The Primary Course Key (PCK) is the machinery behind IDA 2.0 that connects courses together. This page is intended to give you working knowledge of PCK’s and how they are integrated into the system.
What is a Primary Course Key?
Primary Course Keys are ten-digit unique identifiers for courses at the University. Each course, be it a standalone course or a topics course, receives a primary course key. When you are building a course list and requirements, each saved filter translates to a PCK on the back end for auditing purposes.
What courses receive Primary Course Keys?
Only courses that exist in the catalog and/or are published in the course schedule receive a PCK. Standalone courses and numbered topics use PCKs from the course inventory, whereas unnumbered topics use PCKs from the course schedule. Conversely, any course that is not published in the catalog or in the course schedule will not have a primary course key and must have one matched or generated.
Courses that do not receive Primary Course Keys
Generic transfer courses (GOV 4US, E 3SLIT, etc.) do not receive PCKs when they are transferred to the university. Therefore, they cannot be processed by the system if their credit hours are variable. This does not mean they cannot be processed, but they will never match a PCK that is listed in the course list. The course must match a filter that just has a field of study listed.
Primary Course Key Matching
Courses that do not have PCK’s are linked up with the most appropriate PCK from the University. For example, SPN 406 is not offered by the University, but we do offer SPN 506, so SPN 406 is matched with SPN 506 and given the PCK of SPN 506 for processing. If a student has GOV 412L it would be matched with GOV 312L, etc.
University Extension courses are also matched by this process. Therefore, GOV 312L from University Extension is given the PCK of GOV 312L. Topics courses (such as ANT 324L Forensic Anthropology) are only given the PCK for the base topic (in this case, ANT 324L Topics in Anthropology) because there is no machinery in place to match topic PCKS from University Extension to the course schedule.
How do topics and Primary Course Keys work?
Numbered and unnumbered topics are assigned different PCKs. If an unnumbered topic is turned into a numbered topic, then the numbered topic will receive its own new PCK that designates it as a new offering of a course. Base topics, on the other hand, are stored on course lists with no PCK attached to them. For example, if base topic HIS 350L is added to a course list filter, and a student takes HIS 350L Athenian Empire, the course will get picked up in the audit. The core processor will match any section of HIS 350L to the base topic, regardless of the PCK or title.
Need More Information?
See how to find the primary course key for sections.