Events and absences
With events and absences you keep attendance lists online and document absences. You always record attendance within one course.
For this, you create events in the course and divide each event into units. A morning, for example, is an event with four units of one hour each. If a person misses only one hour, you record the absence for this one unit and not for the whole event.
Course owners create the events themselves, or they come from an external administration system of your organization. The events appear in the course calendar if "Synchronize course calendar" is switched on for the course: Course Settings - Tab Execution.
To use events and absences in the course, you as course owner switch on "Event & absence management":
Course > Administration > Settings > Tab Execution
After that, further settings are available there, and the "Events" icon appears in the course toolbar.
"Events" in the toolbar
As a course owner, you create events here and manage the absences. You find largely the same options in the Administration menu of the course:
Course > Administration > Events and Absences
As a coach, you open the events only via the "Events" icon in the toolbar; the Administration menu has no entry "Events and Absences". You do not create new events. You see the existing events and, if switched on in the course, record the absences. With "Show only mine" you see only the events where you are entered as teacher.
Participants open their events in the course via the "Events" icon in the toolbar, on site as well as online, for example in a blended learning course.
Participants find their own absences in the user tools in the Absences menu.
The following sections describe the view of the course owners.
Tab Events
Display events
In the "Events" tab you add events to the course and narrow down the list with the tabs and filters. If you have assigned events to subjects (taxonomy), you can also filter by them. You expand the details of an event with the + at the beginning of its row.
In the 3-dot menu at the end of each line, you find the actions for an event:
- Edit and "Copy"
- Change to an online meeting or "Change to an on-location meeting", for an event with an online meeting additionally "Join online meeting"
- Mark as exam, for an event already marked instead "Edit exam" and "Delete exam", see Mark event as exam
- Absence list and "Attendance list" as PDF, "Log" and "Export" as Excel file
- Reopen event for a closed or cancelled event, see Reopen events
- Delete
If the course is used in the Course Planner, Edit, Copy, the change to an online meeting or an on-location meeting and Delete are missing, because the events are managed in the Course Planner. If the events come from an external administration system, Edit and Delete can be missing as well. The page on the toolbar describes which entries coaches see in the same menu: Menu at the end of the row
Use the column selection (gear icon) to show further columns. If the module "Rooms" is activated, the column "Rooms" with the booked rooms of the event is available there. It is hidden by default.
Views: timeline and table
The event list is available in two views. The two switches sit next to each other above the list on the right: the "Timeline" on the left, the "Table view" on the right. For course owners the table view is preset, participants see the timeline.
In the timeline, each event stands as its own block, grouped by year and date. The head of the block names the title and the reference of the event with the status badge on the left, and the time below it. The 3-dot menu with the actions for the event is on the right. Optional additions are: the subjects as labels below the title, the location, and for an online meeting the button to join. If lead or follow-up times are recorded, they appear as a minute value after the time.
Detail view of an event
In the table view, a click on the + at the beginning of a line expands the detail view; in the timeline it is the arrow at the bottom edge of the block. The content is the same in both views.
In the table view, a title line at the top names the title and the reference of the event, the badges "Status" and "Absences", and on the right the action "Edit". In the timeline this line is missing because the head of the block shows the same information; there you edit the event via the 3-dot menu.
Below it, one line shows the date, time, participants and compulsory presence. "Unit" only appears if the event covers more than one unit, "Location" only if a location is recorded.
The teachers follow as user cards with business card, e-mail and chat. If nobody is assigned, it says "No teachers assigned yet.".
The remaining details only appear if they are maintained for the event:
- Online meeting: "Join online meeting" as a highlighted button, plus the link to a stored recording.
- Room: the room card under the label "Room", with several rooms under "Rooms". If a room is double-booked during the period of the event, the warning appears below the room card and the card gets a yellow border.
- Description and "Preparation/Follow up" as their own paragraphs.
At the very bottom a table shows who the event is for: one row per course, group or element of the Course Planner, with the number of participants and whether they are included or excluded. How to leave participants out is described under Exclude participants.
You assign rooms in the Course Planner. A standalone course therefore shows no room cards: Book rooms for an event >
Create/Edit event
You create an event with the "Add event" button at the top right above the list in the "Events" tab.
Important
OpenOlat shows the "Add event" button only in a standalone course. You see the usage of the course under:
Course > Administration > Settings > Tab Share > Section Usage
If the course is used in the Course Planner, you create and manage the events in the Course Planner.
