Student Requests

The Student Requests screen allows administrators to add course requests for students for the next school year. When running the Scheduler, student requests are used to schedule students into courses. Students can also be auto-scheduled on an individual basis directly from the Student Requests screen.

Adding Requests Using the Quick List

The Quick List is organized by graduation subject (if graduation subjects are set up by the district), and allows you to quickly add requests for each requirement and select multiple choices. If progression plans are set up, then the student's assigned progression plan drives the courses available for selection.

1. In the Scheduling menu, click Student Requests.

2. In the Search Screen, enter search criteria to locate the student and click Search.

See Searching for Students for detailed instructions on the various ways to search for students.

3. In the search results, click the student's name.

Any requests already entered by the student, teacher, or administrator are listed at the top of the screen. In the Add a Request: Quick List section of the screen, any requirements that already have requests entered will have a green check in the Course/Elective Priority column.

If grade levels have been set on courses, only courses available to the student's grade level are available for selection. To add requests regardless of the grade levels set on the course, select the Courses for All Grade Levels check box at the top-right corner of the screen.

4. To add a request for a subject area, select the course from the pull-down. One or multiple courses can be selected.

To quickly locate a course in the list, begin typing the course name or number in the Filter field at the top of the pull-down. Matching courses will display in the list for selection.

5. For electives, enter the Elective Priority.

Entering a 1 ensure the elective is scheduled at the same level as core courses. Electives with a 2 or higher will only be scheduled if the course with an elective priority of 1 is not scheduled. Leaving the elective priority blank indicates the course is a core or non-elective course, but if this is left blank, then alternative requests will not be looked at.

6. To enter an additional elective course request beyond the spaces provided, click the green plus icon and enter the additional requests.

Some schools will have an Elective category with only one pull-down available, but multiple courses can be selected in the pull-down. Once the requests are saved, the elective priority can be added at the top of the screen.

7. Once the course selections have been made, click Save.

The course requests are added to the table at the top of the screen.

If a course is requested that a student is currently taking or has already taken, or has already been requested, a warning message will display stating that there is a conflict with the chosen course. You can continue to add the request if the student has to repeat the course or if it is a course the student can take for multiple periods/credits (e.g. OJT or study hall), or you can cancel the request.

If you have requested a course in any of the core subject groups (Math, Science, Social Studies, or English) on the behalf of a student, the student cannot request a course in the same subject group. If the student tries to request a course in the same subject group via the Student Portal, he/she will receive an error message.

Adding Requests at the Top of the Student Requests Screen

Course requests can be entered directly in the table at the top of the screen.

1. In the Scheduling menu, click Student Requests.

2. In the Search Screen, enter search criteria to locate the student and click Search.

See Searching for Students for detailed instructions on the various ways to search for students.

3. In the search results, click the student's name.

Any requests already entered by the student, teacher, or administrator are listed at the top of the screen. In the Add a Request: Quick List section of the screen, any requirements that already have requests entered will have a green check in the Course/Elective Priority column.

4. In the blank row at the top of the table, select the Course.

To quickly locate a course in the list, begin typing the course name or number in the Filter field at the top of the pull-down. Matching courses will display in the list for selection.

The Course # will auto-populate based on the selected course.

If a course is requested that a student is currently taking or has already taken, or has already been requested, a warning message will display stating that there is a conflict with the chosen course. You can continue to add the request if the student has to repeat the course or if it is a course the student can take for multiple periods/credits (e.g. OJT or study hall), or you can cancel the request.

If you have requested a course in any of the core subject groups (Math, Science, Social Studies, or English) on the behalf of a student, the student cannot request a course in the same subject group. If the student tries to request a course in the same subject group via the Student Portal, he/she will receive an error message.

5. Enter the rest of the fields as needed:

Field Description
Credits This is a read-only field. The credits for the course will auto-populate after adding the request if defined in the Course Catalog.

Florida: If there is a value in the Total Credit column in the Course Catalog for that school year, that value will display. If there is no value in the Total Credit column, then the value in the Credits per Course column will display (which pulls from the Course Code Directory for that school year). If there is no value in either the Total Credit column or the Credits per Course column, and there are no records for that school year in the Course Code Directory, then it will look to the Course Code Directory of the previous school year for a value. If there is no value found anywhere listed, then the request will display as 0 credits.

