BEGINNING OF SEMESTER CHECKLIST

FOR ONLINE & HYBRID INSTRUCTORS

Santa Ana College Distance Education, Cesar Chavez Building Room A-101, (714) 564-6725, [email protected]

 To-Do’s
Logon to Canvas and verify all course shells exist for the current semester. If you do not see your
course on Canvas, verify that it has been entered on Colleague/WebAdvisor. Contact your division
office if it is not yet in Colleague. Contact the DE office if it is, but there is no Canvas course shell.
Course and Template Updates
• NEW SAC Template courses: Use this helpful guide: “SAC Template – Getting Started
Checklist”
• Copy your course from a prior semester into your current semester’s course shell. (Optional)
 “Reset Course Content” (under Settings in your current semester course) to clear your
courseshell for copied course.
 Auto adjust due dates by entering the start/end dates of the old course, the new
course (may auto fill), and adding any day “Substitutions” (e.g. Monday to Tuesday).
• Home Page: Edit/Update your Homepage information.
• Canvas Course Syllabus Page: Upload your new course syllabus (auto-open inline preview)
• Delete any old Announcements or Edit Announcements, click “Delay Posting” and set a future
date.
• Update any due dates: Tip: Use Adjust Events and Due Dates by Setting Beginning and End
Dates when you course copy. Then, drag/drop in your Canvas course calendar for minor
corrections)
• Check all external links and file links to assure they are all valid/current (Tip: Under Settings,
select Validate Links)
 Consider providing extra credit points to students that find dead/incorrect links or
typos!
• Create a new Welcome Announcement with instructions on where to begin your course and
expectations for the online student for evidence of course attendance.
 Tip: Publish your course early and send your Welcome announcement before classes
begins. Students can get oriented to your organization and syllabus.
• Courses are Published on the first date of the course. If you would like to make your course
available early, click Settings, change your start date, UNcheck “Users can only participate in
the course between these dates” and click to Publish your course.
Policy Verification
• Verify ADA compliance for Canvas pages, audio/video transcription/captioning and any file
attachments (including Word, pdf, and PowerPoint). Take the online Accessibility training on
Canvas!
• Regular & Effective Interaction: Examine your course to assure regular, assessed (graded)
and substantive Interaction. This includes student-to-student interaction. You must have
weekly assessed evidence of academic engagement for online/hybrid enrollments and regular
substantive interaction, instructor-student and student-student. (see attached)
• Academic Honesty Policy, Accommodations for Disabilities and Attendance must all be
stated on your syllabus. Refer to the SAC Recommended Online Course Outline Additions
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  To-Do’s
TIPS
• Welcome your students to your course.
 Make a screen capture video of how your course is set up, present your syllabus, set
expectations, and let students get to know you!
 Any video content must be captioned. Take the online Video Creation Course on Canvas!
• Synchronous Interaction: Consider using Canvas Conferences to meet live with your students. Instructors
can assign real-time captioning responsibilities to a student-moderator.
• Messages are E-A-S-Y
 Use the Canvas Grade column for quick reminders, notices and kudos
 Click grade column header, select “Message Students Who…”
o Haven’t submitted yet
o Haven’t been graded
o Scored less than
o Scored more than
 Students do not see other message recipients
 TIP: Faculty tend to spend the majority of their time with students that need help. This is a quick
way after a quiz or assignment to give a quick praise message to those that are doing great!
Reminders
• Notify the Distance Education Office if you know of any students that are Out-of-State in your
online course. (see attached)
• Regularly Contact/Drop inactive students. The Last Day of Attendance (LDA) is based on a
student’s last academically related activity. Canvas log in statistics are not appropriate.
• Remind your students to:
 Update their email on WebAdvisor
 Update their Canvas Notifications
 Assure their computer and browsers are in good working condition (Chrome & Firefox)
 Take the SAC Student Canvas Training
 Complete Quest for Online Success Online student orientation
o Tip: Require the online orientation to assure your online student is prepared!
 Use the Canvas 24/7 toll-free Hotline under Canvas Help (844) 612-7428

