UNIT III: COURSES AND RELATED PROCEDURES

HOW ONLINE COURSES WORK

Initiate access to your course using the login procedure. Following course access into Blackboard, you will be presented with a personalized welcome page and access to current course study guide materials and important course information. You are advised at course initiation to print the first unit of your study guide along with the corresponding unit exam or Exam. This will enable you to refer to your study guide, read your textbook, and prepare for your unit exam or quiz offline. Proceed in this fashion with each corresponding unit in your study guide. Please note that course text, exams and quizzes may be updated at any given time. Therefore, we advise that you not print your assignments too far in advance.

The first screen you will see after you enter your online course is the course announcement section. Please read the welcome announcement for important information. On the left of the screen you will see a button for each section of the course. After reading the announcement, you should select the “Course Syllabus” section. This section contains important information and requirements concerning the course. Make certain to review the entire syllabus for each course so that you are aware of all course requirements.

There are many advantages to taking courses online:

Online quizzes and exams: All objective questions are graded instantly and the professor grades subjective questions online within a short time period.
No mailing of exam answers: This can save up to 14 days in mailing and processing time.
Online courses include the course study guide. To facilitate your studies, this guide can be printed unit by unit so you may study offline.
You can access your course anywhere you can obtain Internet access

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SUBMITTING EXAMS AND UNIT ASSESSMENTS

One of the benefits of taking courses online is that you will receive your score of the objective portion of the exam immediately. You may open the online unit exams or assessments multiple times and save your answers. However, an online exam or assessment may only be submitted once. You are urged to print the assignments and mark your answers on paper first. You will not be given an opportunity to improve your grade by retaking the exam and/or unit assessments. Since the assignments are open-book and only the course timeline constraints are imposed, you have an opportunity to check and double-check your answers.

IMPORTANT: To prevent loss of question answers due to a break in your Internet connection or an expired Internet session, follow one of these procedures:

Procedure 1: (1) Print the exam (2) Mark answers on printed copy and prepare essay answers (if applicable) in word processing software (3) Open the exam a second time and mark answers online. If you did not close the exam, click the save button at the bottom of the exam to refresh your session. (4) Mark question answers and copy/paste essay answers into question answer boxes. (5) Once all answers are marked or pasted into the online exam, click the submit button at the bottom of the exam.

Procedure 2: After answering each exam question, click the “Save” button to the right of the question.

Once an online exam is submitted, detailed results of the exam will be displayed. You can scroll through the exam to review any questions you missed. If an exam contains short answer/essay questions, your professor must grade these questions and you will receive an email when the grade has been posted.

When an online exam is submitted, an e-mail confirmation is sent to you. If a portion of the exam needs to be graded by the professor, your professor will be notified via e-mail. If you notice you do not receive these confirmation e-mails, verify the correct e-mail address is in your Blackboard Personal Profile, and that your spam-filter has been set to allow email from the domain columbiasouthern.edu. You may also send a test email from the Student Access Site to ensure that you are receiving email from CSU.

Students should contact Student Services as soon as possible if you are unable to submit your exam online.

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Uploaded Assignments

Scholarly Papers or exams that contain file attachments such as spreadsheets or graphs should be submitted through the Student Access site (Do not send such assignments directly to your professor). These assignments should be completed as an MS Word document or in the format given in the instructions for that particular exam or assignment. At the top of the document clearly indicate your name, student ID, course number, revision code, and name of assignment. The Student Access Site can be found online in the Student Center. If you are unable to upload your assignment, contact Student Services for assistance.

You will be notified via email when a uploaded paper or project is graded. The e-mail will include the professor’s comments. Please refrain from making grade inquiries for at least 7 business days. The normal processing time for grading a paper, project, or subjective exam is three business days.

Make certain to retain copies of papers, projects, and subjective exam answers. In the even an assignment is ever not properly received at CSU, you will be responsible resubmitting the assignment.

Please do not submit all of your unit exams/quizzes at once. Submit each assignment as they are completed. This will enable your professor to evaluate your level of comprehension of the materials studied and provide you with feedback as exams are completed. In addition, some assignments such as the Online Discussion Board require that submissions be made over a three-week period.

