Overview

Exxat Prism provides several tools for managing the academic, administrative, and student-facing components of a course.

From a course, you can maintain details such as descriptions, credits, hours, prerequisites, co-requisites, textbooks, evaluation criteria, and policies. You can also manage curriculum measures, organize course resources, build an event schedule, and generate a syllabus using selected course information.

For course offerings, you can manage student registrations and maintain communications and interventions for registered students.

Announcements allow you to share scheduled course updates with students and, when applicable, sites. You can also create course-specific attestations and review them after they have been added.

Together, these options help you maintain course information and manage the activities associated with delivering the course to students.

You can also watch our video tutorial.

Managing Course Details and Attributes

As you build your courses within Prism, you may want to add valuable details which you can share with students and also use to generate a syllabus.

1. Select Courses from your dashboard or left menu.
   
    
2. Select the Course you’d like to manage.
   
    
3. You’ll be taken to the Course’s About page. The About page will have several sections available for you to manage.
   
    
4. Course Details: add a course description, credit and hour information along with other details and decide if this information should be shared with sites within the Site Resources page.
   
    
5. Attributes: if your program uses curriculum mapping, attributes are a great tool to track important aspects of your curriculum and enable generation of filtered reports based on specific topics, teaching methodology, assessment types, and more.
   
    
6. Faculty & Staff: if any of your faculty members help with managing courses, you’ll first have to give them access to the course before they can see it on their portal.
   
    
7. Provide any details on any pre-requisites and co-requisites.
   
    
8. Add details on textbooks and other resources your students may need.
   
    
9. Add information as to the evaluation criteria that will be used for this course.
   
   You can reorder the criteria using the Reorder button. drag and drop to reorder or use the arrows. 
   
   
    

10. Add course policies using the + icon. Edit any existing policies using the pencil icon. You can reorder the policies using the Reorder button.
    
      drag and drop to reorder or use the arrows. 

    

    

11. The grading scale at the end of the page will be view-only. Please head over to the Program Details section to make any necessary changes.
    
     
12. Once you have added all necessary information, you can download a word file of your course profile. Click Generate Syllabus at the top of the page.
    
     
13.  A drawer will open, and you can select the different sections you’d like to include in your file. Once ready, click Download.
    

Managing Course Measures

Measures are the components that build your courses I.e course objectives, instructional objectives, course learning outcomes, course goals etc. You can add, edit and delete them directly in the system.

Access Course Measures

1. Login to Exxat Prism using your university credentials. 

2. From the Exxat Prism Dashboard or the Hamburger menu, go to Curriculum Mapping.
   

3. From the curriculum mapping page, from the list of available curriculum grids, select the grid you want to work with.

4. Select the course for which you want to manage measures.
   

5. The course page displays the measure categories that have been activated for the selected Curriculum Grid.

6. If measures already exist within a category, use the downward arrow to expand the category and review them.
   

    

Add a Course Measure

1. Locate the measure category where you want to add a measure.

2. Select the + Add "Measure Category Name" button on the measure category card.
   

3. In the Add "Measure Category Name" drawer that opens, enter the measure details.

   1. Code: Enter the number or code for the measure, such as 1, 2, or 3.

   2. Description: Enter the description of the course measure.

      Review the Description with Leo

      After entering the course measure description, use Review with Leo to receive AI-based feedback.

      Leo reviews the description against standard course measure writing practices and provides suggestions for strengthening it. When applicable, Leo also suggests an improved version of the description.
      

      Review Leo’s feedback and suggested wording, click Accept to use the suggestion if it better represents the intended course measure or click Dismiss.
      

3. Notes: Use the Notes section to provide additional context or instructions to the course measure.
   

4.  Tags: Add or apply tags to help organize and track measures. 
   For example, tags can identify measures as In Progress, Reviewed, Needs Review, Needs Attention, or Highest Level Objective.
   Tags work like labels or sticky notes that help you and your team identify and report on measures that need attention or have reached a particular status.

