Online Program Faculty Information

Online Program Teaching Requirements

Phase III – Faculty Engagement: All online faculty (undergraduate and graduate) must ensure they engage in each of their courses weekly by employing a minimum of three varied/different forms of course engagement such as, but not limited to, the below. 

• Weekly Announcement(s) 
  • Post reminders and announcements, summaries of academic growth and observed challenges, and overall student encouragement to establish your ongoing presence and support, etc.; 
• Assessment Feedback – Beyond a Grade!
  • Provide assessment/assignment/project individual student feedback for graded and/or draft submitted work;
• Discussion Board Posts
  • Provide a summary post of your observations from their posts (celebrations, challenges, misconceptions), share food for thought to encourage further topic discussion and reflection, etc. on any assigned discussion board post for that week within the discussion board (this, too, establishes faculty presence and support);
• Videos
  • Post a video to introduce a module or topic for the week; to teach a mini-lesson or conduct a demo; etc.
• Host a Weekly Optional Live Course Session
  • If your course is a gatekeeper or difficult content that may need F2F support, offer an optional live course session specific to the topic or culminating assignment to show examples, demo how-tos, talk through misconceptions, etc.
• Individual Student Canvas Email Communication 
  • Send out email alerts to students struggling with ways to assist, support, or provide feedback on how to recover, etc.

Phase I Update…

After one year of mandated “One Hour Per Week Virtual Office Hours”, members of academic leadership amend this policy to allow a few more options to meet this requirement:

• One Hour Per Week Virtual Office Hours (Teams, Big Blue Button, GoToMeeting, Zoom, etc.); or o Use the Bookings with Me option for students to schedule with you via Microsoft Teams – this option would be placed in Canvas under Virtual Office Hours; or
• Employ the Appointment Campaign in Navigate (only available for FT faculty and undergraduate courses) for the duration of the course and invite only students in your course(s) to join – this option would be placed in Canvas under Virtual Office Hours; or o Employ a spontaneous Canvas Announcement/Email to alert students that you are online and available and how to immediately connect with you during that timespan – evidence of this option would be visible on the announcement page; or
• Use the Availability option in Navigate (hopefully coming soon – stay tuned) – this option would be placed in Canvas under Virtual Office Hours once/if it becomes available; or a combination of the above.

Online Program Test Proctoring

Limestone University’s online program uses Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor as a more efficient and convenient way to maintain academic integrity in online and hybrid courses. Although there is not a human watching you take your exam, the software will record audio and video during the exam, so make sure you’re following the guidelines set by your instructor while testing. The service is fully integrated within Canvas and available 24/7. 

Online Program Course Faculty Expectations

Please carefully review the list of expectations below for all faculty teaching online courses. The expectations were written and approved by Limestone University faculty and are intended to ensure that our online courses provide students with a high-quality learning experience.  You will find these expectations referenced in your contract for teaching Limestone Online courses. 

Please ensure that each course you teach is in compliance with the expectations below.  Should you have any questions about how to adjust your course to meet these standards, contact your department chair or the course coordinator for assistance.  Any other questions, please contact Lori Downey. 

• All Adjunct Faculty newly hired on or after 09.01.2021 are required to complete Limestone’s Instructor Training Course (self-paced in Canvas) prior to and/or by end of week 1 for the term hired. Instructors will receive a one-time stipend of $75 upon successful completion of the training course and a digital badge.
• The course needs to be published in Canvas by 5pm on the Friday before the term begins.  Instructors must engage actively and frequently with students throughout the course. Instructors are required to make available multiple modes of communication for students—at a minimum Limestone email, and discussion boards. 
• Online Faculty must provide a minimum of one hour of virtual live office hours per week.
• Faculty members are expected to respond to all student communications within 48 hours. 
• Faculty are expected to provide meaningful, detailed, and timely feedback to students.  Clear criteria should be included in the course regarding the basis of evaluation of all graded assignments, discussion, wiki, blog, etc. such as a rubric and/or a list of criteria with associated point values.  Feedback should include the use of the rubric/criteria in the explanation.  All assignments are to be graded within one week of due date. 
• Faculty should post regular announcements providing general feedback on assignments, areas for improvement, tips for success, etc.  
• The faculty’s policy on accepting late submissions must be clearly stated in the course and/or syllabus. 
• Each course must include at least two proctored exams by Respondus, typically a midterm in the 4th week, and a final exam in the last week. 
• The Canvas grade book or the grade book provided by department approved software (e.g., Hawkes, SAM, etc.) must be used in recording and posting all student grades. 
• Faculty members are required to submit the Last Date of Academic Activity for every student receiving a W or an F in an online course. 
• Final grades must be posted in the Halo no later than 48 hours following the end of the course.

• Issuing an Alert for retention purposes will allow the student’s advisor to intervene with the online students that are not performing well in their classes and discuss their options. You may access navigate using this link: https://www.limestone.edu/navigate/faculty-and-staff or by logging into The Halo.  Please keep in mind that the online courses still do not display correctly in Navigate. For example, if two different professors are teaching the same course (different section numbers), both professors’ names show up on the student’s schedule (see photo one). All students enrolled in the course (all sections) show up on the professor’s “assigned students” list in Navigate.  The professors will need to know from Canvas which students are in their course.  

• During Summer terms 3 & 4, undergraduate faculty will use the Online and Graduate Retention Report Form.  All other terms 5,6,1, & 2 please issue an alert in Navigate.

• Positive Alerts: The Navigate platform has exciting new updates and features. We added two positive alerts in the Navigate platform, both indicated with the phrase ‘High Five.’ When you issue one of the High Five alerts, the student’s advisor, coach, and Student Success team members are notified and the student receives an email from me that says:
  • High Five – Class Participation/Engagement: Your professor, {$completer_name}, gave you a high-five for your recent class participation in {$course_name}-{$course_number}! Engagement with your professor and classmates during class is instrumental for your academic success - keep up the great work! 
  • High Five – Improved Academic Performance: Your professor, {$completer_name}, gave you a high-five for improving your academic performance in {$course_name}-{$course_number}! Keep up the great work and continue to put in the effort - it is paying off!

• **Please note:  Any graduate faculty will continue to use the  Online and Graduate Retention Report Form for graduate students only for all terms. This form is also found in The Halo. 

Library Resources

With Canvas, a librarian can provide library instruction services for the online program. In addition to Library Course Guides and face-to-face instruction, the library also offers the following:

• Online Instruction for Your Class: The librarian will remotely connect to your course synchronously (via MS Teams, Canvas Conference, or Zoom) or offer asynchronous webinar options for students to attend on their own time. To request library instruction, please complete this form:
  Library Instruction Request Form or email Chloe Hoyle cflournoy@limestone.edu. 
• Online Embedded Librarian: Add a librarian as a teaching assistant to your Canvas course by emailing the request to Chloe Hoyle at cflournoy@limestone.edu. The librarian can add links to library resources, host discussions on scholarly research and how to find information, email students about specific library resources relating to course assignments, answer questions, and more.
• Customized Instruction Videos or Tutorials: Request a specific tutorial video or series of videos for your class. The librarian will provide a link that can be uploaded in Canvas for students to view as required. See the Library’s  YouTube page for examples and to view our current tutorials and webinars. Contact Chloe for more information at cflournoy@limestone.edu.

Additional library services are detailed in the  Library Services for Faculty page. Please contact the Library Director,  Lizah Ismail, if you have further questions about library services.