University
Internal Operations Reference

WorkHand
Book

A comprehensive operational guide covering cohort management, programme creation, curriculum workflows, examination processes, and content curation.

Academic Year
01 July – 30 June
Cohorts Per Year
JAN / MAY / SEPT
Enrollment
Daily Rolling
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Chapter 01

Cohort Management

Creation cycles, financial year structure, enrollment flows, and student registration.

Academic & Financial Year Structure

The academic and financial year runs from 01 July to 30 June. New cohorts are created every four months, aligned to three intake points per year. Enrollment is processed on a daily rolling basis throughout the year.

Every
4 Mo.
JAN
Cohort
MAY
Cohort
SEPT
Cohort
Review
& Prep

Enrollment & Registration Flow

After a cohort is established, students move through a sequential registration pipeline. Each stage must be completed before the next can proceed.

Step 01
Cohort Creation
Every 4 months
Step 02
Student Reg
Daily rolling
Step 03
Session Reg
Per semester
Step 04
Active Student
LMS Access
📋 Note

Session registration must be completed per semester. A student who completes Student Reg but not Session Reg will not have access to course content in the LMS (SOMAS).

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Chapter 02

Programme Creation

Step-by-step guide to creating new academic programmes, fee setups, and specialisations.

Schools & Departments

All programmes are housed under one of three schools. When creating a programme, you must first select the school and then the relevant department within that school.

📊
School of Business & Economics
Commerce, Finance, Management, Economics programmes
📚
School of Education
Curriculum, Pedagogy, Educational Technology
🔬
School of Science & Technology
Computing, Engineering, Applied Sciences

Programme Types

Undergraduate (UG)

Bachelor's degree programmes. Typically 3–4 study years with 2 semesters per study year. Digitisation of fee setups is required after every curriculum change.

3–4 Years 2 Semesters/Year Fees: KES & USD KUCCPS Code Required
Postgraduate Diploma

Professional qualification at postgraduate level. Typically 1 year. Requires prior undergraduate qualification for admission. Digitisation of fee setups applies.

Masters (MSc / MA / MEd)

Advanced postgraduate programmes. Typically 2 years with thesis or coursework routes. Fee setups in both KES and USD, digitised after every programme change.

Doctorate (PhD)

Highest academic award. Research-based, 3–5 years. Supervisor allocation and research proposal approval are prerequisite steps before LMS onboarding.

Short Courses

Certificate and professional development programmes. Typically 3–6 months. Do not require KUCCPS IDs. Fee structures are simpler and KES-only by default.

Programme Creation Form Reference

The table below documents every field in the Programme Creation module and whether it is required.

🎓 Programme Creation · Field Reference
School *
Business & Economics / Education / Science & Technology
Department *
Select from school's departments
Programme Type *
UG / PG Diploma / Short Course / Masters / Doctorate
Programme Code *
Unique alphanumeric code e.g. BSE-001
Programme Name *
Full official programme title
Study Years *
Number e.g. 3 or 4
Semesters/Year *
Typically 2
KUCCPS ID
Optional – UG programmes only
Fee KES *
Kenyan Shilling amount — re-digitise after every change
Fee USD *
US Dollar amount — re-digitise after every change
Specialisation
Select if programme has a named specialisation
Clusters
Subject cluster grouping
Programme Status
Active / Inactive / Draft
💰 Fee Digitisation Rule

Fee setups in both KES and USD must be re-digitised after every digitisation cycle — including after any curriculum changes, programme edits, or cohort updates. This is non-negotiable for financial system accuracy.

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Chapter 03

Curriculum Setup & Mapping

Programme curriculum, schedule lists, level configurations, and cohort-curriculum mapping.

Curriculum setup is the backbone of academic delivery at . Every programme must have a fully configured curriculum before students can be registered into sessions. The curriculum defines levels, units, and the schedule across semesters.