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COURSE PROFESSORS

Each course has an assigned professor. Students will be provided with a course schedule and their professor’s contact information by e-mail at the beginning of the course. You may also find your professor’s name and e-mail in the online course by clicking the Staff/Faculty Information icon. You should direct all course related questions to the course professor. All other questions should be directed to the CSU Student Services Department at students@columbiasouthern.edu. The contact method of choice for all CSU Faculty is e-mail. This provides a written record and more convenient method of communication.

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COURSE ORGANIZATION

Each course includes an online course study guide. The study guide systematically takes you through the course textbook and all supplemental materials. It will highlight the major areas of learning and provide assignments to enhance and measure learning.

A list and description of Course Study Guide components is found below.

Course Syllabus

This section includes information as follows:

A course description that highlights the major areas to be covered in this course.
Prerequisites, if required of the course.
Information on your course textbook, including author and ISBN.
A course overview, which is an expanded version of the course description and highlights the major areas covered in the course.
The course learning objectives and what you are expected to have learned upon completion of the course.
The number of academic credit hours that are awarded for successful completion of this course.
Course topical outline which shows the Units included in the course and the subject of each unit.
Course Structure which details the various assignments required of the course.
Online Discussion Board assignment information and procedures, where a discussion board is a required component of the course.
Research or Scholarly Paper assignments and requirements, if required of the course.
Information on how to submit exams and unit assessments.
Information on final examination, when required of the course. This includes how to select and process the proctor for the exam.
Grading where the percentages for the determination of the final grade in this course are provided.
Communications where CSU contact information is made readily available.
Information concerning the online library.
Information on the Student Forum.

Unit Information and Assignments

In most study guides, this section includes:

A summary of the chapters and chapter highlights.
The objectives or what you should learn in these chapters.
Supplemental materials and/or information and locations of this information including textbooks, journals, WEB sites, etc.
Online Discussion Board questions, where required.
Section Exam information for that particular unit, where required.
In some courses, non-graded Chapter assignments or problems with solutions or information where answers are to be found.

Unit Quizzes, Section Exams and Unit Assessments

Each course will include graded unit assignments. In most courses, there are six unit quizzes containing multiple-choice questions and two Section Exams containing essay questions.

In courses recently revised, there are six Unit Assessments, which contain both multiple choice questions and essay questions.

The unit assignments should be completed as you proceed through each unit and submitted upon completion of that particular unit. Assignments should not be held and submitted all at one time. This allows the faculty and staff to monitor your progress and to assist you with your coursework, if necessary, on a timely basis.

Course Scholarly and Research Papers

The writing assignments vary by course. Every course requires a writing assignment of some type. To review specific assignments, you should review the Course Syllabus section of each course for which you are enrolled.

Course professors must approve scholarly paper outlines before the project can be started.

Scholarly Papers are to be written in the APA format. Additional information on APA formatting as well as the grading rubric for this type of assignment is included within the Course Syllabus section of each course.

Online Discussion Board Assignment

Online Discussion Boards, also called “threaded discussions,” allow students to participate in course discussions with fellow class members. The Discussion Board is asynchronous, which means that students do not have to be online at the same time to respond to posted activity. Blackboard organizes the Discussion Board into “forums.” There is a forum for each question in which you are required to respond. Within each forum, you will create a new thread when posting your answer to the “forum question.” Thread is an online term that refers to an initial response posted in the forum. When students reply to postings, the postings accumulate and extend the thread.

The Online Discussion Board Assignment will be graded based on a grading rubric that details the awarding of point values for each part of the assignment.

The grading rubric can be found online at: http://www.columbiasouthern.edu/downloads/gradingrubricDB.htm

Each course that contains a Discussion Board assignment will have the information posted within the Course Syllabus.

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PROCTORED EXAM POLICY AND PROCEDURES

Many CSU courses utilize a course comprehensive final examination. All final exams are to be proctored and are password protected.

Online Final: The proctor is sent information to access the online final exam by e-mail. The exam is taken from within the online course site and objective questions are graded immediately.

Request the final at least seven days prior to when you wish to sit for the exam.

Final examinations are to be administered to you by an approved proctor on a date that is mutually convenient. The student is responsible for selecting a qualified proctor, and the proctor must be pre-approved by the University. Your proctor must be a responsible and reputable third party. CSU reserves the right to verify proctor qualifications, require additional evidence of eligibility, or require a different proctor be selected. All proctors are subject to approval.

