Technical and User Requirements

This project aims to create a set of core datatypes, functions and templates that an institution (Further Education colleges, Higher Education institutions, and Universities) can use to build their website upon within the Orckestra C1 CMS.

Main Aims

Build a university website, using the Bootstrap framework whenever possible, to demonstrate all functionality of the package.

Site will using (X)HTML5 and CSS3 throughout, with JavaScript / JQuery for all dynamic client-side functionality, with server-side fall-backs. Server-side functionality will be build with a combination of C#, Razor and XSLT.

The following information will be stored as data, not as pages:

  • Courses, Subjects and Modules - Including information about Entry Profiles, Language Requirements and Fees.
  • Research Projects - Including information about the People involved, Case-Studies and Publications.
  • Campuses and Venues - Information about the campuses and the lecture theatres / venues.
  • Collections and Campaigns - Gathering information together to promote topics and actions.
  • News and Events - To show what's going on at the institution.
  • Organisation, Groups and Teams - To describe the way the institution is organised.
  • Partners - To demonstrate links with business, government, charities, colleges, schools and the community.
  • Main navigation - A way to manage the website's navigation structure.

This will allow dynamic combination of datatypes and the creation of an API suitable for mobile apps.

The following datatype tables are subject to change as the project evolves. Developers should refer to the Datatypes documentation for the final structure.

Documentation

There should be an installation and set-up guide, written in plain English. All datatypes, functions, templates, and localisation resources should be well documented, highlighting connections, with examples provided whenever possible. The documentation should be understandable by anyone with basic web development experience.

Courses

Courses are made of either one (single / specialised) or two subjects (major / minor or joint). The subjects are usually made up of multiple modules. This gives us a data model like this:

  • Top-level course information
    • Main subject
      • Multiple modules that make up a subject
    • Optional second subject
      • Multiple modules that make up a subject

Course fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Start date* The date that the course begins.
Course level* The education level of the course.
Course code* The identification code for the course. Must be unique.
Award type* The type of award upon completion.
Award mode The award mode, for example: Joint, Major/Minor, Single, Specialised, etc.
Subject one* The primary subject.
Subject two (optional) The secondary subject.
Application code* The application code for the course.
Application method* How do students apply?
Entry profile* What qualification profile do you need to get onto this course?
Fee band* What fee band does this course have (if any)?
Main location* The main location for the course.
Course length full-time The length of the course in full-time study mode.
Course length part-time The length of the course in part-time study mode.
Handbook Is there a course handbook?
Display? Display this course on the website (Tick for yes)?

An abstraction layer using fee banding will allow us to separate fee data from the courses themselves:

  • Course information
    • Course fee bands
      • Course fee band costs

Courses also have a list of entry requirements, many of which are standardised and common to multiple courses.

  • Entry profiles
    • Language requirements
    • List of profile qualifications
      • Qualification types

Subjects

The subjects are usually made up of multiple modules.

Subject fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Subject code* The identification code for the subject. Must be unique.
Subject level* The education level of the subject.
Subject name* The name of the subject.
Subject description A brief description of the subject.
Overview This section allows you to sell the subject's main points of interest. Why should the applicant study this subject? Tell a story.
Structure How is this subject structured? Explain the week to week progression of the subject as it is taught.
Teaching methods How is this subject taught? Do you take students out of the classroom? Are there experiments? Can the students study abroad? Are there work placements?
Assessment methods How is this subject assessed?
Teaching and learning resources What specialist resources are available to the students?
Career opportunities and employability What courses can the student go on to study after completing this subject? Can they progress to a higher qualification? If a students enters the workplace, what sectors will they be working in. Give examples of past students.
Student experience Interview some students who are already studying this subject, or who have recently completed it. Post interesting sections of those interviews here. If the course is a new one, can you interview students from a related subject? Is there any student work you could add examples of to this page?
Modules A list of the modules that make up this subject.
Taught by Who teaches this subject?
Enquiry contact Who to contact with an enquiry?
Locations Where is this subject taught?
Academic department Which academic department manages this subject?
Handbook Is there a subject handbook?
Display? Display this subject on the website (Tick for yes)?

Subject do not need fee bands or entry profiles, as there are provided by the course wrapper.

Modules

Modules are the smallest component of a subject or course.

Module fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Module code* The identification code for the module. Must be unique.
Module level* The education level of the module.
Module type* Is the module compulsory, conditional, elective, or optional?
Module name* The name of the module.
Description A brief description of the module.
Application code The application code for the course.
Application method How do students apply?
Entry profile What qualification profile do you need to get onto this module?
Fee band What fee band does this module have (if any)?
Dependencies Does this module require you to have taken another module beforehand?
Taught by Who teaches this module?
Locations Where is this module taught?
Handbook Is there a module handbook?
Display? Display this module on the website (Tick for yes)?

