FAQs about CC Basics/Access

When I try to login it says I do not have an account in Moodle. What do I do?

This happens when you are a new faculty member and have either not been assigned to a course in MyCSUSM or it has been less than 24 hours since you have been assigned. Once your department assigns you to a course in MyCSUSM, your account will automatically be created in Cougar Courses within 24-48 hours. Check with your department to see when they will assign you to the course.

Where are the courses I am teaching next term?

First, check MyCSUSM to verify you have been officially assigned the course. If you do not see it there, contact your department. If you do see it there, were you just assigned? It can take 24-48 hours from when you are assigned the course in MyCSUSM to when you get added to the course in Cougar Courses.

If it has been over 48 hours from when you were assigned in MyCSUSM, the course is likely under the Hidden Courses tab near the bottom of your My Courses page. Once you find it, click the star in the upper right to bring it to the top of your courses list.

You can also access an alternate list of your courses which might make it easier to look through your courses. On your My Courses page click the Dashboard link under your name in the upper left. At the top of the Dashboard you will see recently accessed courses. Below that you will have your entire list of courses. At the top of the list, on the left you can filter by status (All, In Progress, Future, Past, Starred, and Hidden). And on the right you can switch the view from Card to List, which will make it easier to look through.

I'm not ready to make my course visible yet, but I don't want to search through Hidden Courses to find it each time I want to access. Is there a better way?

By default the courses at the top of your My Courses list are the courses that are visible and active, while hidden courses are under the Hidden Courses link near the bottom. However, you can choose to bring a hidden course up to the top of your courses by clicking the star icon in the upper right.

I don't see one of my past courses. Where is it?

If the course is recent (Fall 2019), the course might be hidden. Two weeks after the term ends courses are automatically hidden from students. Check under the Hidden Courses tab near the bottom of your My Courses page.

If it is not there, it might be you enabled a course end date and that date has passed. Click on the year tabs at the top of the page to view the courses that ended during those years. See our help guide on course start/end dates for more information.

You can also access an alternate list of your courses which might make it easier to look through your courses. On your My Courses page click the Dashboard link under your name in the upper left. At the top of the Dashboard you will see recently accessed courses. Below that you will have your entire list of courses. At the top of the list, on the left you can filter by status (All, In Progress, Future, Past, Starred, and Hidden). And on the right you can switch the view from Card to List, which will make it easier to look through.

If the course is from before Fall 2019, those courses are on separate sites. The Previous Courses previous courses site will give you access for the academic year of the course you want to view.

Why can't my student(s) see my course?

Courses are hidden from the students until you manually make it visible. There is no automatic process that makes courses visible to students. If a course is currently hidden from students it will say "Not published to students" under the course name on your My Courses page. Please see our help guide on how to make your course visible.

Once made visible, courses remain visible to students until at least 2 weeks after the term has ended. At that point, courses for that term are hidden from students. If a student needs access to a course from a previous term, you can change their role in that course to “Student with Access to Hidden Course” to allow them to see and access the course again. Please see our help guide on how to change a user's role.

How do I give a colleague access to my course?

If you would like to manually add a colleague to your course you can do so. Here is our help guide on how to add users. The role you choose for them depends on what you would like them to be able to access. You cannot add them as an instructor as only the instructor of record should have access to student work and grades. If you want your colleague to be able to import your content into their course, you will choose the role Facilitator without Gradebook Access (this gives them editing ability and the ability to import). If you only want them to be able to view your course, choose the role Student.

How do I access a colleague's course?

They can manually add you to their course. Here is our help guide on how to add users. Pass that along to your colleague. The role they choose for you depends on what they would like you to be able to access. They cannot add you as an instructor as only the instructor of record should have access to student work and grades. If they want you to be able to import their content into your course, they will choose the role Facilitator without Gradebook Access (be careful, this role does have editing access). If they only want you to be able to view their course, they will choose the role Student.

How can I see what the student sees in my course?

You can briefly switch your role to student to view your course as a student would. Please see our help guide on how to view as a student.

I switched my role to student, but now I can't find my course! Where did it go?

If you switched your role to Student and then left the course before returning to your normal role, you might no longer see your course. Don't worry, this is easily remedied. Simply log out of Cougar Courses completely and then log back in. You should then be able to find your course again.

I still see a past course. How do I remove it from my view?

There are a couple of reasons you might still see a past course. First, is the star in the upper right filled in? If so the course will stay in your active courses until the course end date is reached or you unstar it. Click on the star again to unstar it.

If you have unstarred it and it is still at the top of your My Courses page it means the course is likely still visible to students. Courses are automatically hidden from students two weeks after the term ends. If it is over two weeks past the end of term, you can manually hide your course. Go into your course, click on the gear icon in the upper right to open the Course Administration and click on Edit Settings. In the upper right set Visibility to Hide. Click Save and Display. The course will then be hidden and moved under the Hidden Courses link near the bottom of your My Courses page.

You can also set a course end date to move the course to the appropriate year tab along the top. Please see our help guide on how to set a course end date.

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