The following may serve as proctors:

Supervisors (Must be of higher position or rank than student.)
University/College Testing Center, Private Testing Center, Office of CSU Representative, Base Testing Office
Embassy Education Office
School Principal or Vice Principal, Full-time Librarian, Teacher, or School Counselor
College Professor, Dean, or Director
Human Resource Manager, Training Director/Officer
Minister, Priest, or Rabbi of an established church, temple, mosque, or synagogue

Unacceptable proctors include:

Assistant
Tutor
Neighbor
Relative
Friend
CSU student or graduate
Anyone with a conflict of interest.

The individual you select to serve as your proctor must have no vested interest in your doing well on your exam.

Falsifying proctor information or not following proctor testing procedures will result in failure of the examination and may be cause for termination from the university.

Proctor Approval Procedure

Students must only have an individual proctor approved once. Students may have up to three approved proctors. The approved proctor’s information will remain on file for the student and the student may use the proctor until one of the following occurs:

The student or proctor cancels the proctor agreement.
CSU disapproves or cancels the proctor agreement.

Students must provide the desired proctor with the Final Examination Proctor Policy and CSU Proctor Agreement. The Proctor will complete and submit the agreement to CSU. Students and Proctors may assume the Proctor is approved unless otherwise notified by CSU. If the proctor has already submitted an agreement to proctor for another CSU student, no additional agreement is needed.

Students should allow time for the proctor to return the agreement to CSU and for processing before submitting the first/next “Request to Take Proctored Final Examination.”
Once an approved Proctor(s) is listed on the Student’s record, the student only needs to submit the “Request to Take Proctored Final Examination Form” in which the pre-approved Proctor is listed. CSU will process the request and send the final exam or online final exam instructions to the identified pre-approved Proctor.

Proctor Responsibilities

Provide the student with a private area conducive to testing. If the exam is to be taken/submitted online, provide the student with access to a computer with Internet access.
Check student photo ID to ensure the examinee is actually the person scheduled to test.
Ensure no copies of the exam are made.
Ensure that the student does not access notes, articles, or other information beyond the course textbook and a calculator (unless otherwise specified in exam instructions).
Time the exam and stop the examinee when time has been expended. Four hours is allowed for the exam unless otherwise specified in exam instructions.
Keep the exam secure and only allow the student to access the exam in your presence. If the exam is online, keep the exam password secure.
Keep a secure copy of the student’s exam answers for 30 days in the event it is not properly received by CSU.
If the exam is to be submitted by mail, the exam must be sent within 24 hours of completion to CSU in a postage-paid envelope provided by the student.
If an exam cannot be administered within 21 days after receipt from CSU, destroy the exam and notify CSU.
If a fee is charged for exam proctoring, request payment from the student at the time of testing. CSU will not pay proctor fees.

Proctors will be sent complete instructions for administering the Final Exam, but the student is responsible for ensuring the proctor understands his/her role before the Final Exam request is submitted.

Falsifying proctor information will result in invalidation of the examination and may be cause for termination from the university.

Final Exam Procedures and Tips:

You must have completed a minimum of 75% of the course assignments and the grades must be posted in your student record before the final exam instructions may be sent to your proctor.

The following procedures apply to final exams:

You will receive an email when the final exam has been sent to your Proctor. You should ask your Proctor to contact you when he or she receives the final exam from CSU.
Keep your course end date in mind when deciding which method of delivery to choose. Your final exam must be submitted for grading before your course end date.
Contact your Proctor and schedule the final exam. You will have four hours to complete the final exam. This is an Open Book exam. Only course textbooks and a calculator, if necessary, are allowed when taking proctored exams.

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STUDENT COURSE EVALUATION

Students are asked to complete a Student Course Evaluation following the completion of each course of study. This survey is emailed to the student upon completion of your course. Student Course Evaluations are reviewed and results are tabulated. This enables the University to measure the effectiveness of the course and to pinpoint problem areas.

For each course, take the few moments necessary to complete the Student Course Evaluation Form, and rate the textbook, study guide, final exam, and course professor. You may remain anonymous if you wish. However, should you wish to be contacted by the Dean of Students regarding your comments, please make sure you provide a contact phone number on the survey.