Instructors and students should expect that the rigor and workload of an online course will be comparable to that of a face-to-face course. Online course development and instruction also requires a significant time investment by instructors. Online courses often require greater time commitment from students because no classes are scheduled, so students must schedule their own time to complete coursework. Students are encouraged to use the self-paced Online Student Orientation tool to prepare for online coursework.

_{Updated July 2019}

All UWSP instructors are required to take attendance once during the first eight days of a course by submitting an attendance through accesSPoint, instructions can be accessed by clicking the link below. A student is considered present in an online course when they have taken academic action (completing an assignment, posting on a discussion board, taking a quiz, etc.)  A student simply logging into the course or clicking on a resource is not sufficient action to determine student presence. Determination of student presence is always at the instructor's discretion. Instructors can visit the Office of the Registar Attendance website or contact Registrar's Office at 715-346-4301 or registrar@uwsp.edu for more information regarding Commenced Attendance.

_{Updated July 2019}

There is no additional compensation for the instruction of online courses when online instruction falls within the instructor’s normal load. When online instruction may result in instructor overload, the department should follow normal overload procedures.

See Workload below for additional information.

_{Updated July 2019}

For courses in which only the mode of instruction is being changed, but the catalog language will remain the same; the instructor, department, and/or unit are encouraged to use the Guide for Approval or Revision of Courses with Online Components Checklist to assess their course. The checklist will help the department/unit determine if they can effectively meet the course learning outcomes online and will help with course planning. Instructors, departments, and/or units can also contact the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning (CITL) at citl@uwsp.edu for assistance.

For new courses and/or courses with revised catalog language.

Proposals for new or revised undergraduate or graduate courses shall be prepared according to the Procedure for Processing a Request to Approve/Revise a Course for Undergraduate and/or Graduate Credit.

[UWSP Handbook, Chapter 7, Section 1, July 2019]

Please refer to the University Handbook (Chapter 7, Section 1) for more information regarding this process.

COURSE APPROVALS

To ensure compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and to meet Universal Design standards, the distance education course approval process will include a review of course content and methodologies by departments and/or units prior to submission of curriculum proposals to the university Curriculum Committee. Courses (and individual sections of courses offered through distance education) will meet the minimum requirements detailed in the course development checklist located in the UWSP Distance Education Handbook. Additional academic standards and criteria may be established by departments or units.

[UWSP Handbook, Chapter 5, July 2019]

_{Updated July 2019}

Course enrollments should be determined by the department and should be set with both best practice and instructor workload in mind. A general recommendation is that course sizes for online courses be the same as similar face-to-face courses. Online courses can often take more time to teach, so increasing enrollments for online courses can dramatically increase instructor workload.

_{Updated July 2019}

All distance education courses and programs will be assessed and evaluated according to the course evaluation procedures in effect for on-campus courses.  Additional departmental course evaluation criteria and procedures established for on-campus courses may be modified and implemented for distance education courses.

Student evaluations in online, hybrid, and Continuing Education courses will be conducted regularly and may be considered in personnel decisions, instructional improvement, and recognition, as outlined in the University Handbook (Chapter 4A, Section 2  and Chapter 4B, Section 3).  The Student Evaluation of Online Course Instruction Form and supporting information is located in the University Handbook (Chapter 4D, Section 15).

[UWSP Handbook, Chapter 5, July 2019]

_{Updated July 2019}

Online course start and end dates should be determined by the instructor and/or academic unit and should follow university guidelines for course scheduling. The start/end dates as well as timetable availability for Continuing Education sections can vary considerably compared to courses within a traditional semester.  Course start and end dates are set by the university and can be viewed on the Office of the Registrar webpage. 

_{Updated July 2019}

Face-to-Face (traditional) - A course in which seat time is not reduced by online instruction. Many courses have websites, LMS course shells, online activities, online quizzes, and/or other online learning components which do not replace or reduce face-to-face instruction. These types of courses are considered face-to-face because face-to-face instruction has not been replaced by online learning activities. Some institutions refer to these as web-enhanced courses.

Hybrid (blended) - Hybrid courses have some face-to-face instruction (seat time) replaced by online learning activities. Hybrid courses are currently designated as partially online in the UWSP timetable.

