Start of Term Information

Q. Are students required to come to campus for any reason?

A. No, these are online programs and some students are from across the country. Please make your coursework /assignments so students are not required to meet, come to campus or required to go to a certain physical location for exams to be proctored.

 Q. Do we have a final exam week?

A. We do not have a “final exam week” in the traditional sense. If you offer a final it must be built into the 7-week program (i.e., it must come BEFORE or on the last day of class). The last day of class is the last day of class.

Q. Can we give students incompletes?

A. Yes, students have 60 days to complete the coursework or the grade will be changed to an “F”. Incomplete Form

 Q. Can instructors give students an FN?

A. Yes, we currently make the FN grade valid for all levels it is attached to anytime a grading period is in session.

 Q. Are fall and spring breaks observed in the 7-week course?

A. Yes, they are built into the courses. Please do not have any assignments due during these weeks.

 Q. Do grades have to be turned in by the deadline?

A. YES, we have very tight deadlines and if grades are not turned in on time you will have to do a Change of Grade form. Deadlines must be strictly followed.

• Change of grades must come through the Registrar’s office.

Q. When do I qualify for an Academic Assistant?

Note: Academic Assistants are only to be utilized during the course dates. They are not to be assisting instructors with course development or building courses in Blackboard Learn. Academic Assistants will be assigned to courses 2-weeks prior to the course start date by Instructional Connections and faculty may update them on upcoming course materials at that time.

1. Unless otherwise approved, once enrollment in the course you are teaching reaches 26 you will be eligible for an Academic Assistant (20 students for Nursing, 35 students for Education, 10 for Education Labs).
2. It is up to the department to identify the Academic Assistant
3. Academic Assistants generally must possess a graduate degree in a relevant field of study, cannot be a faculty member, GA, or family member.
4. Request an Academic Assistant for your course please complete the Instructional Connections AA-Request Form 4-6 weeks prior to the course start date: http://www.jotformpro.com/ICForms/ASUJ_Request
5. To Evaluate an Academic Assistant please use the Faculty Evaluation of AA form: http://jotformpro.com/form/23347837807968

 Q. What are the steps to hire an Academic Assistant?

1. The candidate is identified and must be approved by your Department Chair.  
2. You must then forward the Faculty Referral Instructional Connections application link to the candidate: https://jotformpro.com/form/21211106562943
3. Instructional Connections will process the application which can take up to 3-6 weeks.

 Q. How is Non-Attendance determined?

Non-Attendance is defined by one of the following scenarios:

1. Students that have never accessed the course in Blackboard.
2. Students who last accessed the course during early-release and prior to the course start date.
3. Students that have accessed Blackboard but may have only logged in to the orientation program, and not the actual course.

 Q. What are the steps to determining Non-Attendance?

Steps to verify inactive/non-attendance students:

1. Know the term start date of the course.
2. Know the 6^th work day (date) after the term start date.
3. Check for non-attendance students only after the 6^th work day (date) or rather on the 7^th day.
4. Go to the Grade Center and open the section to view your students.
5. Next to the student name column and/or the student ID column is a column titled Last Accessed.
6. If the Last Accessed column is blank and does not have a date, then the student has never accessed the course, the student may be dropped for inactivity.
7. If the Last Accessed column has a date “prior” to the term start date, the student can also be dropped for inactivity.
8. Faculty will assign WN grades through Self Service Banner.  WN grading is NOT available through Blackboard.  

In summary, if the Last Accessed column shows any date later than (or after) the term start date, this means that the student has been active or at least logged into the course and should not be dropped for inactivity unless requested by the instructor. 

Q. Can I require proctoring software?

A. Yes, but it must be “advertised” on the website and in your syllabus with the cost of the software included.

NOTE: In Blackboard when you are entering grades/final grades DO NOT edit the Banner Final Grade Column. You may enter letter grades but do not select the option to Edit Column Information. ITS has set the points at 1 Million and it must remain that way for their program to find the correct column to pull letter grades from. Changing the total points of the Banner Final Grade Column will result in you having to enter grades in Banner manually. If you accidentally delete the Banner Final Grade Column, contact A-State Online Faculty Support immediately and they will be able to assist you in getting the column back. 

Disabilities:

Students must still register with Access and Accommodation Services. They will let you know when students need extra time. Please be prepared to define “extra time” for students requiring this accommodation. Please allow this extra time within the AOS grading schedule.

1. For example, a simple but effective way to do this would be placing an “estimated time to complete” on each assignment and extra time could be provided for accordingly.
2. Please also be prepared to adopt ADA standards to an online environment as the need presents itself.
3. For questions, please contact Access and Accommodation Services:

http://www.astate.edu/a/disability/Students/index.dot

Q. How much will I receive for course development?

A. A faculty member receives $500 as personal income (taxes and withholding apply) for each credit hour of a course developed for offering in A-State Online academic programs (Ex. A 3-credit hour course will receive $1500 and a 1-credit hour course will receive $500). Please be advised that development of an A-State Online course is labor-intensive as the course must be of high quality and meet best practices for distance learning.