   To create a tag:

   1. Select the + icon next to Tags.
      

   2. You can apply the existing tag or add new tag

      1. To Apply Tag
         1. Select the tag 
         2. Click Apply.
            
      2. To Add Tag
         1. Click Add new tag
            
         2. Enter the tag name in the text area. For example, enter Reservation.
         3. If needed, select the paint icon next to the tag name to choose a color.
         4. Click Add.
            
            New Tag is added to the list. Apply the newly created tag to the appropriate measure.
            

      Once applied, the tag appears with the measure on the course page.

5. Add any supporting documents required using the Browse to Upload option.  Ensure the file size is not more than 25MB.
   
    
6. Click Save.

Continue adding measures as needed using the available option to add course objectives.

Edit a Course Measure

1. Select the objective or measure you want to edit.
2. Select the edit icon next to the measure.
   
3. The edit measure drawer opens. Update the description or other available information as needed.
4. If you change the description, you can use Review with Leo to review the updated wording and consider Leo’s suggested improvements.
5. Click Save when you are finished.
   

Delete a Course Measure

1. Select the measure you want to delete, then select its edit icon to open the edit drawer.
   
2. Select the three dots next to Save.
3. Select Delete.
   

The measure and its associated mappings and attributes are deleted.

Managing Course Resources

You may want to share course-related resources with your students. Read on to learn how!

1. Select Courses from your dashboard or left menu.
   
    
2. Select the Course you’d like to manage.
   
    
3. Select Resources from the left panel.
   
    
4. Select a category from the middle panel to start adding resources.
5. The Category List displays the following options: 
   1. Syllabus  
   2. Courses Policy Documents  
   3. Reading Materials 
      
       
6. Not seeing any options within the category list, or would you like to update your list? Click on the pencil icon.
   
    
7. A drawer will appear showing you all your categories. Make all necessary changes and click Save once done.
   
    
8. Once you select an item within the category list, you will see all resources added for that category.
   1. If you’d like to filter to view only documents, links, etc., you can uncheck any options.
      
       
   2. To edit an existing resource, click on the pencil icon.
   3. To delete a resource, click on the trash bin.
      
       
9. To add a new resource, click +Add Resource. 
10. 

On the Resources window, you can filter the view by selecting or deselecting the resource type.

Managing Course Event Schedule

Within Prism, you can create your entire class schedule for each course.

1. Select Courses from your dashboard or left menu.
   
2. Select the Course you’d like to manage.
   
    
3. Select Event Schedule from the left panel.
   
    
4. On the event schedule tab, you will find “Add Event” button on the right-hand side. This will allow you to add events.
   1. Click on the pencil icon to edit existing events.
   2. Click on the trash bin to delete events.
      
5. A drawer will open where you can provide event details. Click Save once done.
   1. Event Faculty: this dropdown will only list faculty assigned to this particular course.
   2. Instructional Methods: if you have activated any attribute for a course event during the mapping setup, that will show up within this dropdown.
      
6. After adding all events, select the publication status menu in the upper-right corner of the Event Schedule page.
   
7. Select the appropriate option:
   • Publish: Publishes all events in the course schedule.

   • Unpublish: Unpublishes all events in the course schedule.

     Note:

     Events are published or unpublished as a complete schedule. Individual events cannot be published or unpublished separately.

     
      

Manage Student Course Registration

While students within the selected cohort for a course will automatically be registered, you may need to make changes!

This feature will also allow you to register students outside of the selected cohort.

1. Select Courses from your dashboard or left menu.
   
    
2. Select the Course you’d like to manage.
   
    
3. Open up the Students option from the left panel and select Student Registration.
   
    
4. The system will display all students registered for the course.
   
5. If you would like to register additional students, you have two options:
   1. + Select to Register allows you to find and select students from the system
   2. + Upload List to Register allows you to upload a list of students
      (please note that students must exist in the system for them to be registered for the course)
6. To search and select students, click + Select to Register.
   
