College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Web Team

dotCMS Training and Courses

All dotCMS training sessions are limited to MSU staff, faculty, students, and affiliates only.

Training sessions are offered on a recurring basis via Zoom (see training calendar below). New dotCMS users must complete the Introduction to dotCMS: Basic Training and the Accessibility Compliance Education (ACE) Course on D2L. These courses must be completed before attending a training session on how to "Create/Edit a Page Asset and File Asset" or to attend any of the "Content Type" training sessions. (See descriptions below.)

Current dotCMS users who have not had any formal training on dotCMS are encouraged to take the Introduction to dotCMS: Basic Training and the Accessibility Compliance Education (ACE) Course on D2L. Current dotCMS users who want a "refresher" on certain dotCMS topics can register for any of the Content Type sessions. (See descriptions below.)

Training Topics/Descriptions

1. 1. 1. 1. Introduction to dotCMS: Basic Training (approx. 2 hours) is required for all new dotCMS users. This training is offered twice per month and can also be scheduled for a particular group, department, or district as needed on other days/times by completing a Group Training Request Form.
            
            IMPORTANT NOTE:
            As of May 1, 2026, the Accessibility Compliance Education (ACE) course is an additional prerequisite for dotCMS access and training. In an effort to improve accessibility compliance throughout the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), all new dotCMS users must complete the prerequisite courses to ensure they have basic knowledge of dotCMS and resources to improve access for all individuals who visit/view our websites and content. Current dotCMS users are encouraged to complete the ACE course, as well.
            
            The two prerequisite D2L courses for dotCMS training are:
            
            1. 1. Preliminary dotCMS Course (30-35 min)
               2. CANR’s Accessibility Compliance Education (ACE) Course (approx. 45-60 min)
                  If you have not already done so, please register for the ACE course (using your MSU email). Once registered, you will receive an email with additional instructions to complete the ACE course on D2L. 
                  
                  The above two courses must be completed at least one business day (24 hours) prior to the scheduled Zoom training session.
                  
                  
         2. The "Create/Edit a Page Asset and File Asset" (60 min.) training is a "refresher" session for current dotCMS users who may find it helpful to take this session after an initial training, or if they need a refresher because they have not used dotCMS recently. New dotCMS users should attend an Introduction to dotCMS: Basic Training session before registering for this refresher session.
            
            
         3. Content Type Training sessions (45-60 min. each):  
            
            1. 1. Person Profiles/Roles
               2. Events
               3. Articles
               4. In The News - NEW!
               5. Digital Documents
               6. Images and Videos
               7. Accordion Menu - NEW!
                  
                  These Content Type training sessions are offered twice per month; one in the morning and one in the afternoon on different weeks. Each Content Type training session is offered as a refresher or as a follow-up training for current users. These sessions take a deeper dive into creating/editing a specific Content Type.
                  
                  Prerequisite: New dotCMS users are required to complete the Introduction to dotCMS: Basic Training session before registering for any of the Content Type training sessions.
                  
                  
         4. Web Content Accessibility is addressed in the Accessibility Compliance Education (ACE) Course offered on D2L by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. To learn about web content accessibility, register for the ACE Course.

DotCMS Permissions

Requests for a new user to have dotCMS permissions must be submitted by a CANR department manager by completing a dotCMS Permissions / New User Request Form (link/button below). All dotCMS users/trainees must be a current Michigan State University (MSU) employee, student or approved MSU affiliate for permissions to be considered. New dotCMS users are required to complete the Introduction to dotCMS: Basic Training and the CANR Accessibility Compliance Education (ACE) Course. For questions regarding dotCMS permissions, please contact ANR.websupport@msu.edu.

dotCMS Permissions / New User Request Form

Training Schedule At-A-Glance (Semi-monthly)

Below is an at-a-glance look at training sessions offered every month. On some occasions, training may be scheduled for a different day, week, or time - depending on the availability of the trainer. Most of the time, trainings typically follow the schedule below.

Scheduling of Trainings

• All training topics are scheduled every month. If there is a week 5 in a given month, no trainings are held during the 5th week of a month.
  
  
• If a group of users or department/unit needs a different training date, then a Training Request Form must be completed.

*NOTE: Training sessions that fall on a holiday week are subject to change. Please see current month’s schedule for session topics, dates, and times.

Special Training Requests

In addition to standing/recurring training sessions, dotCMS users may also request a custom training to better suit a group's or district's needs by submitting a Group Training Request Form.