Curriculum Setup Hierarchy

1. Programme Curriculum
Define the overall academic structure — number of levels, semesters, and total credit units for the programme.
Programme Level
2. Curriculum Schedule List
Map specific course units to semesters and levels. Add levels using the format 4.1 (Year.Semester).
e.g. Level 4.1 e.g. Level 4.2
3. Specialisation Configuration
Where applicable, define specialisation tracks and elective groupings within the curriculum structure.
Optional
4. Programme Cohort Mapping
Link the curriculum to a specific cohort: Cohort → Add → Save → Submit to Finance → Finance Setup → Admin Approval → Publish.
Workflow Required
5. Cohort Curriculum Mapping Report
Generate the Cohort Curriculum Mapping Report to validate all mappings before loading to the LMS. This is the final quality gate.
Generate Report Then → LMS Load

Cohort-Curriculum Approval Workflow

After submitting a cohort-curriculum mapping to Finance, the flow requires explicit Finance Setup followed by Programme Cohort Approval by an admin. Only after admin approval can the cohort be Published and subsequently loaded to SOMAS (the LMS). Do not skip or shortcut this chain.

LMS Lifecycle States

State 1
Draft
Setup in progress
State 2
Published
Approved & visible
State 3
Load to LMS
SOMAS sync
State 4
Archive
End-of-cycle
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Chapter 04

Course Unit Creation

Individual course units, CATTS marks, fee setup, learning outcomes, and SOMAS categorisation.

Course units are the granular building blocks of the curriculum. Each course must be created with a unique code, tied to a department, and configured with the full marking and fee structure before it can be published to the LMS.

Course Naming Convention

Category Name Format

Department_Name
e.g. Business_Economics

Short Name Format

CourseUnit_Code
e.g. BEC1101

Course Unit Field Reference

Field Description Req. Notes
Department Parent department Yes Must exist first
Existing SOMAS Course Link to pre-existing LMS course If exists Check before creating new
Course Code Unique unit code Yes e.g. BEC1101
Course Full Name Official unit title Yes CourseUnit_Name
Credit Units Academic credit weighting Yes Default: 4
Course Unit Fee KES Fee in Kenyan Shillings Yes Re-digitise on change
Course Unit Fee USD Fee in US Dollars Yes Re-digitise on change
CATTS Max Marks Continuous Assessment Total Yes Must be set correctly
Final Exam IE Marks Invigilated Exam max marks Yes IE = Invigilated Exam
Learning Outcomes Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) Yes Bulk upload or individual
Course Image Visual thumbnail for LMS Optional Recommended for UX
Status Active / Inactive Yes Must be Active to publish

Learning Outcomes Upload Methods

Bulk Upload (Recommended for new programmes)
+
Prepare a CSV or XLSX file with columns: Course_Code, Outcome_Number, Outcome_Text. Upload via the Bulk Upload option in the Course Unit module. Validate the upload report before proceeding. Correct any errors and re-upload. This method is faster for programmes with many course units (10+).
Individual Entry (For small sets or corrections)
+
Navigate to the specific course unit, open the Learning Outcomes tab, and add each outcome manually. Use this method when correcting individual entries, or when fewer than 5 course units need outcomes added. Each outcome should be action-verb led (Bloom's Taxonomy) and measurable.
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Chapter 05

Examination Flows

Exam scheduling, session management, and post-exam workflows. To be executed after every exam session.

The examination workflow must be completed fully for every exam session. This chapter documents the complete flow from schedule creation through to results publication. Each step is sequential and must not be skipped.

⏰ Timing

The exam flow is initiated after every exam session. Ensure the curriculum and cohort mappings are confirmed and published before beginning the examination schedule.

Examination Schedule Setup Flow

1

Navigate to Examination Schedule

Open the Examinations module → Examination Schedule List. This view shows all existing and upcoming exam schedules by cohort.

2

Select Cohort

From the dropdown, select the relevant cohort (e.g. JAN 2025 Cohort). This filters the schedule view to the correct student group.

3

Click ADD

Initiate a new exam schedule entry. This opens the Exam Schedule creation form.

4

Enter Exam Name Required

Enter the official examination name. This should follow the format: [Programme Code] [Level] [Semester] Examination [Year] e.g. BEC Level 4.1 Semester 1 Exam 2025.

5

SAVE the Schedule

Click SAVE to commit the examination schedule. After saving, the schedule will appear in the Examination Schedule List with a Pending status.

6

Configure Exam Papers & Invigilators

Within the saved schedule, assign course units to exam slots, configure venue allocations, and assign invigilators where applicable.

7

Publish & Notify

Once fully configured, publish the schedule. Students and academic staff will receive notifications through the LMS. Verify published state in the Examination Schedule List.

Exam Flow Summary Diagram

Exam Schedule → Select Cohort → ADD → Enter Exam Name → SAVE → Configure Papers → Publish → Student Notification → Conduct Exam → Record Results → Publish Results

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Chapter 06

Curation & Content Workflows

Course tracking, content audit, digitisation, LMS templates, and review cycles.

