John,
What you are experiencing is expected behavior for the curriculum item connector (expected, perhaps, but absolutely illogical and frustrating). I have copied below the headers that we use. The header column that you need to add is REMOVE_FLAG. We add it at the end, right before the !##! delimiter.
CPNT_ID|CPNT_TYP_ID|REV_DATE|QUAL_ID|ASGNMT_TYPE|INIT_PERIOD|INIT_NUMBER|INIT_BASIS|INIT_THRESHOLD|RETRAIN_PERIOD|RETRAIN_NUMBER|RETRAIN_BASIS|BASIS_DATE|SEQ_ORDER|EFFECTIVE_DATE|REMOVE_FLAG|!##!
If you want to use the curriculum item connector to change the values for the Assignment Type, Initial or Retraining settings, or Effective Date for an item within a curriculum, you have to list that those details on two rows within the connector, the first with the REMOVE_FLAG value set to Y and the second with the REMOVE_FLAG set to N. For simplicity, we give both rows the same data in all other fields. The trick is that the REMOVE_FLAG = Y row must be listed before the row with REMOVE_FLAG = N. Here is what will happen.
The assumption is that the item is already listed in the curriculum (perhaps added there during item revision, either manually or by the item connector), and you likely want to set different values from the default ones that populated immediately when the item was added. The first row of the curriculum item connector will remove the item from the curriculum (REMOVE_FLAG = Y), and then the second row will add the item back with the Assignment Type, Initial and Retraining settings, and Effective Date specified in the row where REMOVE_FLAG = N. The two rows do not have to be back-to-back in the connector file, but the REMOVE_FLAG = Y must come first.
One watch-out... Let's say the item in the curriculum has the Initial Period set to 30 days, the curriculum has been assigned to a user for 15 days, he has not completed the item, and so his Days Remaining for that shows 15 days. Then the curriculum item connector runs, the item is removed from the curriculum, and then the item is added back to the curriculum with the new values (Assignment Type, Initial or Retraining settings, or Effective Date). Because the item has been removed from the curriculum and then added back, the system considers the item newly assigned and gives the user the full Initial Period again. We are not happy about it, but we are living with it.
Good luck with your connector implementation!
Mary Katherine Johnson
