the solver.  Doing this though seems to have it's pros and cons when retaining links to student planned courses and like last data.  Another option would be to make the old course not offered and create a new course with the new number.  I'm not quite sure how the "take course demands from offering" works to support this but it seems like that could help with various approaches.  

Interested in what you would suggest be the best workflow for implementing changes like this.  Thanks!

David Berndt
Associate Registrar Scheduling/Registration
Digipen Institute of Technology

 

Tomáš Müller

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Sep 25, 2025, 3:46:08 AM9/25/25
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Hi David,

It should be sufficient to change the course number. Most of the relationships are established through the unique ID or course permanent ID (which remains the same during roll forward), rather than the subject area abbreviation and course number. This includes the last like course demands, especially when rolled forward from class enrollments of the previous semester (a matching course permanent ID takes precedence over the subject area and course number). If you are importing last like demands, either do the import before the course number change (with the old number in the XML) or afterward (with the new number in the XML).

The demand offering can also be used (if you choose the alternative route of not offering the old course and creating a new one with a new course number). It is intended for new courses, particularly when last-like demands are being used, as this will take the enrollments of the given course as if they were for the new course (the old course will be listed as the demand offering for the new one). 

Best regards,

Tomas Muller

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David Berndt

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Sep 25, 2025, 12:25:38 PM9/25/25
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Thank you Tomas.  That's very helpful to better understand.  
David

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