    
7. A drawer will open. Use the search options available and click Search Record.
   
    
8. Select the students you’d like to register for the course and click Register.
   
    
9. If you prefer to upload a list, click + Upload List to Register.
   
    
10. A drawer will open. Download the template provided.
    
     
11. On the downloaded file, enter your student roster. Please provide their first and last name, along with an email address. Once done, head back to the system and upload your file.
12. The system will then find your students in the database. Click Register.
    1. If your list includes any students who are not yet added the system, you will not be able to move forward.
       
       
        
13. To unregister any student, click Unregister from the Action column for the desired student.
    

Managing Student’s Communications and Interventions through Course Offering

or your course offerings created, you will be able to log the communications and interventions for all students registered to that course from the same page without going to the students page.

1. On your dashboard, select Courses.
   
   
   (A)You can also access this from the left hand side menu.

2. You’ll be redirected to the Course Offerings tab. Here you will see all course offerings previously added to your system.
   
3. When you click on a course offering, you will find the “Communications & Interventions” page under Students. Click on it.
   
    
4. This will show you list of all students registered to the course on the left side and you can now begin to log the information for each student. You will find the two different tabs one for Communication and next to it one for Intervention.
   
5. By default, you will be on the Communications tab where you can use the “Add Communication” button to add the details.   
   
6. A drawer will open up on the right hand side where you can fill out all the details while adding a communication.
   
7. Click on Save once you fill out the details on the top right hand side.
8. When you switch to Interventions, you will find the “Add intervention” button on right hand side to add the details.
   
9. Click on +Add interventions button
   
10. A drawer will pop up on the right hand side where you can add the details for intervention. Click on save once done.
    

Managing Course Announcements

You can use the announcements feature to provide updates or inform students of upcoming items related to a course!

1. Login to Exxat Prism using your university credentials.
2. From the Exxat Prism dashboard or the hamburger menu, go to Courses.
   
    
3. Click on the course offering you would like to manage.
   
   Course Details Page opens. 
4. In the left menu, go to  Announcements.
    The system will load all announcements created previously (if added) or will have a blank screen. 
5. Click  + Add Announcement button  to add announcements.
   
   or
   
6. In the Add Announcement drawer do the following.  
   1. Set Start date and time. 
   2. Set End date and time. 
   3. Enter a Title for the announcement. 
   4. Add Description. 
   5. Enable Show on Site Resources Page: Announcement will be shared with sites on the Site Resources page.
   6. Enable Show it to Student: Announcement will show on students dashboard.
   7. Enable Notify students via email when the announcement goes live: Students will receive email notification of the announcement when the announcement goes live. 
      

The system will save your announcement and display it to students (and sites, if included) on their dashboard at the scheduled start date and time. 

If you choose to notify students, an email notification will be sent to all students registered for the course when the announcement becomes active.

Edit or Delete Announcement

• To modify existing announcements, click on the edit icon.
• To delete existing announcements, click on the trash bin icon.
  

Managing Course Attestation 

 

End --

 

Troubleshooting

#	Issue	What to do
1	A faculty or staff member cannot access the course.	Check whether the faculty or staff member has been given access to the course under Faculty & Staff.  Faculty members who help manage a course need course access before they can see it on their portal.
2	I cannot register a student using an uploaded list.	Confirm that every student in the uploaded list already exists in the system.  If the list contains a student who has not been added to the system, you cannot proceed with registration.
3	The system cannot find the students in my registration upload.	Review the uploaded roster and make sure it includes each student’s first name, last name, and email address.  Also confirm that the students already exist in the system.
4	I do not see the resource category I need.	On the Resources page, select the pencil icon for the Category List.  Review or update the available categories in the drawer, then select Save.
5	A course resource is not visible to students.	Edit the resource and confirm that Show it to Student is enabled. Save your changes after updating the setting.
6	A course resource is not available to sites.	Edit the resource and confirm that Show on site resources page is enabled, then save the resource.
7	I cannot find the faculty member I need in the Event Faculty dropdown.	The Event Faculty dropdown lists only faculty assigned to that course. Confirm that the faculty member has been assigned to the course.
8	I cannot upload a supporting document to a course measure.	Check the file size before uploading it.  Supporting documents uploaded to a course measure must not exceed 25 MB.
9	An announcement is not showing to students.	Edit the announcement and confirm that Show it to Student is enabled. Also review the announcement’s start date and time, because the announcement becomes available according to the configured schedule.
10	Students did not receive an email when an announcement became active.	Check whether Notify students via email when the announcement goes live was enabled for the announcement. Email notifications are sent to registered students when this option is enabled and the announcement goes live.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What course information can I manage from the About page?

