Body
The follow resources can be customized and inserted into your syllabus for your online course to help set clear expectations for students. Feel free to put any or all of these resources in your syllabus and customize them for the needs of your course and your students.
Names and Pronouns
Buffalo State University recognizes the importance of a diverse student body, and we are committed to fostering equitable classroom environments. You are invited to share how you want to be referred to both in terms of your name and your pronouns (he/him, she/her, they/them, etc.). I will do my best to address and refer to all students accordingly and will support you in doing so as well. In this classroom, we will respect and refer to people using the names and personal pronouns that they share.
Technology Requirements
[Include all technology requirements, including information on mobile and tablet access. Include links to all technology tools and software used in the course, as well as links to their privacy policies. Confirm that tools are supported bu the University and meet accessibility standards. Be sure to include information on available technical support for the specific tools used, as well as help desk information.]
For Brightspace questions, contact the SUNY Online Help Desk.
For assistance accessing Brightspace, contact the Buffalo State IT Help Desk.
Students have access to the full version of Microsoft 365 (Office) to access applications such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
Technology Requirements for Online Synchronous Courses
Specify whether students will need the following technology to participate in online synchronous courses:
Regular and Substantive Interaction
As your instructor, I plan to interact and engage with each of you on a regular basis throughout the term to support your learning. I will provide direct instruction related to the course’s learning objectives, respond to your questions, grade and/or provide feedback on your submitted coursework, post regular announcements, and engage in the course discussion areas regarding academic course content when appropriate.
Other Examples of Possible Language
- Preferred contact method: If you have a question, please contact me first through my Buffalo State email address. I will reply to emails within 24 hours on days when class is in session at the university.
- Class announcements: I will send all important class-wide messages through the Announcements tool in Brightspace.
- Discussion board: I will check and reply to messages in the discussion boards once mid-week and once at the end of the week.
- Grading and feedback: For large weekly assignments, you can generally expect feedback within seven days.
Participation Expectations
[Include specific expectations regarding course discussions and interaction. Include communication expectations here, including your response times to communications and grading turnaround time.]
For online asynchronous courses, consider ways that students will participate in asynchronous activities.
For online synchronous courses, provide information on how students are expected to interact during synchronous sessions, including:
- Camera/microphone expectations:
- Will students be expected to have their cameras on during synchronous sessions? If so, consider letting students know the purpose of this requirement.
- Mute microphones when not speaking.
- Consider additional ways for students to participate during synchronous sessions (chat, polls, breakout rooms, whiteboard, etc.).
- The FACT2 Statement on Webcam Requirement for Remote Instruction has additional observations and recommendations to consider when deciding whether or not to require camera use.
- Class recordings:
- If synchronous sessions will be recorded, let students know about this ahead of time. Let them know how and when they will be able to access these recordings and ensure that your recordings include closed captions so they are accessible to all learners.
- Class recordings are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Recordings must be accessible only to the instructor or students enrolled in the course at the time of the recording and only for the duration of the course. Recordings that include the voice, image, or other identifying characteristic of any students may not be shared outside the course by the instructor without the written consent of those students prior to any dissemination.
Feedback and Suggestions
[Include specific ways students can provide you with course feedback and suggestions, and report issues.]
Online Attendance Policy
[For synchronous courses, include information on online attendance. Include expectations for checking email and notifications, etc. Include any policy on missing synchronous sessions.]
Online Synchronous Attendance Considerations
An outline of all meeting dates/times should be provided to students before the course start date.
Online Asynchronous Attendance Considerations
According to the Federal Student Aid Handbook, "in a distance education context, documenting that a student has logged into an online class is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate academic attendance by the student" (Federal Student Aid Handbook, 2016, p. 886). Student must be required to do more than just "log in" to be documented as having attended an online course.
According to the handbook, acceptable indications of attendance in an online course can include:
- Student submission of an academic assignment
- Student submission of an exam
- Documented student participation in an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction
- A posting by the student showing the student's participation in an online study group that is assigned by the institution
- A posting by the student in a discussion forum showing the student's participation in an online discussion about academic matters
- An email from the student or other documentation showing that the student-initiated contact with a faculty member to ask a question about an academic subject studied in the course.
Netiquette
[Add your own course netiquette expectations. Include a link to your campus code of conduct information. Consider co-creating agreed upon standards for interactions in the course with course participants.]
Other Examples of Possible Language
- Tone and civility: Let's maintain a supportive learning community where everyone feels safe and where people can disagree amicably. Critique ideas, not people. Remember that sarcasm doesn't always come across online.
- Preparation: Come to the session having completed any readings or pre-work and be ready to have open, civil, and supportive discussions in video and chat spaces. I ask that you update your Teams profile with your preferred name and add a picture with your face.
- To build up an equivalent online learning community, we should communicate with each other using same common courtesy, politeness, and appropriate online behaviors as we should in a face-to-face environment: a) Respect the opinions of others and their right to disagree; b) Do not send messages that are written all in uppercase as typing in caps is considered shouting or screaming online; c) Keep replies and comments focused on the relevant topic; d) Post discussions and assignments in a timely fashion so that others can have sufficient time to review and reply.
Email etiquette
All email communication for this course will be through buffalostate.edu. It is vital that you check your Buffalo State University email daily. When you e-mail me, please use complete sentences. Include a salutation, state your concern, and sign your e-mail with your name. Please treat email as a formal and professional communication mechanism. I will address you and treat you as adults (both in person and through email), and I expect the same in return. I will not respond to emails that are impolite, disrespectful, or without appropriate grammar.