1. Flexible Enrolment Automation with Plugins
Michael Aherne
University of Strathclyde
@michael_aherne

2. How we used to do enrolment automation
Problems we encountered
How the enrolment plugin architecture helped us improve
How we do enrolment automation now
Lessons learned

3. The old way Corporate Database View CS101 Person1 Person2 Person3
Moodle
Database
Enrolment
Plugin
Person1
CS101
Student
Person2
Person3
Lecturer
CS102
Person4 …
CS102
Person2
Person4

4. Problems with the old way
Multiple class codes taught together (“crosslisting”)
Department / faculty sites
Cohorts from multiple academic sessions taught together
External database dictates Moodle structure
Rollover to next session needs new database view

5. Enrolment plugins Enrolment method instances introduced in Moodle 2.0
Instances can be added to courses and configured individually
Plugins are more or less free to do what they want to with instance data

6. The new way New enrolment plugins developed Class Programme
User profile
“Criteria”

7. The new way
Class-based enrolment

8. The new way
Programme-based enrolment

9. The new way
Profile-based enrolment

10. The new way
Criteria-based enrolment

11. The new way CS101 Person1 Person2 Person3 Corporate Database Tables
Student
Person2
Person3
Lecturer
CS102
Person4 …
CS102
Person2
Person4
CS101
Person1
Person2
Person3

12. What we learned Enrolment plugin architecture supports almost anything
Academics hate being constrained by technology
Change Moodle to support business practices, not the other way round

13. Flexible Enrolment Automation with Plugins
Michael Aherne
University of Strathclyde
@michael_aherne