THE DETAILS
Rosters
• Enrollment (adds/drops) from WebAdvisor update your Canvas Roster every 4 hours.
o Any missing students on Canvas, contact Distance Education
o Dropped students are given the “inactive” role on Canvas. You will see them under “People”. To see
them in Grades, select the settings wheel, “Show Inactive Enrollments”.
• WebAdvisor is your “true” roster.
• Let your add students know that they should see your course on Canvas after this time.
• Keep in mind: When you drop in WebAdvisor a notice is immediately sent to your student. It could take four
hours for the student to become “inactive” in WebAdvisor.
• Any problems or questions, please have students email/call/stop-by the Distance Education Office

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Out of State Students
The US Department of Education requires that colleges offering distance education, to students in which it is not physically located,
must meet that State’s requirements for it to legally offer postsecondary distance education in that State. 1 Some states do not
regulate public institutions. Others require an application fee from the college to apply.

• Because the regulations of states vary and are subject to change, we need to handle out of state students on a case-by-case
basis.
• The college application process notifies out-of-state students to contact the Distance Education Office.

 Bottom line: If you are aware of any out-of-state students in your course, or interest from an out-of-
state student, please have them contact our office immediately.

Regular and Substantive Interaction

The CCC Board of Governors recently approved Title V changes:

Regular and effective interaction between faculty and student was amended to add regular and effective
interaction ‘among students.’ Title V will now require that online classes include student-to-student interaction,
which has a positive impact on success.

This is taught in our Online Teaching Certification and has been expected as it is an accreditation requirement for best
practice. Faculty must engage in regular (weekly) substantive interaction with students and must provide regular
student-to-student interaction. You must have regular weekly assessed student-student contact. This includes the first
week of classes.

Online faculty is required to do the following:

 Have one or more regular assessed interactive activities that must be accomplished within a week’s
time.
 Interactive Activities: Discussion board, Blogs, Wikis, Chats
 Consider offering live class sessions and office hours (via Canvas “Conferences” (Big Blue
Button)

 Bottom line: Regular and Substantive assessed interaction must occur throughout the entire semester.

Dropping:
• No show and drop policies must be stated in your course syllabus.
 Example:
 No Show Drop: In this course, you must complete all of the following activities by Friday of the first week
of classes or you will be dropped as a “No Show”:
1. Post a new thread on Discussion board Week #1, following directions described in the thread,
and respond to at least two students.
2. Complete the Orientation Quiz
 Excessive Absence Drop: If two consecutive weeks of non-participation is observed by the instructor the
student will be dropped.
• You may not keep a student enrolled in your course if you do not see academic engagement and regular and
substantive interaction.

1
USDOE §600.9(c) State authorization
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 • You should attempt to contact students who have stopped all academically related activities to explain that
they will be dropped unless they reengage in substantive assignments within your defined time period.
• Login statistics, such as “Last Activity”, are not evidence of substantive student participation.

 Bottom line:
 Criteria for dropping a student must be one of academic engagement.
 A student cannot remain enrolled in the course if there is no evidence of academic engagement and
regular and substantive interaction.

Student Authentication and Integrity

The Higher Education Opportunities Act requires institution processes for student authentication and validation.
Whenever possible, we must do our best to ensure student verification which can be done by using one or more of the
following methods:

• Use plagiarism detection software if appropriate (Turnitin, Canvas integrated)

• Proctored Exam(s) – Think about offering at least one proctored exam.
 Proctorio:
 Use webcam proctoring software. Contact DE for this information and instructional/module.
 We can place it in your course for you to determine usage.
 SAC Assessment Center: Break up your student test times by using “Groups” and allowing “self-
assigned” groups by date/time in Canvas. The Assessment Center will not allow more than 6 students
from the same section at one time. Assessment Center form.
 Instructor Proctoring: Select a date/time and proctor your students. Allow for “make-ups” at the
Assessment Center if the student cannot attend the specific date/time. Specified proctoring date(s)
should be available to students in the course comments when they register for your course.

Resources
 Canvas QuickStarts and FAQs
 SAC Faculty Canvas Training
 Recommended Course Outline Additions
 Online Course Test Proctoring – Off Campus
 SAC Assessment Center – Online Instructor Form
 SAC Video Creation Course
 SAC Accessibility Training

More information available at the Distance Education Website (http://sac.edu/disted)

Any questions, concerns, comments – Please give us a call, email or stop by!

Distance Education
Cesar Chavez Building A-101, (714) 564-6725
email: [email protected]

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