COMMS 3.0 - Course outline drop-in training sessions
We’re excited to announce the launch of COMMS 3.0, the latest upgrade to our course outline management platform. This new version is designed to simplify and streamline the creation, submission, and approval process—enhancing collaboration and ensuring compliance for course owners, program coordinators, and associate deans alike.
The course outline rollover for the 2025–2026 academic year is now complete, and COMMS is open for updates and edits. Please note that all course outlines are currently unapproved as a result of the rollover process.
To support you in using the updated system, we are offering drop-in training sessions. You can register through Working at Mohawk.
Drop-in Training Schedule:
- June 6 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - Stoney Creek - Room A103
- June 25 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - IAHS - Room 326
- July 2 – 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM – Fennell - Room i204
- July 9 – 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM – Fennell - Room i204
- July 15 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - Stoney Creek - Room A103
- July 16 – 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM – Fennell - Room i204
- July 23 – 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM – Fennell - Room i204
- July 30 – 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM – Fennell - Room i204
- August 11 - 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM - IAHS - Room 326
We encourage you to attend one of the sessions to get up to speed with COMMS 3.0 and ensure a smooth course outline approval process.
COMMS Questions: Please contact Jaspreet Dhindsa (jaspreet.dhindsa1@mohawkcollege.ca), Academic Quality.
What's new in the COMMS 3.0?
Updated User Interface
The interface for COMMS has been redesigned to be more streamlined and easier to use. Responsive pages can accommodate most devices and screen sizes.
Web-based Course Outlines
Course Outlines are now essentially web pages, making them more accessible and easier to update. Web based outlines do not need to be generated before they can be viewed. The new design follows guidelines for accessibility compliance. This feature has been available in COMMS 2 as 'HTML preview' for the past year.
Outlines may still be downloaded as PDFs using the "Save as PDF" or "Print to PDF" functionality in most major browsers.
In-place Course Outline Editing
Instead of going back and forth between the outline editor and the generated outline, users can now edit the outline in-place. Or to put it another way, what you see in the editor is the Course Outline.
MyCanvas Integration of Course Outlines
The new COMMS 3.0 LTI integration is an external tool that uses information available within the MyCanvas LMS to automatically retrieve the correct course outline from the COMMS system without having to manually upload it into the course files. The course outlines are stored, edited, and approved in COMMS, and now via this new integration, the most up-to-date version of a course outline can be seamlessly read in a course’s Modules when the “COMMS Course Outline” external tool is used.
Improved Search & Report Functions
The course outline search is now faster and easier to use.
Reports have been integrated with new 'detail' pages relating to different Org Units (Academic Year, School, Department, Program, Course). These may be accessed using the Search function. For example, to access the Course Outline overview report for the current year, search for '2024-2025' and select the 'Academic Year' result. The detail page will have various reports and as well as management functions that are visible depending on your user role.