CLIPs Questions and Answers

Access

Who can access CLIPs?

The instructor of record, assistants authorized by the instructor, and students enrolled in the class. Specially authorized staff may view class rosters and photo rosters but not the other features of CLIPs.

If my class does not appear in CLIPs, what do I do?

The following, which should be addressed by staff in your departmental or deans office, will prevent your class from appearing in CLIPS:

You may not be the instructor of record for the class in question. If you know you are the correct instructor for a class there are a number of possibilities that may be preventing this information from reaching the CLIPs system. These include:

• Perhaps your UTEID was entered incorrectly by departmental staff into "Class Manager" or "FASET". Your departmental staff will know how to check on this possibility.
• Your appointment for the semester has not yet been fully processed by the department and Human Resource Services.
• The department has not yet assigned you to the course.
• Your class is designated as “individual instruction”. The CLIPs system does not display individual instruction classes. This is a result of FERPA concerns. Contact the department offering the course if you would like to change the class designation to regular instruction.

When can I access CLIPs for a future semester?

You may access CLIPs when the Course Schedule for the upcoming registration cycle opens. For spring semesters, look for it in mid-October. For summer and fall, it’s available at the beginning of April.

How long is CLIPs information kept?

You can access the core CLIPs information back to Spring 2000.

How do I access CLIPs?

Visit https://utdirect.utexas.edu/nrport/clips_menu.WBX

Links to CLIPs can also be found at UTDirect and the Office of the Registrar

Class Rosters

Why doesn’t the Class Rosters link at the Registrar’s web site work for me?

That link is intended for administrative staff use only. Faculty should access class rosters by first entering CLIPs and then selecting class roster from the left navigation bar at the application’s home page.

Why are there more students on my roster than there are students actually showing up for class?

The most common reason is that the missing students have Q-dropped the class or withdrawn from the University. If students drop or withdraw after the census date (12th class day in a long semester, 4th in summer) they must remain on the roster for official grading purposes.

To see this information on your roster, click the Grade and Status Date boxes in the Show area of the class roster page.

I would like to keep my grade book in Microsoft Excel. How do I download a CLIPs class roster for this?

After selecting the fields that you want to include and the unique number(s) you want, click the Copy and Paste Roster button. When the roster appears in your web browser window, click and drag through the roster to select it all, and select Copy from the Edit menu. Open a blank Excel document, click on the left uppermost cell and select Paste from the Edit menu and the roster information will appear. It is a tab-delimited file.

Photo Rosters

How do I print a photo roster?

Before printing, you should first ensure that the page is formatted properly. Do this before clicking on the Photo Rosters link. Select Page Setup from the File menu and ensure that Landscape orientation is selected. Also within Page Setup, margins should be minimized, and headers and footers should be blank.

To print a photo roster, click the photo roster link on the left navigation bar. When you have a photo roster open, press Control-P on a PC, or Command-P on a Mac to print the page.

I have a large class. How do I get more photos on a page?

Select Photo Roster Main Page from the pull-down menu at the top of an opened photo roster. Select the desired unique number(s) and select a layout preset containing more photos per page, and then click Generate Roster.

Can I look at photo rosters from a previous semester?

Photo rosters are available for the current and previous semester, and the future semester once registration begins. Also, the photo database behind the roster stores photos only until the student graduates or withdraws from the University, so some photos might not be available. (Departmental staff should be able to provide you with individual photos of active students.)

A student was added to my class roster today. Why is she not appearing on my photo roster?

While class roster updates are immediate, photo rosters are updated overnight.

How do I see a combined photo roster of more than one unique number?

Click on the pull-down menu at the top of an opened photo roster and select Photo Roster Main Page. Select the unique numbers that you would like to combine, change the layout presets if desired, and click the Generate Roster button.

 

Authorizing Assistants

How do I authorize a TA or AI for access to CLIPs?

At the CLIPs menu page, click a unique number for which you would like to authorize your assistant. On the left navigation bar, click the authorize assistants link. Enter the assistant’s UT EID, select the options you desire, and click the Update Authorization button. To authorize the assistant for another unique number, click the CLIPs Menu link in the left navigation bar, click another unique number and repeat the steps above. Assistants must be added to each unique number individually—even if the classes have been associated (grouped). Assistants must be employees of the University. Assistants authorized in CLIPs appear in Canvas overnight.

Associating Classes

How do I group my classes in CLIPs?

