Create / Edit Categories

• Create a Category
• Edit a Category
• Deleting a Category

A Category is used to indicate the type of Group that has been created. For example, if you have a Group that called, "College of Arts and Sciences" - the full name would be used to create the Group itself - but the Category would be "College." By establishing this Category, each Group that is created as a "College" will have a similar structure, and you can then parent additional Categories within - such as "Departments."

Within the Category Template, you will find the following attributes:

Roles

A role is the type of job a user holds, but it is not the same thing as their title. Roles are used within the Workflow of CM to indicate which user is brought into the process in order to Approve or Acknowledge specific steps. Common examples of a role may be Provost, Committee Member, Committee Chair, Dean, Department Head, etc.

Fields

Custom fields can be created within the Category as a text field, text area, or checkbox. These fields will not be used within Curriculum Management, but may be used to house additional reference data if desired.

Hierarchy

The Hierarchy section allows you to indicate relationships between Categories. For example, if you are creating a Category for "Department", you can establish that the "College" Category would be the parent entity.

Create a Category

In order to establish a new Category, you will create a Category Template. This template allows you to create a set of attributes that should be shared across every Group assigned to this Category. For example, if you have a Category for "College" you may have a "Dean" role that exists within each one - so you can create that role as part of the Category, so you don't have to create the role of "Dean" within every single one.

You can follow the outlined steps or jump to a specific section:

• Roles
• Fields
• Hierarchy

Note: Only Admins will be able to manage Categories.

• To create a new Category, select the Groups app from the App Switcher. 

• Next, click on the New Category button at the top-left of the screen.

• On the next screen, you will be prompted to fill in the details of your new Category. The first field will be Name. This will be the name of the Category - such as College, Department, etc.

• The next field on the template is Product. There are only two options available - Global and Student. While working within Curriculum Management, select the option for Student. Selecting Global will not have a negative impact within your system, but does not provide any additional features within CM. 

• Next you will find the section for Student Roles.

Note: If you leave Product set as Global, you may also see a section for Global Roles. Setting the roles under Student Roles is recommended, but you won't see any negative impact if they are set under Global Roles.

• Click on the Add Role button to see the available fields Name and Description.
• In the Name field, enter the name you want to assign to the Role. Common examples may include college, department, faculty, committee member, or committee chair.
• In the Description field, you can enter a description to help further identify the Role if needed. This will show only on the Category itself, not within the Group or within CM, and it is not a required field. 
• You can add additional roles if needed by clicking on the Add Role button again. You can also remove them by clicking on the trash can icon.

• Next, you will find the section for Fields. The fields will only be shown in the Category or on a Group; and the data housed here can not be used within the forms in CM. This will be for informational purposes only. For example, you may want to store a specific code with the group, and providing a custom field will allow you to have a place to store it.

• Click on the Add Field button to see the available fields for Label and Type.
• In the Label field, enter the name you want to assign to the field. This will show when viewing the category or group. 
• In the Type field, you can select the type of field this will be. The options that can be selected are Text, Textarea, or Checkbox. 
• You can add additional fields if needed by clicking on the Add Field button again. You can also remove them by clicking on the trash can icon.

• Next, you will find the section for Hierarchy.

• The hierarchy field allows you to determine a category that is considered a parent to this one. For example, if you are creating a category for 'department', you may want to establish the relationship with 'college'. Use the drop-down menu to select a category you'd like to set as the parent.

• If you need to add additional relationships, you can click the Add Relationship button and select an additional category and provide a custom name for the relationship.

Once all settings have been entered, click the Done link at the top-right of the page to save your changes. 

Edit a Category

You can edit a Category as needed to adjust any of the details within - such as the hierarchy or roles associated with it. 

Note: If you intend to change the roles or hierarchy within a Category, it is recommended that you first ensure you do not have any proposals in progress, as the changes may impact workflow. You can pause submissions to prevent any additional proposals from being submitted while you make adjustments.

• To edit a Category, start by selecting the Groups app from the app switcher. 
• In the left navigation, select the Category that you need to modify.

• Once the Category has been selected, click the View Category link that appears in the upper-right corner of the screen.

• The next screen will provide an overview of the current Category settings. To modify them, click the Edit Category link in the upper-right.

• You can now make any edits needed to the Category. When you are finished, click the Done link in the upper-right corner to save the changes. 

Delete a Category

A Category can be deleted if needed, but only if there are no groups currently using it.

• To delete a Category, start by selecting the Groups app from the app switcher. 
• In the left navigation, select the Category that you need to modify.
• Once the Category has been selected, click the View Category link that appears in the upper-right corner of the screen.
• The next screen will provide an overview of the current Category settings. To delete the Category, click the Delete Category link in the upper-right.

Note: If the Delete Category link is not available, then you can not delete the Category at this time. This is likely due to a Group that currently uses the Category, and must be removed prior to being able to delete the Category.