In the dialog "Add event" you enter the details of the event.
Title: Give the event a meaningful name.
Reference: The optional reference distinguishes events with the same title.
Date: The date is a mandatory field.
Time: The time is also a mandatory field, because without a time the calendar, for example, does not display the event correctly.
Unit: Here you specify how many (time) units the event comprises, 1 to 12.
Example: An event lasts 2 hours and is divided into 4 thematic units (4 x 0.5 hours).
Important
If the events come from an external administration system that synchronises them to OpenOlat, the "Unit" field is locked in OpenOlat. The value comes from this system, and you change it there. The field is also locked as soon as the roll call of the event has been closed.
Location: Here you specify where the event takes place, for example the on-site location or the exact room designation.
Online meeting: If the event is to take place online, switch on "Online meeting". Available options are BigBlueButton, Microsoft Teams and "Meeting link". The meeting link covers other providers, for example Zoom. For this option, enter the "Meeting link provider name" and the "URL to join meeting".
The online meeting takes over the title, time and people from the event. You open it later in the event list via "Join online meeting".
Participants reach it via the calendar or the "Events" icon in the toolbar.
Recording URL: Here you enter any URL under which the recording of the meeting can be accessed. The field is also available if the switch "Online meeting" is switched off.
Subjects: Here you assign the event to one or more terms of a stored taxonomy. This way you find the event faster.
Teacher: Select the course coaches who lead the event. For a new event, all course coaches are preselected. Only the selected course coaches can record attendance in the event. (Only a person who also has the role "Coach" can be added as a teacher.) If a course owner also wants to take on this function, this person must additionally register as a course coach in the course.
Description: Here you optionally add a description of the event.
Preparation/Follow up: Here you give the participants a preparation or follow-up assignment for the event. The calendar shows it, provided the events are synchronized with the course calendar:
Course > Administration > Settings > Tab Execution
Compulsory: If the switch is set to "Off", absence recording is switched off for the event.
Copy or delete events
Tick one or several events in the first column. The buttons "Copy" and "Delete" then appear above the list.
You also copy or delete a single event via the 3-dot menu at the end of its row.
Copying one or several events
If the same lesson takes place again, copy the event and then only change the date and time. The copy takes over the other details of the source event. You copy events in the "Events" tab:
Course > Administration > Events and Absences > Tab Events
Copying one event: Select "Copy" in the 3-dot menu of the event. OpenOlat does not create the copy yet, but opens the dialog "Edit event" with all details taken over. Title and reference carry the suffix "(Copy)", date and time are still those of the source event. Adjust the date and time and click "Save". Only then is the new event created; with "Cancel", none is created. The "Copy" button above the list behaves the same way if you have ticked exactly one event.
Copying several events: Tick the events and click "Copy" above the list. OpenOlat creates the copies immediately, without a dialog. Each copy is on the same date and at the same time as its source event. Then open each copy with "Edit" and reschedule it.
The copy takes over from the source event:
- Title and "Reference", each with the suffix "(Copy)". If the source event has no reference, the field stays empty.
- Date, "Time" and "Unit"
- Location and "Recording URL"
- Online meeting: The copy takes over a meeting link with provider name and URL. With BigBlueButton and Microsoft Teams, the copy gets its own meeting with the same settings. This way, the participants of two events do not meet in the same meeting.
- Subjects
- Teacher: the same teachers as the source event. If the source event has no teachers, the copy has none either. Unlike with a new event, not all course coaches are preselected in this case.
- Description, "Preparation/Follow up" and "Compulsory"
- Rooms, if the event is planned in the Course Planner and the module "Rooms" is activated: Copying events in the Course Planner
The recorded absences are not taken over. The attendance check of the copy is open, even if it was already closed for the source event.
After copying several events: include the participants
If you copy several events at once, the column "Participants" shows 0 for the copies. In the detail view of a copy, the course appears in the table at the bottom with the status "Excluded". So that the participants belong to the event, select "Include participants again" in the 3-dot menu there, see Exclude participants. A copy that you save in the dialog "Edit event" applies to the participants of the course right away.
Import events
You enter many events at once faster with an Excel file than one by one in the dialog. To do this, click on the small arrow next to the "Add event" button in the "Events" tab and select "Import events". The arrow only appears together with the button, that is in a standalone course. If the course is used in the Course Planner, you import the events there: Creating new events in the Course Planner
In the step "Data input", the wizard "Import events from Excel" offers the link "Template excel import" for download. The template is an Excel table with the columns in the order the import requires. The header row is in English. Marked with an asterisk are "External ID", "Title", "Lectures", "Date", "Start", "End", "Compulsory", "Teacher" and "Participants", followed by "Location", "Description", "Preparation" and "Comment". Three sample events show how you specify teachers by e-mail address, username or institution identifier and take participants from the course, from a group or from an element of the Course Planner.