To group classes is to “associate” them using CLIPs terminology. By associating classes instructors can post messages to just one primary unique number and students in all associated classes will receive them.

At the CLIPs menu, select the unique number that you want to be the primary class, and then click associated classes located near the bottom of the left navigation bar. Next, check the boxes of the unique numbers you want to associate with the primary class and submit.

Emailing Students

How do I send email to my students?

CLIPs has a link to the UT group email system. It is probably unlike other email systems you have used. It works well—with the following caveats:

• It has no means of sending attachments.
• It requires you to choose from 4 types of documents to send and then to enter that document type as the first word in your Subject field.
• You can send only plain text (not rich text or html).
• You must copy and paste a special email address to the Send To field of your email application and send the email message the same day.

For these reasons, many instructors choose to use the email feature in Canvas.

An alternative method of emailing your students makes use of the CLIPs class roster feature. After selecting the unique number(s) to email at the class roster page, select only the email check box from the list of fields to show, and then click the Copy and Paste Roster button. Click and drag through all of the email addresses, copy them, and paste them into the blind copy field (bcc) of your email application.

Absence/Failure Report

How does the Absence/Failure report work?

For each student selected you may choose up to 3 standard messages from a list of 10 and include comments or suggestions for improving his/her performance or attendance. Once submitted, a secure email message detailing this information is sent to the student and a report is sent to the dean’s office.

Instructor Information

My office location in CLIPs is wrong. How do I correct it?

Visit All My Addresses at UTDirect to change your office location. CLIPs should be updated by the following day.

Navigation Bar

What’s on the navigation bar?

On the left side of each CLIPs page, a navigation bar contains links to the various CLIPs features:



Help - Help for each page in the Class Information Pages system can be reached through this link.



CLIPs Menu - Displays a list of links to all your classes. You can access semesters other than the current one by using the pull-down menu.

CLASS ADMIN

Class Home - Takes you to the main class home page for a particular class.



Online Grade Submission - This is a site where you can upload or enter final grades for a student. The site is only active toward the end of each semester. Prior to that time a similar link takes you to information pages about grade submission.



Absence/Failing Report - Takes you to a page where you can file an absence / failing report on a student. This system is maintained by analysts in the College of Natural Sciences.



Textbooks and Reference - This page displays links to the University Co-Op and to the UT Libraries Course Reserves.



Course Catalog Description - Shows the official course description that is published in the appropriate University catalog.

Final Exam Schedule – This link will appear about 4 weeks prior to the beginning of the final exam period for long semesters and about 2 weeks before summer exams. Prior to that time, visit the index of final exam times at the registrar’s office web site.

STUDENTS

Class Roster – Get official class rosters for your classes. Select the fields you want displayed, and view the roster in the browser or download a tab-delimited file.

Photo Roster – This link takes you to the photo roster for the class. The photo roster system is maintained by Information Technology Services. The photo roster is updated overnight.



Group E-mail - Connects you to the University Group E-mail system.

INSTRUCTOR INFO

Full List - Go here to see a full list of Instructors and TAs and contact information for the class.



Authorize Assistants - This page allows you to authorize assistants to help you with class site administration for CLIPs.



My E-mail Address – If you want to use a different e-mail address from the one on the system enter it here

My Office Hours – Use this area to enter your office hours.

CLASS SET-UP

Additional Class URLs - Input up to two URLs to display them on the class home page.

Associated Classes - You can combine other classes with this class. The updates you make, messages you send, and the materials you upload will appear in all associated classes in CLIPs.



Instructor's Class Notelines – Use this space to enter your syllabus, assignments, or other information you want your students to see on the class home page.



Privacy Policy - A statement of the University's Web Privacy Policy.



Logoff - Because this site is secure and any changes to the class information will be ascribed to you, please be sure to logoff after using the system.

Class Home

Class Meeting Info - Official class meeting times and location are displayed. For classes with multiple instructors, the first instructor on the University's records will be displayed on the class home page while additional instructors and TAs are listed on the instructor full list page. Click on the room for a picture of the building and a campus map.

Course Schedule Notelines - The official University description of the course from the Course Schedule is displayed.

Instructor's Class Notelines - This area displays the information entered at the instructor's class notelines link on the navigation bar.

Additional Class URLs - Up to two web page links will be displayed if added using the link on the navigation bar.

Other things you might see - At different points in the semester you might see a final grade submission due date notice. You might also see notice of the final exam meeting time and place.

For further assistance, please contact CLIPs Help.