Sussex Direct Help

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SD CMS Help What are the icons in the table header for? Guide to which system to use for your various tasks What can now be done on Sussex Direct? You can log in to Sussex Direct from anywhere, on or off campus, and should be able to see your teaching for this term with details of students etc. You can also now record attendance on Sussex Direct and, where either formal (contributory) or informal coursework assignments exist, you can record marks for them. There are other useful features such as group emails, photo gallery and your weekly timetable, as well as other information not directly related to your teaching activities. What can be done on CMS? CMS is now accessible from all machines on campus, but NOT from off campus. All of the recording tasks available under Sussex Direct are still available through CMS, though for course convenors/organisers Sussex Direct offers an overview of the students on a course that is not available in the same way through CMS. What can NOT currently be done on Sussex Direct? Setting up sessions: although attendance can now be recorded on Sussex Direct, a prerequisite is that the teaching sessions must already have been set up using CMS. In most cases this should already have been done for this term, but if any amendments are needed (such as adding missing sessions or changing the day/time of a session) this will need to be done on CMS. Both course tutors and department coordinators have the necessary access to do this on CMS. Setting up assignments: for both formal (contributory) and informal coursework, marks recording is now available through Sussex Direct, BUT the assignments themselves will first need to have been set up using CMS informal coursework: assignment set up can be done by tutors or by department coordinators on CMS, according to the local arrangement formal coursework: assignments are set up for all students on the course by the School Administrator (Curriculum) or, where appropriate, by the course organiser or exam convenor. There is a special menu option for doing this called CMS: Formal Coursework and those people who need it will be given access to this screen. Which system should I use? This is up to you, and will depend on personal preference and the nature of your workload. If your teaching sessions and any informal coursework assignments you may have are already set up, you may well want to stick to using Sussex Direct. Those involved in the business of setting up assessments or who have overall responsibility for coursework marks for a course, will have to use CMS for this, though they may choose to do other tasks through Sussex Direct. The interface of Sussex Direct is much more friendly for those used to web browsing, and there are some additional features, including your weekly teaching timetable. Even if you intend to stick with CMS for the bulk of your recording / monitoring work at the moment, you should take a good look at Sussex Direct, as it will in time replace CMS altogether. How can I get help? Missing undergraduate data: Please contact your department coordinator if your teaching data is wrong, that is if: you cannot see all the groups you are teaching this term your list of academic advisees is wrong you cannot see courses for which you are the coordinator or course organiser (applies to Sussex Direct only) the list of students shown for any group is wrong. Missing postgraduate data: Postgraduate teaching has not previously been recorded on the database in all areas, so you may well find that you do not have all the access you think you should have to these students. We are working towards recording postgraduate teaching across the University, so this situation should be remedied over the coming months. If you have other queries about CMS or about the teaching pages of Sussex Direct, please send them to: arts.support@its.sussex.ac.uk - putting CMS in the subject line; teaching queries sent to the Sussex Direct helpdesk will also be forwarded here.
For help with Sussex Direct, please consult the BIS FAQ or contact the IT Service Desk. Page created by: Helen Moore (last modified 03/06/21 14.51.19)

SD CMS Help

What are the icons in the table header for?

Guide to which system to use for your various tasks

What can now be done on Sussex Direct?

You can log in to Sussex Direct from anywhere, on or off campus, and should be able to see your teaching for this term with details of students etc. You can also now record attendance on Sussex Direct and, where either formal (contributory) or informal coursework assignments exist, you can record marks for them. There are other useful features such as group emails, photo gallery and your weekly timetable, as well as other information not directly related to your teaching activities.

What can be done on CMS?

CMS is now accessible from all machines on campus, but NOT from off campus. All of the recording tasks available under Sussex Direct are still available through CMS, though for course convenors/organisers Sussex Direct offers an overview of the students on a course that is not available in the same way through CMS.

What can NOT currently be done on Sussex Direct?

Setting up sessions: although attendance can now be recorded on Sussex Direct, a prerequisite is that the teaching sessions must already have been set up using CMS. In most cases this should already have been done for this term, but if any amendments are needed (such as adding missing sessions or changing the day/time of a session) this will need to be done on CMS. Both course tutors and department coordinators have the necessary access to do this on CMS.
Setting up assignments: for both formal (contributory) and informal coursework, marks recording is now available through Sussex Direct, BUT the assignments themselves will first need to have been set up using CMS
- informal coursework: assignment set up can be done by tutors or by department coordinators on CMS, according to the local arrangement
- formal coursework: assignments are set up for all students on the course by the School Administrator (Curriculum) or, where appropriate, by the course organiser or exam convenor. There is a special menu option for doing this called CMS: Formal Coursework and those people who need it will be given access to this screen.

Which system should I use?

This is up to you, and will depend on personal preference and the nature of your workload. If your teaching sessions and any informal coursework assignments you may have are already set up, you may well want to stick to using Sussex Direct. Those involved in the business of setting up assessments or who have overall responsibility for coursework marks for a course, will have to use CMS for this, though they may choose to do other tasks through Sussex Direct. The interface of Sussex Direct is much more friendly for those used to web browsing, and there are some additional features, including your weekly teaching timetable. Even if you intend to stick with CMS for the bulk of your recording / monitoring work at the moment, you should take a good look at Sussex Direct, as it will in time replace CMS altogether.

How can I get help?

Missing undergraduate data: Please contact your department coordinator if your teaching data is wrong, that is if:
- you cannot see all the groups you are teaching this term
- your list of academic advisees is wrong
- you cannot see courses for which you are the coordinator or course organiser (applies to Sussex Direct only)
- the list of students shown for any group is wrong.
Missing postgraduate data: Postgraduate teaching has not previously been recorded on the database in all areas, so you may well find that you do not have all the access you think you should have to these students. We are working towards recording postgraduate teaching across the University, so this situation should be remedied over the coming months.
If you have other queries about CMS or about the teaching pages of Sussex Direct, please send them to: arts.support@its.sussex.ac.uk - putting CMS in the subject line; teaching queries sent to the Sussex Direct helpdesk will also be forwarded here.