An abstraction layer using fee banding will allow us to separate fee data from the modules themselves:

  • Module information
    • Module fee bands
      • Module fee band costs

Modules also have a list of entry requirements, many of which are standardised and common to multiple courses.

  • Entry profiles
    • Language requirements
    • List of profile qualifications
      • Qualification types

Research Projects

For research output, we need to talk about the research project itself, the people conducting it, the outcomes, and related case studies that help to promote the research outcome.

  • Project information
    • People involved in the project
    • Case-studies related to the project
    • Publications

Project fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Project name* The name of the project.
Description A brief description of the project.
Status* Is the project pending, active or complete?
Budget The budget for the project.
Body The main body text of the project page.
Start date* The date the project started or is due to start.
End date The date the project ended or is due to end.
Enquiry contact Who to contact with an enquiry?
Researchers The researchers involved in the project.
Partners The partner organisations involved in the project.
Publications The publications related to this project.
Building The building related to the project.

People

People fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
User identification* The UserID of the person, usually the same as their Active Directory or Open Directory ID. Must be unique.
Display name* The full name of the person.
Honorific* The honorific title for the person.
Forename* The given name of the person.
Surname* The family name of the person.
Post-nominal letters The post-nominal letters of the person. Please use correct order for your country.
Job title The job title of the person.
Email address The email address of the person.
Telephone number The telephone number of the person. Please add the international dialing prefix and use E.164 formatting.
Mobile telephone number The mobile/cellular telephone number of the person. Please add the international dialing prefix and use E.164 formatting.
Building The building location for the person.
Room The room number/code for the person.
Website URL The portfolio website of the person.
Twitter username The Twitter username of the person. Please include the @ symbol.
Facebook handle The Facebook handle/username of the person.
LinkedIn username The LinkedIn username of the person.
Academia.edu username The Academia.edu username of the person.
Google+ username The Google+ username of the person.
Photograph A photograph of the person. Square images only.
Personal statement
Academic qualifications
Professional qualifications
Membership of professional bodies
Teaching specialism
Current scholarship
External examiners
Other external roles
Research publications and outputs
Recent professional updating
Display? Display this person on the website (Tick for yes)?

Case-Studies

Case study fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Case study name* The name of the case study.
Description A brief description of the case study.
Body The main body text of the case study page.
Courses Related courses.
Project Related project.

Publications

Publication fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
File* Select the publication file.
Publication name* The name of the publication.
Enquiry contact Who to contact with an enquiry?
Description A brief description of the publication.
Body The main body text of the publication page.

Campuses and Venues

Location fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field Description:
Location code* The identification code for the location. Must be unique.
Location name* The name of the location or site.
Latitude* Specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Use decimal notation to 4 places.
Longitude* Specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. Use decimal notation to 4 places.
Map zoom level* The zoom level for Google or OpenStreetMap. Use a number between 0-20.
Body The main body text of the location page.
Directions by car How to get to this location by car.
Directions by public transport How to get to this location by public transport.

Building fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Building code* The identification code for the building. Must be unique.
Building or venue name* The name of the building or venue.
Location* The location of the building or venue.
Latitude* Specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Use decimal notation to 6 places.
Longitude* Specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. Use decimal notation to 6 places.
Map zoom level* The zoom level for Google or OpenStreetMap. Use a number between 0-20.
Body The main body text of the building page.

News

News fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Title* The title for the news article.
Teaser* A short teaser to entice viewers to read the news article.
Body The main body text of the news article.
Release date* The date the news article was released.
Locations Where does this news article relate to?
Courses Related courses.
Subjects Related subjects.
People Related people.
Project Related project.

Events

Event fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Title* The title for the event article.
Teaser* A short teaser to entice viewers to read the event article.
Body The main body text of the event article.
Start date* The date and time the event starts.
End date (optional) The date and time the event ends.
Building The building or venue location for the event.

Organisation Structure

Organisation fields (asterisk * indicates required):

Field: Description:
Organisation name* The name of the organisation.
Executive* The most senior member of staff. For example: Vice-Chancellor.
Ceremonial figurehead The ceremonial figurehead. For example: Chancellor.
Senior management team. The senior managers. For example: Pro Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Directors, Chief Operating Officer, etc.

Updated: 17 April 2017