At McMaster Continuing Education (MCE), we use a Master Shell to Term Shell system for our courses.

Master Shells

• are created during the course development process and contain all course content, learning activities, and evaluations
• are updated as needed through the Tracking Sheet process

Term Shells

• are used by instructors and students each term for every course offering
• a new Term Shell is used each time a course runs
• content from the Master Shell is copied over to the Term Shell in advance of the course start date

Instructors receive a checklist from their Program Associate outlining various action items that must be completed in the Term Shell before the course start date. Action items may include customizing the Welcome message, updating the Detailed Course Schedule, updating quizzes, assignments, and discussion dates, creating groups, preparing for live sessions, etc. These updates must be completed each time a course runs. Information on how to complete these updates can be found in Prepare Your Course for the New Term and other chapters within the Avenue to Learn: An Instructor’s Guide.

Maintaining the Master Shell

Tracking Sheets are used by instructors to record any changes or updates that need to be reflected in the Master Shell, and therefore, future course offerings. Examples of updates or changes to be recorded in the Tracking Sheet for implementation in the Master Shell are:

• Identifying broken links and providing replacement links
• Updating out of date content or readings
• Updating references
• Updating course documents
• Reporting any issues within the shell

Please be sure to submit your completed Tracking Sheet to your Program Manager on time to ensure that all necessary changes can be reviewed, approved, and implemented in advance of the next course offering.

Tracking Sheet Information
Standard Updates Tracking Sheet
Textbook Updates Tracking Sheet

Course Personalization

Instructors may choose to personalize their Term Shells with video notes, supplementary resources, announcements, etc. Term Shell updates (i.e. checklist items sent by the Program Associate) and instructor personalization will not be reflected in the Master Shell or subsequent course offerings, and therefore should not be recorded in the Tracking Sheet.