 Q. How much will I receive each time the course is delivered?

A. During the Spring and Fall terms full-time faculty members will receive $3500 as personal income (taxes and withholding apply) each time the course is delivered providing that the course is an overload and not part of the instructor’s regular teaching load. If the course is only 1-credit hour it will be $1166.67 as personal income if it is an overload. No payment is provided for A-State Online courses delivered as part of the regular teaching load. Full-time faculty may only teach 1 overload course in A-State Online programs during a given semester.

During the Summer terms, full-time faculty members receive 6.944% of their previous 9-month salary per 3-credit hours. Overloads and not encouraged during summer terms, but if needed will be paid at the standard Adjunct Rates (see below).

Adjuncts/Part-Time Instructors are paid the traditional adjunct rate for all semesters.

                   Standard Adjunct Rates:                

• Instructor - $2,000 per 3 credit hours
• Assistant & Associate - $2,100 per 3 credit hours
• Full Professor - $2,200 per 3 credit hours
• Emeritus - $2,500 per 3 credit hours

Please list the Adjunct’s rank on the Assignment Change Form and send or email the Adjunct’s CV to Chris Salehi in Global Engagement and Outreach to confirm rank. Sending the Adjunct’s CV only needs to be done once per Adjunct. Email Nikki Adams at nadams@astate.edu if you are unsure if the Adjunct’s CV has been sent previously.

Q. What are the benefits to my college and department for my development and delivery of A-State Online courses and how will my department be paid?

A. Colleges, Departments, and Department Chairs will no longer receive payment for the delivery and development of courses. Instructor’s payments for development and delivery are as follows:

Q. When and how will I be paid for course development and delivery?

A. After the course evaluation process of development through AOS faculty support, your department must submit a request for additional compensation form and an assignment/change form in the amount of $500 per credit hour of the course (Ex. A 3-credit hour course would receive $1500) to Academic Affairs and Research. The inclusive dates for development should be the date you begin development through the date of estimated completion. Your pay for development will be distributed over this period. If your course is being taught as an overload, prior to course delivery, your department must submit a request for additional compensation form and an assignment/change form to Academic Affairs and Research for Spring and Fall terms. During Summer terms you do not need to submit an additional compensation form unless the faculty is teaching an overload which is not encouraged. The inclusive dates for delivery should be the date the course starts and ends. Your pay for delivery will be distributed over this period.

Please send these forms to Chris Salehi in Global Engagement and Outreach for signatures. They will be taken to Academic Affairs and Research after signatures and file copies are obtained.

Prior to engaging in course development and delivery, it is important to inquire with Academic Affairs to determine if you will have any salary limitations. Other provisions may be required to accommodate line-item maximum issues.

Q. How often will I teach my course(s)?

A. A course carousel will be established for each academic program that is offered. The carousel will be developed in conjunction with the department, faculty, and the A-State Online staff. In general, course offerings are less frequent during the startup of a new program and increase in frequency as enrollments and demand increase.

In some cases, faculty who develop and deliver multiple A-State Online courses or deliver courses frequently that are not part of their normal teaching load may be subject to line-item maximums associated with salary. This is particularly true if you are receiving additional compensation for research or other activities. Prior to engaging in course development and delivery, it is important to inquire with Academic Affairs to determine if you will have any salary limitations.

 Q. Is the course content the property of the instructor?

A. A-State has made a binding commitment to offer courses pursuant to a schedule that will allow students enrolled in our A-State Online programs to complete their degrees in a timely manner. Any disruption of the course delivery cycle is simply not permissible under the terms of this commitment. Therefore, all courses developed and delivered as part of the A-State Online program will be considered the property of Arkansas State University.

Additional stipends/salaries have been paid to each faculty member to ensure courses offered through our A-State Online programs are developed and offered in a timely manner to accommodate local, regional, and national student demand for each course. Hence, there cannot be any disruption in the highly-synchronized and compressed A-State Online course delivery schedule in the event a faculty member were to become ill, decided to leave Arkansas State University or chose to end their participation in the A-State Online program.

As a result, Arkansas State University retains the right to allow your course materials to be used by another instructor until such time such course or courses can be redeveloped. This right to access your course materials extends to all items that have been captured in the Blackboard Learn platform for delivery of the course via the A-State Online program. The general content of the course remains the property of the instructor which means individuals are not prohibited from teaching the course in the future.

 Q. What platform is used to deliver A-State Online courses?

A. The Blackboard Learn platform is currently used for the development and delivery of A-State Online courses.

Q. What role do Academic Assistants have in the support of my A-State Online course?

A. In general, one AA is provided for every 25-35 students. It is the responsibility of the instructor to make certain that the AAs are appropriately apprised of their duties and trained for facilitating the course so that the instructor and students are best served. Regular communication with the AAs is encouraged. The AAs may grade assignments following a rubric provided by the instructor, monitor course participation (submission of assignments, discussion boards, etc.), assist students with technical concerns, tally points for grade assignments so that the instructor may finalize and submit final grades in a timely manner, and perform other course-related duties.

The AAs also are responsible for providing a welcome email to new students and instructions on how to access the course in Blackboard, and other duties associated with accessing the course material.

Q. Who do I contact if I have questions?

A. AOS Faculty Support aos@astate.edu