As a significant step in Vanderbilt IT’s efforts to improve OAK performance, only courses from fall 2013 onward will be available in OAK, effective Friday, Oct. 3. Though no longer readily available in OAK, courses from semesters prior to fall 2013 can be reactivated by request in order to be made fully available on OAK again. This change is expected to help performance since the system will no longer need to fetch all old courses, thousands of which are no longer actively in use. Courses outside of OAK will remain unaffected.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will this change be implemented?
This change will be implemented at the start of business on Friday, Oct. 3.
What if I need material from a course that is no longer visible in OAK?
If you need access to an old course, email oak@vanderbilt.edu and provide the following details: subject area and course number, semester and instructor name. Please allow two business days for requests to be processed. You will be notified by email when the course has been reactivated. You do not need to wait until after Oct. 3 to place a request. You can consolidate your requests by listing multiple courses or groups of courses that need to be activated into a single request.
What if I want to save a course before this change is implemented?
Prior to the morning of Oct. 3, you can archive a course or courses to your personal computer. Instructions on how to archive a course can be found at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/oak/files/pdf/OAK-CourseExportImport.pdf. These instructions also include how to import a course, should you need it in OAK later.
To consult materials from within an archived course, you will need to re-import it into OAK. If you need assistance with this process, you may contact your school-based OAK resources.
Alternatively, you may prefer to use the “reactivation” process. Email oak@vanderbilt.edu and provide the following details: subject area and course number(s), semester(s) and instructor name. Please allow two business days for requests to be processed. You will be notified by email when the course has been reactivated.
Will this fix the problems we’ve been having with OAK?
VUIT has data suggesting that removing these courses from the system should reduce the performance issues; however, it is unlikely to fix all performance problems. This is an important step toward the solution.
What do I do if I need historic information for my promotion file?
Courses can be made active upon request by sending an email to oak@vanderbilt.edu and providing the following details: subject area and course number, semester and instructor name. Please allow two business days for requests to be processed. Requests for multiple courses can be combined; we will be able to process batches of requests simultaneously.
My students need materials from my class for their portfolio. What should they do?
If students need old materials, they will need to work with their instructors. Instructors can follow the process above to restore the class to OAK. Instructors will also need to enable the student’s enrollment in the course. If an instructor needs help with this process, he or she should contact an OAK support staff member.
Is there a place to store materials I’d like to remain “open access” to my former students?
One option is to continue to use OAK. If the course is inactivated, you will need to request to have the course made active by sending an email to oak@vanderbilt.edu. To learn more about other alternatives for posting these materials, visit the Center for Teaching website.
What will happen to e-reserves from old courses?
Library staff already make e-reserves from old courses unavailable as part of the end-of-semester processing, in accordance with copyright guidelines. Instructors should request new e-reserves each semester a course is taught. For more information about this e-reserve policy, visit http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/ill/copyclear.php.
Will this impact official courses only, or will it also include custom courses/organizations?
This change will only impact official courses and would not include custom courses/organizations. They are few enough in number that we do not believe they will significantly impact system processing.
Who do I go to for help?
For help, you can email oak@vanderbilt.edu, call 343-HELP, fill out the online help form or contact your school-based OAK resources.