Creating Graduation Requirement Credit Link

To create a credit link, go to Administrator > Maintenance > Graduation Requirements, select the Graduation Plan, and complete the Credit Links section, which requires the Registrar Full role. A credit link lets credit that one requirement earns beyond its Required Number of Credits count toward another requirement on the same plan while that requirement is still short. For how linked requirements count, review Graduation Requirement Credit Counting.

- Navigate to Administrator > Maintenance > Graduation Requirements.
- Select the Graduation Plan.
- In the Credit Links section, select the requirement in Takes Extra Credit From.
- Select the requirement in Counts Toward.
- Optionally, select a course requirement in Courses (optional filter) and enter the Order.
- Click Add Link. The button is disabled and reads "Saving and recalculating..." while the plan's graduation requirements are recalculated for every student, which can take a minute or longer. When the save finishes, the message "1 credit link has been added." appears, and the link is listed in the grid above the fields.

Takes Extra Credit From is the giving requirement, whose credit beyond its Required Number of Credits may move. When both linked requirements count the same course, the course counts here first.

Counts Toward is the receiving requirement. Extra credit counts toward it only while it is short of its own Required Number of Credits, and it counts each course once.

Courses (optional filter) is a course requirement that limits which courses may use the link. Only courses that the selected course requirement credits may move, and its grade condition applies, so a filter with a minimum grade keeps lower marks from moving. Leave it blank to let any course the giving requirement counts use the link; the grid then shows (all) in the Courses column. A course that the receiving requirement's own course requirement matches is always accepted, with or without a filter.

Order is a whole number that sets which of the giving requirement's links is tried first, lowest first. A blank Order is saved as 0. Links with the same Order are tried in the plan order of their Counts Toward requirements.

Plan order is the order the requirements were added to the plan. Giving requirements are processed in this order, and the Takes Extra Credit From and Counts Toward lists show the plan's requirements in this order.

To delete a link, click Delete on its row and confirm. The button is disabled and reads "Removing..." while the plan's graduation requirements are recalculated for every student, which can take a minute or longer. When it finishes, the message "1 credit link(s) have been removed." appears. To change a link's Courses or Order, delete the link and add it again, since a plan holds one link from one requirement to another.

Messages

- "Please select both requirements." appears when Takes Extra Credit From or Counts Toward is blank.
- "A requirement cannot take extra credit from itself." appears when both lists name the same requirement.
- "That link already exists." appears when the plan already has a link from the first requirement to the second.
- "This link cannot be added because it would create a cycle among the plan's credit links." appears when the new link would let credit return to a requirement it came from, such as a link from Electives to Math when Math already links to Electives.
- "The link could not be added. Both requirements must belong to the selected plan." appears when either requirement is no longer on the plan, for example when it was removed from the plan in another browser window.
- "Order must be a whole number" appears when the Order contains anything other than digits.

Note: Adding a link between two requirements that already count the same courses changes students' numbers as soon as the link is saved, on transcripts for past school years too. Those courses then count at the giving requirement first. The page shows no warning, so review a few students' transcripts after adding a link. Deleting the link restores the previous numbers.

Note: Removing a requirement from the plan also deletes its credit links. Adding the requirement again places it last in plan order. Deleting a course requirement that is used as a Courses filter also deletes the links that use it.

Note: Adding or deleting a link in the Credit Links section also refreshes the plan in the Graduation Requirements table, so the Graduation Requirements DAT queries show the new numbers as soon as the save finishes. Links deleted by removing a requirement from the plan or by deleting a course requirement, and changes to marks, graduation requirements, course requirements or plans, show in those queries only after the next refresh of the Graduation Requirements table. Review DAT Regenerative Table.

Example: A plan where extra math counts as an elective, digital arts courses count toward Technology, then Fine Arts, then Electives, and extra fine arts credit counts as an elective uses these links.

Digital Arts Courses is a course requirement that matches the digital arts courses. A digital arts course that Technology does not need moves to Fine Arts while Fine Arts is short, and otherwise to Electives. Moved credit never moves again, so Technology needs its own link to Electives; Fine Arts does not pass Technology's credit on.

Related articles: Graduation Requirement Credit Counting, Creating Graduation Requirement, and Creating Course Requirement.