There are two types of CIM access, CIM user and CIM reviewer/approver. A CIM user is someone who can enter information into and can view CIM-C, CIM-P, and the Academic Catalog. A CIM reviewer/approver is someone who also has CIM-C, CIM-P, and Academic Catalog user access plus access to approve or rollback proposals as they move through workflow/governance. CIM reviewers/approvers are often a CIM user in a departmental or college level role. Each college determines access to CIM, and access authorization is requested through a designated CIM College contact.

There are also campus level CIM reviewers/approvers, such as the Provost Office, University Librarian, and Graduate College.

Authorized Users in the CIM system

Only authorized users from each department can access the CIM system. Approval for authorization is sent to the Office of the Registrar by the college CIM representative, also known as a CIM College contact. New users will be given access to CIM through their Net ID and UIN. A user’s authorization in CIM will be limited to the roles they are assigned to by their college. To request access to CIM, you should first communicate with your CIM College contact to discuss access before reaching out to cmss-catalog@illinois.edu. Only users approved by their CIM College contact will be granted CIM access. Access to CIM should be limited to those who will be actively engaged in using the system from each department/college. Changes to user access should be reviewed yearly by departments and colleges to ensure appropriate users have access.

CourseLeaf (CIM) Workflow Overview

The CourseLeaf workflow is a tool used to move proposals through a specific approval path. Workflow for courses and programs must have at least 2 steps (2 levels of review) before the Provost Office step. Each step may be made up of specific users or roles that allow users to share a step. The workflow in the system was set up to best mimic the previous (physical) approval flow for each department on campus. When approvals were sent through the mail it was possible to alter the workflow ad hoc; in CIM a “best practice” workflow is in effect. In CIM there are pre-set workflow roles for department and college level roles, but not all roles have to be used by every department. Individuals who are in approval roles are those who are authorized to give approval for that person (Dean Role) or entity (Committee Chair Roles).

Starting Workflow

Workflow is generated when an author clicks the “Start Workflow” button on an Academic Catalog page or the “Save and Submit” button in a CIM proposal. While an item is in workflow, it may continue to be edited by the last owner or approver until the next approver in workflow takes action. Thus, the last person is able to make final changes, including those at the request from someone earlier in the workflow, without requiring a rollback. Note that previous users will not be informed of changes made subsequent to their role in workflow.

Role Management/Workflow Rules

Each role (step) in workflow has a standard naming convention. These names are set by the CourseLeaf system. Thus, they might not be the familiar names we use on campus, but they do correspond to roles within the college. For example, your department or college may have an Executive Committee, in CourseLeaf lingo this might be the College Committee. Each role name also uses the department or college (Banner) code as a replacement for the department or college name. Though multiple people may be assigned to an approval role, only one person in each role needs to approve a proposal to move it to the next step in workflow.

If you are in the CourseLeaf workflow for your college, you will receive an email when a proposal is available for review or approval and when a course/program is fully approved at the end of all workflow steps.

Email Preferences

Email notification preferences can be set by the college. The default email setting is set up so that the first member listed in a role receives an email when a proposal is available for review or approval and when a course/program is fully approved. This setting can be changed so that all members in the role receive email notices, or so that a specific email is set to receive these notices.

Review Email

For a Review Course/Program Changes email simply click on the link to review the proposal. No approval is necessary.

The link will take you directly to the course on CIM Courses or CIM Programs landing page (for searching or review).

Approval Email

For an Approval Needed email, action is required by one person in the role to move the proposal to the next step in the workflow or to roll it back. Click on the link in the email to review and then approve or rollback the proposal. The link will take you directly to the approval role in the queue, except when someone has already approved or rolled back the proposal.

If you can’t find your proposal following the link in your email it is most likely that another member of your role has already approved or rolled it back.

Approving Proposals

By selecting “approve,” you are affirming that you have consulted with all appropriate parties at your level of governance involved in the proposal about its implications, including but not limited to staffing, space, and budget.

Managing Approvals

Although approval roles generally have more than one person assigned, only one person in an approval role can approve the proposal. If you are in an approval role with other people, discuss the process amongst yourselves and decide your process for review and approval for courses and programs. Only one person per approval role can approve a course or program proposal, as it then goes to the next workflow step for approval. If you can’t find your proposal following the link in your email it is most likely that another member of your role has already approved.

Explanation of Actions:

Edit the proposal: Click Edit to make your own changes to the proposal. Once you edit, you may then approve the proposal to send it to the next step in the workflow.
Rollback: Rollback is used to discuss changes or ask questions of previous approvers in workflow. Click Rollback to send the proposal back to a previous editor. A prompt will appear to make comments about why the proposal is being rolled back. Make comments in the space provided and click Rollback in the new window. The document will roll back to the previous editor or the editor you select in the workflow.
Your comments will be part of the permanent record for this proposal. They can be very simple and further discussion could be done in emails.
Approve: Click Approve to send the proposal on to the next step in the workflow.
Leave the page for another time: You may also leave the proposal and come back to it another time. It will remain in your queue.
View Changes: You can view changes made by editors who were before you in the workflow by selecting a user from the View Changes drop-down options. The selected editor’s deletions are shown in red and the additions are shown in green. You can click hide changes to view the latest version of the document without color coding by clicking Hide Changes.