You can manage course details and attributes, faculty and staff access, prerequisites and co-requisites, textbooks and other resources, evaluation criteria, and course policies. The grading scale is also displayed on this page but is view-only.

2. Where can I update the grading scale for a course?

The grading scale displayed on the course About page is view-only. Make any required grading scale changes from the Program Details section.

3. Can I generate a syllabus from the course information in Prism?

Yes. From the course About page, select Generate Syllabus. In the drawer that opens, choose the sections you want to include, then select Download to download the course profile as a Word file.

4. What are course measures?

Course measures are components used to build and describe your courses. Examples include course objectives, instructional objectives, course learning outcomes, and course goals. You can add, edit, and delete measures from the applicable course in Curriculum Mapping.

5. What does Review with Leo do when I create or edit a course measure?

Review with Leo provides AI-based feedback on a course measure description using standard course measure writing practices. When applicable, Leo also suggests revised wording that may strengthen the description.

You can select Accept to use the suggestion or Dismiss if you do not want to use it.

Important: Review Leo’s suggested wording before accepting it to make sure it accurately represents the intended course measure.

6. What are tags used for when managing course measures?

Tags help you organize, identify, and report on course measures. For example, you can use tags to identify measures as In Progress, Reviewed, Needs Review, Needs Attention, or Highest Level Objective. You can apply an existing tag or create a new one.

7. What happens if I delete a course measure?

Deleting a course measure also deletes the mappings and attributes associated with that measure.

Important: Review the measure and its associated information before deleting it.

8. What types of resources can I add to a course?

You can add Documents, Videos, FAQ’s, and Links as course resources. Resources can be organized into categories such as Syllabus, Course Policy Documents, and Reading Materials.

9. Can I choose whether a course resource is shared with students or sites?

Yes. When adding or editing a resource, enable Show it to Student if you want students to have access to it. Enable Show on site resources page if you want the resource shared with sites.

10. Can I publish individual events in a course schedule?

No. Events are published or unpublished as a complete course schedule. Individual events cannot be published or unpublished separately.

11. Are students in the selected cohort automatically registered for a course?

Yes. Students within the selected cohort are automatically registered for the course. You can also register additional students outside the selected cohort using + Select to Register or + Upload List to Register.

12. Can I record student communications and interventions directly from a course offering?

Yes. Open the course offering and go to Students > Communications & Interventions. From this page, you can select a registered student and record information using the Communication or Intervention tab without going to the student's page.

13. When does a course announcement become visible?

An announcement is displayed according to the start date and time configured when the announcement is created. You can also set an end date and time to control the announcement period.

14. Can course announcements be shared with both students and sites?

Yes. Enable Show it to Student to make the announcement available to students. Enable Show on Site Resources Page to share it with sites on the Site Resources page.

15. Where do students see course attestations?

Course attestations are displayed to students within the Coursework section of the student dashboard when they are configured to be shown to students.

16. What due date options are available for course attestations?

You can use a Specific date to require an attestation on a selected date. You can also use an Anchored date to define the requirement as a specified number of days before or after the Placement Start Date or Placement End Date.

Note: The Anchored date option is not available for didactic courses.

17. What is the difference between Setup and Review for course attestations?

Use Setup to add and configure course attestations. Use Review to review the attestations that have been added to the course.