Setting the default term
SPIRE does not currently reset your default term to the current one, so you need to change it manually. Each term is assigned a 4-digit code. To look up the 4-digit code for a particular semester:
- Log on to SPIRE (as instructor or student).
- Click on the My SPIRE link on the left hand menu, then select User Preferences.
- Click on the magnifying glass icon next to the Term box.
- Don't fill in any of the boxes that come up; instead, select the Basic Lookup link.
- Don't put anything into the search box, just click on Look Up. A list of all the terms and their mysterious 4-digit codes will come up.
- Go back to User Preferences under the My SPIRE link, and enter the 4-digit code in the Term box.
The 4-digit code for Fall 2009 is 1097.
Setting the default aid year
The financial aid year code in SPIRE is the calendar year number corresponding to Spring semester. So for the academic year 2009-2010, the aid year is 2010; for the academic year 2010-201, the aid year is 2011.
Creating a class email list
To create a class email list in SPIRE for a course for which you're the instructor:
- Log in as instructor (not student), which should take you to Faculty Home.
- Click on Class Email Lists in the left side menu.
- Don't put anything into the Search boxes, just click the Search button.
- That will take you to a page where you can click on the Create List button.
After your list is created, you can refresh it on that same page by another button, but remember that if you do that, you'll lose any changes you made to the previous list (e.g. changing some students' emails to non-UMail accounts, adding additional emails), so it's a good idea to refresh through the SPIRE page until the end of the drop-add period, and only then make changes to the SPIRE-generated list (which always uses students' UMail accounts).
