5-1 USU Online Classroom Environment
USU’s online classroom environment is composed of multiple systems working together to provide a platform for learning and communication. These include the Learning Management System (LMS), the Student Information System (SIS), the course evaluation system, the Google Suite of communication tools, and a supportive network of documents in G-Drive that link information to and across courses.
5.1 a USU 8-Week Session Structure
University Calendar/Schedule
The University calendar is published in the catalog and at the Academic Calendar link. Vacation, holiday dates, and special University events should be observed as officially scheduled by the University. The instructor may make no unilateral changes to the "Class Schedule" in class times/dates or room assignments. The Dean must approve any deviation from the official schedule. All terms are 8 weeks in duration, with one week before the 8-week start for course set up and four days after a session end date for submission of final course grades. See the linked Academic Calendar for when breaks do and do not occur between terms.
Course Appointments
Adjunct faculty course appointments are decided by program lead faculty. Information about this process is available in the Faculty Orientation. Make sure to watch for inquiries and notices in your USU email:
● Notices of LMS course shell access begins one week prior to the session start date. Faculty are expected to monitor their USU email for timely set up of their courses.
● Note: students receive access to their online courses no sooner than three days prior to the course start date.
5.1 b Textbooks and Syllabi
Textbooks
The program faculty select textbooks for courses in the course development and review process and are listed in the course syllabus. Faculty will request textbook access through VitalSource. Information on this process is available in the Faculty Orientation.
Course Syllabi
USU’s core faculty provide syllabi for each course taught in their programs. We consider the course syllabus an essential instructional instrument as it is a contract between the instructor and the students. Preliminarily, it establishes the course parameters, including programmatic and instructor expectations, and it constitutes the basis for course selection by students and employers who approve course offerings for employee reimbursement.
Syllabi for all courses are preloaded in the D2L course shells as view-only documents. Suggestions for future changes to the course should be conveyed through the Course Guide available in each course in the Instructor Only Resources tab in the D2L course. Suggestions will be reviewed for approval by your program or course lead faculty and the college curriculum committee.
The course syllabus clearly describes the scope, learning outcomes, expectations, required readings, and grading criteria for the course in a manner consistent with full implementation of United States University’s syllabus standard for that course. The syllabus tab in the D2L course shells also includes links to college and institutional policies. Please pay particular attention to all the documents linked therein for your own edification and guide and support students.
If a faculty member later makes changes in grading procedures, deadlines, etc., this information must be given to students in writing. This process will ensure that all students know of the changes and will protect you from the possibility of students' complaints. Adjunct faculty should consult and coordinate any such changes with their program or course lead faculty.
Core Faculty Syllabus Responsibilities
1. Core faculty are responsible for maintaining course content and procedures as reflected in the Course Syllabi and Course Guides. Program and course lead faculty are responsible for reviewing the Course Guides/Syllabi for their courses to ensure consistent departmental expectations. The course learning outcome is aligned with the overall program learning outcomes.
2. Course learning outcomes are established for each course by individual departments and approved through faculty governance. Each department is responsible for maintaining the integrity of course learning outcomes across all sections of a specific course offering.
Processes for curriculum development and maintenance can be found in the Curriculum Development Handbook.
5.1 c USU Technologies
D2L/Brightspace
D2L/Brightspace is a web-based learning management system that hosts online classes. It supports student and instructor communication by allowing you to email students in your class, post and share documents, link to external web resources, and hold virtual class discussions along with other helpful communication tools. All USU courses have a D2L component that allows for the archiving of student work and grades.
To login to D2L simply visit the D2L login page and enter your USU D2L username and password. If you have any questions about D2L refer to the D2L/Brightspace Faculty Orientation contact list.
USU Email and Google Suite Account.
You will be provided a USU Gmail account (the address will be “@usuniversity.edu”) that offers a suite of apps, including Google Hangouts and a YouTube account. All email communication with students is required to be through this USU email account.
To login to your USU email account, simply visit the Google login page and enter your USU email address and password. If you have any questions about your USU email account, contact Faculty Support @ faculty.support@usuniversity.edu
In addition to the email account, you will also have access to the Google Suite of apps, which are used widely across the institution, especially Google Calendar; Drive, Hangouts; YouTube; and Docs, Sheets, and Forms. Many documents in the online classrooms are linked to Google files stored in the institutional academic G-Drive folders. For more information, see the D2L/Brightspace Faculty Orientation.
Faculty Technology Training
The faculty orientations provide training (see below) in these systems. Awareness of the functionality of these tools will aid you in supporting your students.