Display Hours for Non-credit Programs

Overview

Program Pathways Mapper can now display Hours instead of Units for non-credit programs. This enhancement applies to programs with the following award types:

  • Noncredit
  • Certificate of Completion
  • Certificate of Competency

This article explains how to properly configure your non-credit courses to ensure accurate hours are displayed on your pathway maps.

 

What You Need to Know

  • For non-credit programs, Hours will now display on maps, course cards, and term totals instead of Units
  • When creating maps for non-credit award types, the course list will automatically filter to show only courses with 0 units
  • The system will display lecture hours by default. If no lecture hours are present, it will display lab hours instead. If both lab and lecture hrs are present the system will combine the two fields.
  • Important: If neither lecture nor lab hours are specified for a course, the Hours displayed will default to 0, potentially misrepresenting the actual hours required for the program. PPM system provides a disclaimer to students. 
  • Important: If your institution currently has existing non-credit maps, these maps must be rebuilt in order to properly display hours. See section "Updating Existing Non-credit Maps" below for instructions.

 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Updating Course Hours

To ensure your non-credit programs display accurate hours information, you must update the lecture and/or lab hours values for your non-credit courses. There are three methods to update these values:

 

Method 1: Update via DCT User Interface

  1. Once in the DCT and in the correct Curriculum Year, navigate to "Clean" courses

  1. Scroll down until you see "Course Lab Hours/Lecture Hours/Material Fees"
  2. Click Fix

  1. Click Review/Change

  1. Click the number field and increase the number of hours to accurately represent each non-credit course

  1. Click Save Changes

Method 2: Non API Schools - Update via Template 5

Note: This method is only available for schools NOT using eLumen or Curriqunet API integration.

  1. Update Template 5 (Course Details Template) and import from the DCT dashboard
  2. Locate your non-credit courses in the template
  3. Update the values in the "Lecture Hrs" and/or "Lab Hrs" columns for each non-credit course (columns I & J).
  4. Save the template and upload it back to the DCT
  5. Validate and process the template according to standard DCT procedures

 

Method 3: API Schools - Update in Source System (eLumen or Curriqunet)

Note: This method is for schools using eLumen or Curriqunet API integration and is considered best practice.

  1. Log in to your eLumen or Curriqunet system
  2. Navigate to the course management section
  3. Locate and update the non-credit courses to include appropriate lecture and/or lab hours
  4. Save your changes
  5. Reimport via API and the updated hours will be imported into the Program Pathways Mapper.

Verifying Hours Display

After updating your course hours, you should verify that they display correctly:

  1. Publish your new curriculum revision to Authoring from DCT
  2. Navigate to a non-credit program pathway map in the Authoring Tool.
  3. Check the course cards to ensure they display "X Hours" instead of "0 Units"
  4. Verify that term totals show the sum of hours rather than units
  5. Ensure the program total accurately reflects the expected hours to complete the program

 

Updating Existing Non-credit Maps

Important: If you have non-credit maps that were created before the Hours Display feature was implemented, these maps will need to be updated to properly display hours information.

Identifying Maps That Need Updates

Existing non-credit maps may still display:

  • "0 Units" instead of "X Hours" on course cards
  • Incorrect term totals showing units rather than hours
  • Program totals that don't reflect actual completion time

Method: Remove and Re-add Courses

To update existing non-credit maps to display hours correctly:

  1. Navigate to your existing non-credit map in the Program Pathways Mapper Authoring Tool
  2. Identify courses showing "0 Hours" - these courses need to be updated on the map
  3. Re-add the courses to the map:
    • Using the old courses as references
    • Use the course search functionality to find the same courses
    • Add them to the appropriate terms
    • The courses should now display the correct hours (if lecture/lab hours have been properly entered in your course data)
  4. Remove old courses with 0 hours from the map:
    • Click on the course showing "0 Hours"
    • Select the option to remove the course from the map
    • Repeat for all courses displaying "0 Hours"
  5. Verify the updates:
    • Check that course cards now display "X Hours" instead of "0 Hours" or "0 Units"
    • Confirm term totals show the sum of hours
    • Ensure the program total accurately reflects expected completion hours

 

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

  • Issue: Hours still display as "0" on course cards
    • Solution: Verify that either lecture hours or lab hours are entered for the course using one of the methods above
  • Issue: Program totals seem incorrect
    • Solution: Check that all courses in the program have correct hour values. Even one course with missing hours data can affect the program total.
  • Issue: Cannot see the option to update hours in DCT
    • Solution: Ensure you have the proper permissions and are in the correct curriculum year. Contact your system administrator if needed.

 

Need Additional Help?

If you encounter any issues or need further assistance, please contact PPM support:

Was this article helpful?

0 out of 0 found this helpful

Have more questions? Submit a request