Texas: If there is a value in the Total Credit column in the Course Catalog for that school year, that value will display. If there is no value in the Total Credit column, then the value in the C022 for that school year will display. If there is no value in either the Total Credit column or the C022 for that course, and there are no records in the C022 for that school year, then it will look to the C022 of the previous year for a value. If there are no values found anywhere listed above, then that request will display as 0 credits.

Other states: It will only refer to the column Total Credit in the Course Catalog. If there is a value for that course in that school year, it will display that value next to the student request record. If there is no value, then the request will display as 0 credits.
Schedule First Select the check box if the Scheduler should attempt to schedule this request first before all other requests not marked as “Schedule First."
Elective Priority
Enter the elective priority for the request for elective courses. Entering a 1 ensures the elective is scheduled at the same level as core courses. Electives with a 2 or higher will only be scheduled if the course with an elective priority of 1 is not scheduled. Leaving the elective priority blank indicates the course is a core course or an elective course where you do not want an alternative to be scheduled, but if this is left blank, then alternative requests will not be looked at.

Term If a student will not be enrolled for the full length of the course, select the Term. For example, this may be used if the student only needs one semester of a full year course. 
Inclusion Select the Inclusion check box if the student needs to be scheduled into an inclusion section as well as the primary section. When the student is scheduled, the system will look for sections that were set up with an inclusion section in Courses & Sections, and will only schedule the student into the section with an inclusion section attached. If there are no inclusion sections attached to the primary section, the student will not be scheduled into the course. 
With Teacher, Without Teacher If the student should be scheduled with or without a certain teacher, make the appropriate selections. Selections can only be made if sections have been created. 
With Period, Without Period If the student prefers to take the course during or not during a specific period of the day, make the appropriate selections. Selections can only be made if sections have been created.

Note: Invalid period options will display with an asterisk. For example, if a request was entered for a student with Period 3 selected in the With Period column, and later on the period 3 section was moved to a different period making period 3 no longer a valid option, *Period 3 will display in the With Period column for that request.
Approved by Teacher This is a read-only field. When using the “Teachers approve course requests” functionality, enabled by the system preference, this check box will be selected to indicate that the teacher approved the course request. If the “Teachers approve course requests” functionality is not enabled in System Preferences, this column will not display. 
Last Modified This is a read-only field that displays who last modified the course request, and the date and time. 
ACR This is a read-only field that indicates if the course request was added by the Automatic Course Requests function. 

Teacher and period restrictions can only be set on a request after sections for these courses have been built. It is advised to place as few restrictions as possible on requests.

6. Press Enter when finished.

The request is added to the list and is auto-saved.

Above the requests table, the number of requests and alternates are displayed. Alternates are requests that have an elective priority of 2 or higher. The total number of credits and units requested are also displayed. The units are calculated based on the course length set on the course: Full Year is 1 unit; Semester is .5 units, etc. The credits for each course pull from the Course Catalog:

Florida: If there is a value in the Total Credit column in the Course Catalog for that school year, that value will display. If there is no value in the Total Credit column, then the value in the Credits per Course column will display (which pulls from the Course Code Directory for that school year). If there is no value in either the Total Credit column or the Credits per Course column, and there are no records for that school year in the Course Code Directory, then it will look to the Course Code Directory of the previous school year for a value. If there is no value found anywhere listed, then the request will display as 0 credits.

Texas: If there is a value in the Total Credit column in the Course Catalog for that school year, that value will display. If there is no value in the Total Credit column, then the value in the C022 for that school year will display. If there is no value in either the Total Credit column or the C022 for that course, and there are no records in the C022 for that school year, then it will look to the C022 of the previous year for a value. If there are no values found anywhere listed above, then that request will display as 0 credits.

Other states: It will only refer to the column Total Credit in the Course Catalog. If there is a value for that course in that school year, it will display that value next to the student request record. If there is no value, then the request will display as 0 credits.

A barcode scanner can be used to add course requests. In the blank row at the top of the screen, click the Course pull-down and then scan each course number one by one. The row is automatically submitted and saved after scanning each course number.

Editing Requests

At the top of the screen, edit any of the course request fields as needed and then press Tab or click out of the field.

The changes are auto-saved.

Approving Requests as a Counselor

The Approved by Counselor check box is used to indicate that the counselor has reviewed and approved the student's course requests.

At the top of the screen, select the Approved by Counselor check box.

A green check mark flashes on the screen to the right of the Locked for Students field, indicating the selection was saved.

Locking Requests for Students

Requests can be locked for students so that students can no longer make changes to their course requests.

At the top of the screen, select the Locked for Students check box.