Copy the completed rows without the header row from the Excel file into the field "Copied columns from Excel (comma separated)". The import skips a row without an entry in "Participants" and in the columns after it, without a message. If a row carries the External ID of an existing event, the import updates this event instead of creating a new one. In the step "Overview" you see the events before OpenOlat saves them.
Mark event as exam
If an event takes place as an exam, you mark it via "Mark as exam" in the 3-dot menu. OpenOlat creates an assessment mode for this, which takes the date, time and participants from the event. In the following dialog, you select the course elements of the exam and, if required, switch on the Safe Exam Browser: Assessment mode from an event
After saving, the column "Exam" shows a symbol, and the 3-dot menu offers "Edit exam" and "Delete exam". The exam also appears in the assessment management of the course under Course > Administration > Assessment management.
Coaches have the same entry in the toolbar. The page on the toolbar describes who else can use it and why it can be missing: If "Mark as exam" is missing
Cancel events
You cancel events via the "Events" icon in the toolbar.
Close events
You close events via the "Events" icon in the toolbar.
Reopen events
As a course owner, you reopen a closed event: choose "Reopen event" in the 3-dot menu of its row.
Alternatively, you open the absence recording with the book icon ("Edit absence") and click "Reopen event" there.
Manage teachers
Tick one or several events in the first column. The button "Manage teachers" then appears above the list. In the dialog of the same name, you assign teachers to individual events with a tick, or to all selected events at once with "Assign to all events" and "Remove from all events".
Exclude participants
If a group of participants is not to take part in an event, you leave them out of this event. To do so, open the detail view of the event (click on the + at the beginning of the row). The table at the very bottom has one row per course, group or element. Open the 3-dot menu at the end of the row and choose "Exclude participants". The column "Status" then shows "Excluded"; with "Include participants again" in the same menu you add the participants back.
Tab Participants
In the "Participants" tab you see at a glance how the attendance of all participants of the course or the selected groups stands. Owners and coaches only appear if they are additionally registered in the role participant. With the "Print" button you print the list.
First admission
The first admission defines when the person started the course.
Units
The maximum number of units a person can achieve, regardless of whether the event has already taken place.
Attended
The number of units the person attended. OpenOlat takes the closed (done) absences into account.
Not excused
Units for which the person is marked as not excused.
Authorized
Units for which the person is marked as authorized. A reason can be specified.
Dispensed
Units for which the person is dispensed. System administrators define in the system administration whether dispensations count as attended, with the option "Count dispensation as attendant":
Administration > Modules > Events / Absences > Tab Configuration
Progress
The bar shows the attendance graphically. Green stands for attended, orange for authorized, red for absent or not excused, and blue for dispensed units.
The attention column with this icon shows whether the defined attendance rate is reached. The red icon means that the rate is below the required limit. The warning icon appears when the rate is less than five percentage points above the limit.
Presence
The attendance rate of the person in percent. The column appears together with the attention column when the attendance rate is calculated for the course.
The info column shows details that deviate from the default settings, for example a personal rate or a later course start. You define both with the pencil in the row of the person. The personal rate is the attendance rate this person has to achieve.
If changes are not immediately visible, please log out and log in again.
Customize the threshold for mandatory attendance
If a different mandatory attendance applies to one person than to the course, adjust the threshold for this person. To do this, select the person in question in the "Participants" tab and click on the edit icon.
Tab Appeals
If participants consider a recorded absence to be wrong, they submit an appeal. In the tab "Appeals" you as course owner see these appeals. With many appeals, use the filter at the top right above the list to show only the pending, approved or rejected ones.
As a rule, absence managers process the appeals, for all courses together in the Absence management.
Further information
Mentioned on this page
Course Settings - Tab Execution >
User tools: Absences >
Toolbar: Events >
Course Planner: Events >
How do I prepare an exam with the Safe Exam Browser (SEB)? >
Assessment management: Assessment mode >
Absence management >
Further reading
Events and Absences (basic concept) >
Module Events and Absences >
Coaching - Overview >
Coaching - Events and Absences >
Module Rooms >
Import templates >