Online - Any course which is conducted 100% online and has no required in-person meetings. Student/instructor interactions, student/instructor communication, student learning activities, student assessments, and all other coursework are conducted via the Internet in online courses. Note: courses may require proctored exams and still be considered 100% online.

_{Updated July 2019}

Asynchronous learning - When participants, instructors and/or students, participate at different times. Asynchronous courses often have frequent learning activities with set due dates and scheduled assessments, so students are typically expected to complete work on a daily or weekly basis based on the schedule set by the instructor.

Digital Learning Environment (DLE) - A DLE is the digital "hub" for a confederation of services and tools that support teaching and learning, versus an administrative tool for managing course content. UW-System, including UW-Stevens Point has acquired Canvas as the platform for the digital hub for the UWS DLE. Courses will begin being offered in Canvas as soon as the Fall 2018 academic term.

Instructor -All those who teach at UWSP, including but not limited to: faculty, coaches, teaching academic staff, and graduate students with teaching responsibilities.

Learning Managment System (LMS) - A LMS is a web based platform designed to facilitate delivery of materials and organization of instruction.  For institution and program consistency, all instructors are encouraged to utilize the university supported Learning Management System (LMS). UWSP uses Canvas, by Instructure, as its primary and officially supported LMS. Orientation is provided to Brightspace during online instructor initial training.

Self-paced learning - When students proceed at their own pace through the course content and the course is completed by a specified date. However, the instructor does not impose a schedule for completing learning activities. This differs from asynchronous learning in which there are regularly set due dates and scheduled assessments.

Synchronous learning - When participants, instructors and/or students, participate at the same time. Synchronous learning activities can be great for establishing connections and developing community in online courses. However, required synchronous meetings can make it difficult for some students to participate if they have outside commitments such as: work, families, or other coursework. This can be especially difficult for students who live in different time zones.

_{Updated July 2019}

The same add/drop dates that apply to traditional face-to-face courses also apply to hybrid and online courses. Current add/drop dates can be accessed on the Add/Drop Schedule by Term webpage. Online instructors are encouraged to include instructions for dropping their course in the course syllabus.

_{Updated July 2019}

FERPA (Family Education Rights and Policy Act of 1974) protects student's rights by ensuring they have the right to review their own records, seek correction of erroneous records, and block disclosure of any or all directory information. FERPA also requires that colleges not disclose personally identifiable educational records except under certain circumstances. More information regarding FERPA can be found on the FERPA Guidelines of UWSP Faculty and Staff and the FERPA Questions and Answers page.

_{Updated July 2019}

_{Updated July 2020}

• Recommendations For an Academic Plan and Guidelines For Distance Education at UWSP (2013)​
  

• ​​UW-Stevens Point HLC Monitoring Report for Distance Education (2015)​
  

• Higher Learning Commission Monitoring Report Resource Room​​
  

_{Updated July 2019}

Since 2017, UW-Stevens Point has been a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). UW-Stevens Point is currently authorized to offer online courses in all states. If you would like more information regarding UWSP state authorizations, please visit the UWSP State Authorizations site or contact the Office of Academic Affairs at (715) 346-4250.

_{Updated July 2019}

Pursuant to the United States Department of Education's Program Integrity Rule, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is required to provide all prospective and current students with the contact information of the state agency, or agencies, that handle complaints against postsecondary education institutions offering distance learning or correspondence education within that state. Students are encouraged to utilize the institution's internal complaint or review policies and procedures prior to filing a complaint with the state agency or agencies.

Please visit the Academic Affairs Program Integrity: Complaint Procedures webpage for more information.

_{Updated July 2019}

The STUDENT EVALUATION OF ONLINE INSTRUCTION – EVALUATIVE FORM which is to be used by online students in their evaluation of online courses can be found in the UWSP Handbook Chapter 4D: Section 15.

[UWSP Handbook, Chapter 5, July, 2019]

_{Updated July 2019}

For general technical support, instructors should contact the IT Service Desk at 715-346-4357, 877-832-8977, or techhelp@uwsp.edu.

Instructors seeking support for learning technologies, course design support, or teaching pedagogy support, should contact the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning (CITL) at citl@uwsp.edu.

Both instructors and students can contact Canvas directly for technical assistance. Once logged into Canvas, click the Help button in the bottom left corner to access the phone number, chat, or email. 