A green check mark flashes on the screen to the right of the Locked for Students check box, indicating the selection was saved.

Viewing Course Requests from Other Schools

If a student is dual-enrolled, you can view the student's course requests from the other enrolled school(s), though these requests are not editable and cannot be deleted.

At the top of the Student Requests screen, select the Include Inactive check box.

The screen refreshes and includes course requests from the other schools in the list of requests at the top of the screen. The School column indicates the school the course request belongs to. Requests from other schools are disabled and cannot be edited or deleted.

Auto-Scheduling the Student

The Auto-Schedule feature is used to schedule a student based on the course requests and available seats in sections.

1. Once all course requests have been entered for the student, click Auto-Schedule this Student at the top of the screen.

Focus will attempt to schedule the student based on the course requests and available seats in sections, and the resulting schedule will display. All scheduled courses display in the schedule section of the screen, and any unscheduled courses display at the bottom of the screen in the Unscheduled Requests section.

2. To manually add a section to the student's schedule for an unscheduled request, overriding the restrictions that prevented the student from being automatically scheduled, click on the request link under Search for a section to add.

3. In the pop-up window, click a section to add to the student's schedule.

The selected section is added to the student's schedule.

After the student has a schedule and you want to auto-schedule the student again, you need to delete the existing schedule first.

Deleting Requests Individually

1. Click the red minus sign to the left of the request.

2. In the confirmation message, click OK.

Deleting Multiple Requests

1. Select the check box next to each request to delete, or select the check box in the column header to select all the requests in the table.

2. Click Delete Selected Requests at the top of the screen.

3. In the confirmation message, click OK.

sandbox.focusschoolsoftware.com says
Students Entering Requests in the Student Portal

If students are allowed to enter their own course requests, students will do so from the Class Requests screen in the Student Portal. This procedure documents the student point of view when entering course requests.

Focus will review a student's grade history and schedule to determine prerequisite requirements.

1. If a student is entering a course request for the next year and is currently scheduled into the prerequisite course this year, Focus will assume the student will pass the course and meet the requirement. The student will not need a grade history record present.

2. For a grade record to meet the prerequisite, the student must have earned credit (i.e., the Credits Earned field cannot be 0), and the grade record must be flagged for Course History.

If the district leverages extra characters on course numbers, the system will match the course numbers exactly. For example, if the prerequisite is entered with an 8-digit course number, Focus will match the full 8-digit course number when comparing schedule and grade records. However, if the district enters a prerequisite with a 7-digit course number, Focus will only match the first 7 digits.

1. Click Class Requests.

Class Requests

Any requests already entered by administrative staff, teachers, or the student will be displayed in the table at the top of the screen. Requests entered by administrative staff or teachers will be locked from editing by the student.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

Students can enter requests in the table at the top of the screen or by using the Quick List at the bottom of the screen. The Quick List is organized by graduation subject. If any requests have already been entered for a graduation subject, a green check mark will display next to the subject.

2. To enter requests using the Quick List, select a course from the pull-down next to the graduation requirement.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

3. For electives, enter the Elective Priority in the field next to the course pull-down.

A priority of 1 ensures the elective is scheduled at the same level as courses without a number. A priority of 2 or higher will only be scheduled if a course with an elective priority of 1 could not be scheduled. Leaving the priority blank indicates that this is a core or non-elective course. If this is left blank, than alternative requests will not be looked at by the system. 

Class Requests - Google Chrome

4. If an additional elective needs to be requested beyond the three spaces provided, click the green plus icon.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

5. Select the course from the pull-down and enter the Elective Priority.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

6. After entering the requests in the Quick List, click Save.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

If an error is encountered, such as the prerequisites for a requested course have not been taken, a pop-up window will display with the error.

7. Click Cancel to close the message, and then change the request that caused the error. Click Save.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

Once there are no errors, the requests are added to the table at the top of the screen.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

8. To add requests to the table at the top of the screen, select the Course to request in the blank row.

9. For electives, enter the Elective Priority.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

10. Press Enter to add the request.

11. To modify a request entered by the student, select a different Course or change the Elective Priority. The rest of the fields cannot be edited by the student.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

12. To delete a request entered by the student, click the red minus sign next to the course.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

13. In the confirmation message, click OK.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

14. To delete multiple requests, select the check box next to each request to delete.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

15. Click Delete Selected Requests at the top-right corner of the screen.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

16. In the confirmation message, click OK.

Class Requests - Google Chrome

Students cannot modify or delete requests entered by administrative staff or teachers.