We maintain an external database of enrollments, and point Moodle's "external database enrollments" plugin at it. It's working well, but the start date for each created course is today's date. I know we can create a template file for the plugin to use, and could put a custom start date in that, but our courses have different start dates, so that could work.
Is there no way to use the external database enrollments plugin and also preserve start / end dates for courses?
To work the way you need, this would need to be added to the external enrollments plugin code so there is a new field for course start date, since a single template won't work in your case.
Have you looked at the code or put in a Tracker request to have this feature added?
A workaround would be to have a SQL script (or PHP) go through after the fact and update the course start dates based on course name, category, or some other information.
I had a site where courses started monthly and were in monthly categories. A one line SQL update set course dates based on category id.
If you don't need or use the course id number field in the external
database you could put the date info there, then have a SQL script update the
course startdate based on that.
I'm sure you have tried to use the course uploads tool too, setting default dates in batches after the fact. It will do it, but it's very manual intensive.
Thanks much Randy, and apologies for the response delay.
I did find a ticket in the Moodle Tracker related to this problem, logged back in 2012. I've upvoted it and left a comment. I'm kind of surprised this hasn't been an issue for more schools.
Yes, I could write a script that would cross reference the external database (which has start dates) with course IDs (which are stored in both places). Just need to find the dev time.
Thanks again!
Hi Randy -
The ticket is linked to in the comment above:
https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-35809
Talking this over more with my manager, it feels like we must be missing something. It just *can't* be the case that thousands of schools rely on the external db enrollment plugin and *no one* considers missing or wrong start dates on courses to be a show-stopping bug. This is critical data. I feel like we must be missing something obvious here. How do other schools deal with this? Everyone just codes up their own fix-it scripts to run after the fact? Seems so... broken and messy.
Thanks.
Voted up.
My experience is db enrollments is fairly rare in schools, at least in the US, where people tend to have SIS. I'm sure it is out there, but I don't see it so much as SIS systems. I see db auth and enrollment more in companies that have membership type sites.
I do see a lot schools that force sweep though courses and set them visible or hidden at the start of terms rather than set dates but that's a solution to a different problem.
Interesting - if they're not using external db auth and enrollments, how are they populating Moodle? I thought external db was the main/official technique.
Also, how does having an SIS change things? Doesn't that count as an external db? (wouldn't such a school point the external db plugin at their SIS?)
Scot,
Almost all SISs have their own separate enrollment plugins and own methods, usually written in PHP or perhaps via webservices, and use the Moodle API calls.
In theory, you could write an SIS hooking into the Moodle db enrollments method, but in practice this has limitations, because, as you discovered, the external database enrollments is rather generic, lacks a lot of data fields, and has no ability to report back from Moodle either.