_{Updated July 2020}

Please see the Text Rental Information for Online Students document for updated information.

_{Updated July 2019}

_{Updated July 2020}

Calculation of load for instruction of online courses will be conducted in the same manner as face-to-face courses, and seat capacities should remain consistent between face-to-face and online offerings. Full-time faculty may teach online as part of their teaching load, or may be appointed on overload at the applicable pay rate in accordance with established university policy. Excess enrollment will be considered as an overload, or additional sections with compensation and load reassignment calculated by the same methods used for face-to-face courses. Instructors may be remunerated for additional effort in serving online students as consistent with the particular policies set by the individual department or college and in accordance with established university policy.

_{Updated July 2019}

Zoom is the recommended video conferencing tool at UWSP. Zoom meetings can be recorded, downloaded, and shared within your course through Kaltura. It is integrated with Canvas. Some instructors and students use Zoom to record videos for their classes since they are already familiar with the interface. Access it at https://uwsp.zoom.us/.

• Zoom information from UWSP IT
• Using Zoom in Canvas for Instructors
  

_{Updated July 2020}

Canvas is the Learning Management System (LMS) used throughout the University of Wisconsin-System. Access it at https://www.uwsp.edu/canvas

_{Updated July 2020}

A Digital Learning Evironment (DLE) is the digital "hub" for a confederation of services and tools that support teaching and learning, versus an administrative tool for managing course content. UW-System, including UW-Stevens Point, has acquired Canvas as the platform for the digital hub for the UWS DLE.

_{Updated July 2019}

Kaltura is a video recording, storage, and distribution tool made available through UW System. It allows instructors and students easy access to recording and sharing videos, and integrates tightly with Canvas. Users can access Kaltura directly through Canvas by clicking their account button (top button in the left navigation bar) and selecting My Media.

Please view the Kaltura Guide for Instructors for instructions on using Kaltura.

_{Updated July 2019}

A Learning Management System (LMS)is a web based platform designed to facilitate delivery of materials and organization of instruction. For institution and program consistency, all instructors are encouraged to utilize the university supported LMS. UW-Stevens Point uses Canvas, by Instructure, as its primary and officially supported LMS or DLE (see above). Orientation and support for Canvas are provided to by CITL.

_{Updated July 2019}

Active students, faculty, and staff have free access to more that 1,400 training videos on a broad range of subjects, including business skills, photography, design, music and video, home computing, animation, and web design and development. New Courses are added every week. You can log into Lynda.com at http://lynda.uwsp.edu.

_{Updated July 2019}

Qualtrics is an online survey tool, available for all faculty, staff, and students. Access Qualtrics at http://uwsp.qualtrics.com using your campus login credentials.

_{Updated July 2019}

All course delivery technologies must comply with all applicable statutes and laws (e.g., FERPA, copyright). To assure compliance with Sections 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, all programs, services, and activities offered via distance education must be accessible to, and usable by, persons with documented disabilities who have met the technical and academic standards for admission.  Management of educational accommodations required for students with documented disabilities is provided by the UWSP Disability and Assistive Technology Center (DATC). Students are required to submit a completed accommodation form to instructors prior to the start of the semester. The DATC will assist the student in the development of this form. University web accessibility policy (University Handbook, Chapter 9) acknowledges that, for a variety of reasons, all online resources cannot always be made accessible. However, in cases where course content cannot be made accessible, appropriate alternative activities must be provided to ensure students can complete the coursework.

Ensuring that documents and resources are accessible makes documents easier to access for everyone and makes it easier for you (the author) to adapt if a student identifies as in need of services.

For assistance with developing accessible content please contact the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning (CITL) at citl@uwsp.edu. 

UWSP Web Accessibility Policy [University Handbook: Chapter 9, Section 5]

Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act 

_{Updated July 2019}

Backward design is one of the leading models for course design for courses offered in all modalities. Backward design has instructors start the design process by looking at learning outcomes and working backward to develop course materials which support the learning outcomes. The Backward Design: A Brief Overview information sheet written by James Sage and Paula DeHart is available as a resource.