The curation workflow governs how course content is developed, reviewed, and delivered through the LMS. Content moves through a defined pipeline from raw material to a live SOMAS course. Every stage has a responsible party and a defined output.

Content Curation Pipeline

Stage 1
Course Tracking
Curricula mapping
Stage 2
Content Audit
Quality check
Stage 3
LMS Templates
Themes setup
Stage 4
Digitise
Encode content
Stage 5
Review / Audit 2
Final QA gate
Stage 6
Load to LMS
SOMAS publish

Curation Workflow Board

Track each course unit through the following curation stages. A course must reach Load to LMS before students can access it.

📋 Tracking
Identify courses due for curriculum cycle
Map to curricula schedule
🔍 Audit 1
Review existing content completeness
Flag gaps & outdated material
🎨 Templates
Apply LMS theme / template
Configure section structure
⚡ Digitise
Encode multimedia & text
Fee re-digitisation
✅ Audit 2
QA review — CLOs alignment
Accessibility check
🚀 Live
Loaded to SOMAS
Student access confirmed
Content Audit — What to Check
+
Stage 1 Audit: Verify that all course units in the curriculum have corresponding digital content. Check that course learning outcomes (CLOs) are present and measurable. Confirm credit unit values match the curriculum schedule. Flag any units with content older than 2 academic years for mandatory review.

Stage 2 (Post-Digitisation) Audit: Verify all multimedia loads correctly in SOMAS. Confirm assessment weightings (CATTS vs IE) are reflected in the gradebook. Check that discussion forums, assignments, and quizzes are configured. Run a test student walkthrough of at least one module per course.
LMS Templates & Themes — Setup Guide
+
uses standardised Moodle course templates per programme type. Before digitising content, apply the correct base template: UG Template, PG Template, or Short Course Template. Theme colours should reflect brand (Teal headers, Gold accents). Custom course images are required for each unit. Do not deviate from the approved template structure without sign-off.
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Chapter 07

Student Support, Server Admin & Training

Ongoing responsibilities across student support, Moodle maintenance, server administration, and personal development.

Beyond the academic workflow, the operations team maintains a broad portfolio of responsibilities covering student-facing support, infrastructure management, and continuous learning. The table below summarises all operational domains and their key activities.

🎓
Student Support
First-line LMS helpdesk, access issues, course navigation, submission support
🖥️
Server Administration
Uptime monitoring, backup schedules, performance tuning, incident response
🔧
Moodle Maintenance
Plugin updates, version upgrades, theme patches, gradebook configuration
📖
Training
Staff onboarding, LMS user training, academic staff workshops
🚀
Personal Projects
Innovation initiatives, process automation, internal tooling development
🌴
Go for Holiday
Rest, recharge, and return refreshed. Properly scheduled leave is essential.

Moodle Maintenance Schedule

Weekly
Check plugin compatibility updates. Review error logs. Verify backup completion. Monitor disk usage and server health metrics.
Monthly
Apply non-breaking Moodle updates and patches. Review user access logs for anomalies. Run gradebook integrity checks. Audit enrolled student counts vs. system registrations.
Per Semester
Full Moodle version assessment. Archive completed cohort courses. Re-apply LMS templates for new semester. Conduct staff training refresh session.
Annually
Major Moodle version upgrade planning and execution. Full server infrastructure review. Academic year archival. Disaster recovery test. Comprehensive system audit.
🏖️ Leave Planning

Personal leave must be scheduled to avoid overlap with cohort intake periods (Jan, May, Sept) and exam sessions. Coordinate with the team to ensure continuous coverage. All leave requests should be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance.

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Chapter 08

Brand Identity & Colour System

Official colour palette, usage guidelines, and visual identity standards.

The University maintains a consistent visual identity across all digital and print materials. The colour palette is carefully selected to convey trust, innovation, and academic excellence. All system interfaces, documents, and communications must adhere to these brand guidelines.

Coral Gold
#ff7f50
Ocean Teal
#037b90
Pure White
#ffffff
⚡ Brand Rule

Gold (#ff7f50) is used for calls-to-action, highlights, and key indicators. Teal (#037b90) anchors navigation, headers, and system diagrams. Never combine them as competing primary colours on the same element.

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