What is a community shell?

A community shell is similar to a course shell, but it is tied to a program or school instead of a particular course. It is a place where Instructors, Coordinators, and Chairs can upload documents and other content, post news and announcements, and send D2L course mail messages to all students enrolled in the community.

Just like with a course shell, a community shell’s class list is updated each day to reflect adds and drops within the program or school, ensuring that all currently active students always have access to the community.

Note: Only students who are enrolled in a program full-time are considered currently active. Students enrolled part-time for a semester will not have access to any community shells.

Who can request a community shell?

A community shell can only be requested by someone with authority over the Program or School it is associated with-- e.g., a school’s Dean, or a program’s Chair or Coordinator.

How can I request a community shell?

To request a community shell, send an e-mail to eConestoga@conestogac.on.ca with the following information:

• School/Program name(s)
• School/Program code(s) – Multiple codes can be included in the same shell (e.g., three related programs, or the co-op and non-co-op codes for one program.)
• Community group title – Maximum 50 characters (e.g., “School of Business”, “School of Business Resources”, etc.)
• Additional optional filters:
  • Campus (e.g., if you wish to have separate groups for Doon and Guelph, or Guelph only)
  • Level (e.g., if you wish to have separate groups for Levels 1 through 4, or only 1 and 3)
• Group Leaders – List 1-3 individuals (name and employee number) who will have editing access and be in charge of enrolling all other faculty and staff in the community shell.

Who can edit a community shell?

Group Leaders can edit, post, and enroll other individuals into the community shell. It is up to these individuals to enroll any other faculty and staff who require access using the instructions found in the Guide to Enrollment. When enrolling additional faculty, two potential roles are recommended:

• Faculty and staff who require editing and posting access to the community should be enrolled as Group Leaders.
• Faculty and staff who require only viewing access to the community should be enrolled as Observers.