Do you have cross-listing needs or want to merge low enrollment courses? If so, Course Evaluations has the answer, and you will be on your way with combined courses in a matter of minutes. Check out the following so you’re prepared for the merge ahead. 


Schools needing a true cross-listing solution for courses will enjoy the benefits of this feature, as well as those looking to combine low-enrollment courses for anonymity reasons.

Recipe for Success

A few things need to be kept in mind when merging courses to ensure accuracy on surveys and reports:

  • Courses considered for merging must be in the same assessment period
  • Faculty cannot have a different role on different courses to be merged
  • Students only see the course that they are enrolled in when they take the survey, not the merged course
  • People found to have same role on more than one course will be de-duplicated so they only appear once on the master course
  • To combine data post survey, courses must be on the same survey

Icons Defined

NOTE: Each icon plays an important role in the merge, so be sure to understand each one before moving forward.

Getting Started

  • Course Merging begins on the Course List Page:
  • Select the Course Merge icon on any/all courses to place them in the Course Merge Cart.
  • Then click the cart counter to go to the cart.

Select Courses in the Course Merge Cart

  • Select the course to merge then click on the Merge Selected button on the bottom of the page OR select the Merge Same option to merge all the courses with the same cross list code.

  • The system will display the courses selected for merging so that you may verify the course selection and survey period accuracy.

  • Choose one of the courses as a model for the master course then click on Create Master Course.

NOTE: If there are surveys attached to the courses, they will display under the course numbers for verification.

Complete the Merge

  • Once the master course is chosen, you have the opportunity to rename it. It is a best practice to change the section number label to Master or some other label to avoid confusion.
  • Click Merge Courses to kick-off the merge:

  • NOTE:  Validation failures may occur if courses have the following attributes:

    • Courses are in different periods
    • Courses are already merged with other courses
    • Surveys that courses are attached to are not Standard & faculty-focused
    • Courses are on multiple surveys
    • Evaluated individuals are found to be in more than one role

Review the Master Course

Once the merge is completed, you may view the master (or all courses) in the Course List. The Merge Status filter can help narrow down your search. The merged child courses will show on the list with the cog icon, and the merge master course will be marked with the icon showing a cog with two spokes.

  • Click on any master or child course to see the linked courses. Each course listed is just a click away…select any course to view its details.
  • No worries if a mistake was made in merging courses, as you can simply click on the master course and use the Reverse Merge option, or add more courses to the Master

NOTE:  Some other important tidbits we don’t want you to forget about:

  • If courses are merged and results are received on a survey, the merge cannot be reversed.  
  • Students will see the original course registered for when taking the survey;
  • Faculty will see the master course in the report lists, but the list of the merged child courses will appear in the Evaluation and Detailed Report headers
  • Multiple instructors will show on the merged course and if students or faculty are enrolled in both/all courses, the duplicates will be dropped.
  • If a participant has taken the survey for more than one of the merged child courses the only the first answer is kept for each duplicate.

Updating enrollment

Enrollment lists coming from SIS systems will include the original courses. The enrollment import accounts for this and automatically synchronizes the master course enrollment and any surveys where the master course resides.


Likewise, if you manually change the enrollment on a child course, the same synchronization performed for the import is performed when you save.


NOTE:  You can’t change the enrollment or faculty on a Master Course. Edit the people on the Child Courses to make your changes.