_{Updated September 2019}

Effective communication with students in an online course is essential in developing online relationships and is an integral part of online instruction. Creating a positive atmosphere and establishing early connections with students are very important for student engagement and learning. Great ways to establish these early connections are to send a welcome email to students and to write a welcome message for students. Your welcome message should be written in a warm, welcoming, and inviting tone. It should introduce you to the students. The welcome message should also provide instructions for students to get started in the course. Template messages are available on the UWSP Online-Course Design Resources page. The Welcome Message Template is already placed in the full Online Course Templates as well. Some faculty choose to audio or video record their welcome message to add an additional ‘personal touch’.

There are many other means of communication that can be used by online instructors such as: email, telephone, notifications from the DLE/LMS, LMS calendar, email notifications, general course Q&A forums and widgets, virtual office hours, chat rooms, discussion boards, Canvas Announcements, and others. Maintaining frequent contact with online students can greatly increase student success and leads to increased student learning.

_{Updated July 2019}

Learning outcomes for online courses should be the same as equivalent face-to-face courses. Learning outcomes are statements that describe what a student will know (knowledge), be able to do (skill), and/or value/appreciate (disposition) as a result of a learning experience. Learning outcomes are written in the form: 1) Student can/will be able to; 2) action verb; 3) specific action/skill they will be able to do.

Learning outcomes can be measured (evidence of learning can be produced) and student assessments should be directly correlated with the learning outcomes. In the backward design model, learning outcomes serve as a guide for course activity selection. Activities in an online class will vary from those commonly implemented in a face-to-face course, however the learning outcomes should remain consistent.

_{Updated July 2019}

Course organization is a key factor in effective implementation of an online course. Breaking the course assignments up into small, manageable units or modules will assist student understanding and pacing of the course requirements. The modules can be organized by week, chapter, or unit. Modules should include all readings, assignments, lecture materials, and supporting literature and resources. Clear identification of due dates for all assignments should be easily located and published in multiple sites within the course space. A typical module in an online course contains several components such as: content delivery, activities, and assessments.

If you would like assistance organizing and designing your course please contact the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning at citl@uwsp.edu.

_{Updated July 2019}

• Turnitin 

  Turnitin.com is an online resource for educators and students who are concerned with developing quality writing and research skills. It prevents and detects plagiarism by comparing submitted papers to billions of pages of content located on the Internet and selected proprietary databases. The results are compiled for each paper submitted, in custom reports that are sent to participating faculty. At UWSP, turitin.com is integrated with the LMS. Instructors can activate Turnitin for Dropbox submissions, which will check papers against a database of previously submitted papers, as well as active and archived web content. Turnitin can provide a report to instructors and students about the content.  Turnitin is useful in both plagiarism detection, as well as a tool for teaching students to properly cite and quote the resources used in their work. Turnitin is not a failsafe plagiarism detection tool, it is rather common for legitimate (not plagiarized) student work to be marked as having up to 25% plagiarized material by Turnitin when the student did not plagiarize at all. This is due to the fact that almost all written works contain the same common phrases and sentence segments and Turnitin not having the capacity to rule out these commonalities. Instructors are strongly encouraged to use other measures, primarily their own experience and expertise, when addressing potential plagiarism issues. This tool can also be used for inserting comments and feedback on student work. The web-based version of Turnitin can also be used for peer review. 

  Deter cheating on quizzes in D2L by: 

  • randomizing the order of questions 

  • randomizing the order of answers within questions 

  • setting the quiz to show only one question per page 

  • setting time limits on the quiz 

  • developing quizzes which draw random questions from large questions banks 

• Turnitin 

  Turnitin.com is an online resource for educators and students who are concerned with developing quality writing and research skills. It prevents and detects plagiarism by comparing submitted papers to billions of pages of content located on the Internet and selected proprietary databases. The results are compiled for each paper submitted, in custom reports that are sent to participating faculty. At UWSP, turitin.com is integrated with the LMS. Instructors can activate Turnitin for Dropbox submissions, which will check papers against a database of previously submitted papers, as well as active and archived web content. Turnitin can provide a report to instructors and students about the content.  Turnitin is useful in both plagiarism detection, as well as a tool for teaching students to properly cite and quote the resources used in their work. Turnitin is not a failsafe plagiarism detection tool, it is rather common for legitimate (not plagiarized) student work to be marked as having up to 25% plagiarized material by Turnitin when the student did not plagiarize at all. This is due to the fact that almost all written works contain the same common phrases and sentence segments and Turnitin not having the capacity to rule out these commonalities. Instructors are strongly encouraged to use other measures, primarily their own experience and expertise, when addressing potential plagiarism issues. This tool can also be used for inserting comments and feedback on student work. The web-based version of Turnitin can also be used for peer review. 

