Introduction
D2L Brightspace is the online learning management system (LMS) used by all Minnesota State campuses, including St. Cloud State University. Each course with an assigned instructor is automatically provided with a web-based "shell" within D2L Brightspace that instructors can use to enhance face-to-face, blended or fully online courses by adding course materials such as files (e.g. syllabus), announcements, quizzes, surveys, assignment folders, gradebook and more. This article covers frequently asked questions about D2L Brightspace course shells.
Questions
- How are course shells created?
- When are course shells created?
- How are the dates of my course shell determined?
- If I am teaching multiple sections of a course and want to use the same course shell for all sections, can I combine them?
- When will students be added to the course shell?
Answers
- D2L course shells are created automatically (you do not need to request them.) Once a course has been entered into the ISRS term course maintenance system and an instructor is assigned or a student enrolls, the D2L course shell will be available within approximately 30 minutes. If there are multiple instructors-of-record, all will be enrolled in the D2L course.
- Course shells are now continuously created without regard to term. As long as a course has been created in ISRS, and meets the requirements above, it will be created.
- As courses are created, they are set to reflect the standard schedule of 3 days prior to the official course start date and 43 days after the official course end date for that course as they are listed in the online course schedule. Course start/end dates may be adjusted by emailing d2l@stcloudstate.edu.
- NOTE: students will see your course but will be unable to access until the start date/time.
- You can request for multiple sections of one course to be combined into one D2L course through the D2L course request application (login required).
- Students are populated approximately 30 minutes after they register for the course.