Situation
The Digital Learning team at Central Saint Martins acts as a bridge between the central Digital Learning Support team and the college. During the summer, we collaborate with the central Digital Learning team to ensure a smooth Moodle rollover process. This involves numerous tasks on the college side, including:
- Ensuring that new unit names, manually entered into SITs as part of the validation/modification process, are correct.
- Checking the Course Hierarchy, a structure unique to the University of the Arts London that determines how Moodle courses are displayed in students’ ‘My Courses’ area.
- Managing visibility settings for the appropriate units, staff enrollments, and ensuring the correct content is rolled over.
Task
My role in this process was to manage the Moodle rollover process for the college, working closely with the central Digital Learning Support team and College Admin teams to ensure the accuracy of imported data from SITs.
Action
- Attended meetings with the central Digital Learning team to align processes and expectations.
- Disseminated key timeline information to my team and the wider college to ensure clarity and coordination.
- Designed and delivered training for Course Support Administrators (CSAs), equipping them with the skills needed to check course structures and staff enrollments.
- Acted as a triage point for issues raised by the admin teams, resolving problems where possible and escalating through ticketing systems when necessary.
- Tracked issues through to completion, ensuring that rollover tasks were completed efficiently and correctly.
Result
Having worked at CSM long enough to remember when there was no dedicated college-based support for this process, I have seen the impact of these improvements firsthand. Previously, administrators were not trained to check Moodle courses, leading to common issues such as incorrect course visibility settings. With structured support and training, we have significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of the rollover process.
Key improvements include:
- Increased confidence among CSAs in managing Moodle rollover tasks.
- Greater accuracy in course structures and unit visibility, reducing confusion for staff and students.
- A more streamlined and efficient process, minimising errors and reducing the need for last-minute fixes at the beginning of term.
Evidance
Reflection
What?
The Moodle rollover process is crucial for ensuring that students and staff have access to the correct courses and materials at the start of each academic year. Without proper oversight, errors can create confusion and disrupt teaching and learning.
So What?
However, I have noticed that often we are addressing the same issues that come up year on year following the rollover. I have also noticed that due to the large staff turnover in the Course Support teams, it’s hard to build up knowledge in the team.
Now What?
Going forward, I aim to:
- Develop additional training resources to further support CSAs and reduce reliance on live training sessions.
- Work with the central Digital Learning team to reduce issues that keep cropping up year on year.