  Deter cheating on quizzes in D2L by: 

  • randomizing the order of questions 

  • randomizing the order of answers within questions 

  • setting the quiz to show only one question per page 

  • setting time limits on the quiz 

  • developing quizzes which draw random questions from large questions banks 

Turnitin

Turnitin.com is an online resource for educators and students who are concerned with developing quality writing and research skills. It prevents and detects plagiarism by comparing submitted papers to billions of pages of content located on the Internet and selected proprietary databases. The results are compiled for each paper submitted, in custom reports that are sent to participating faculty. At UWSP, turitin.com is integrated with the LMS. Instructors can activate Turnitin for Dropbox submissions, which will check papers against a database of previously submitted papers, as well as active and archived web content. Turnitin can provide a report to instructors and students about the content. Turnitin is useful in both plagiarism detection, as well as a tool for teaching students to properly cite and quote the resources used in their work. Turnitin is not a failsafe plagiarism detection tool, it is rather common for legitimate (not plagiarized) student work to be marked as having up to 25% plagiarized material by Turnitin when the student did not plagiarize at all. This is due to the fact that almost all written works contain the same common phrases and sentence segments and Turnitin not having the capacity to rule out these commonalities. Instructors are strongly encouraged to use other measures, primarily their own experience and expertise, when addressing potential plagiarism issues. This tool can also be used for inserting comments and feedback on student work. The web-based version of Turnitin can also be used for peer review.

Deter cheating on quizzes in Canvas by:

• randomizing the order of questions
  

• randomizing the order of answers within questions
  

• setting the quiz to show only one question per page
  

• setting time limits on the quiz
  

• developing quizzes which draw random questions from large questions banks
  

Fair grading standards should be outlined in the course syllabus. Faculty may determine their grade scale unless departmental policies require otherwise. Students must meet expectations detailed in the syllabus to earn defined grades. It is recommended that a consistent weekly due dates and times for all assignments are established. For example, discussion posts due on Tuesdays by 11:30 p.m., homework due on Wednesdays by 11:30 p.m., practice quizzes due on Thursdays by 11:30 p.m., and quizzes due on Fridays by 11:30 p.m. Having a consistent schedule for your course will help students plan their work and manage their overall workload. 

Submission of final grades should be completed through the Office of the Registrar. Please visit the Reporting Final Grades website for more information.

_{Updated July 2019}

Video and audio content both need to have a version available that is reduced to text. For audio content, a text based transcription is required for students requiring this accommodation. Video content should be subtitled, and a transcription of the audio from the video with a description of the visual components of the video should be provided. The Disability and Assistive Technology Center office can assist in arranging a transcription/captioning service for video content.

The recommended length of instructional videos is 6 minutes or less. Instructors are encouraged to break longer videos into shorter chunks because this makes it easier for students to absorb the material. Another suggestion is that the video player allows students to start, stop, pause, and skip the video as needed.

_{Updated July 2019}

The following online resources were referenced in the creation of this document.

Gavilan College Distance Education Committee. (2014, April). Gavilan College Distance Education Handbook for Faculty. Retrieved from http://www.gavilan.edu/staff/tlc/docs/facultyhandbook2014.pdf 

Illinois Online Network: Educational Resources." Illinois Online Network: Educational Resources. Illinois Online Network, 30 June 2015. Web. 30 June 2015. http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/tutorials/pedagogy/StudentProfile.asp 

Poe, M., & Stassen, M. Teaching and Learning Online Communication, Community, and Assessment A Handbook for UMass Faculty.  Retrieved from http://www.umass.edu/oapa/oapa/publications/online_handbooks/Teaching_and_Learning_Online_Handbook.pdf

SOU Distance Education Center. (2012, January). Southern Oregon University Distance Education Handbook. Retrieved from http://www.sou.edu/distancelearning/pdf/DE-Handbook.pdf 

UW-L Online Advisory Board. (2013, October 10). UW-L Online Education Handbook. Retrieved from http://uwlax.edu/uploadedfiles/academics/online/handbook.pdf 

_{Updated July 2019}