Faculty Guide Faculty Guide

Faculty Guide

 

In-Person Courses:

Students are expected to attend all class sessions in person. All college health and safety protocols must be observed while on campus.


  • All college health and safety protocols must be observed.
  • Faculty can create and implement participation policies as appropriate.
  • Students unable to attend a class due to COVID-19 related complications should not be penalized and alternate arrangements should be made when assessments/content is missed.
    • Faculty should consider using FLEX technology to record classes or allow students to remote in when students are facing extended absences from the classroom.

 

Online Courses (ONL):

Courses designated as Online (ONL) are held entirely online and do not meet at a scheduled time. Students will meet all expected deadlines outlined by the professor and complete work on their own time.


  • Faculty may not offer synchronous sessions to deliver required course content.
  • Optional synchronous sessions focused around extra help, exam review, etc. are acceptable provided they are recorded, captioned, and posted as appropriate.
  • Students may be required to come to campus, or an approved testing center, for certain assessments as specified in the syllabus.
    • These requirements should be clear in the syllabus.
    • The Testing Center does not have capacity to provide testing for entire online or Structured Remote courses.
    • Due to limited capacity the testing center can only support exams for:
      • Accommodated FCC Course Exam
        • Students registered with Disability Access Services who require testing accommodations listed on the Student Success Plan (SSP).
      • Pre-Approved Make-Up Testing Students without access to a personal device for testing or students who do not meet the technology/device requirements for online proctoring services enrolled in Online, Structured Remote, Hybrid sections.
      • Other circumstances with prior approval from the Testing Center Director to arrange a make-up exam in a proctored environment.
      • Submit your test using the Exam Form on the Testing Center page under Faculty and Staff.
    • Faculty can work with their AOM to schedule regular classroom time through 25 live to hold proctored exams on campus. Faculty are responsible for proctoring these exams when the Testing Center cannot accommodate the request.
    • Faculty can use Honorlock online proctoring services through Blackboard. Faculty can find more information around the Honorlock tool at https://guides.frederick.edu/honorlock or contact the Testing Center.

 

Structured Remote Courses (SR):

Structured Remote Courses (SR) meet online during scheduled class times, as listed in the schedule and syllabus. These sessions may include lecture, group discussions, review, or skills demonstrations. All sessions should be recorded and made available to students unable to attend.


  • Real-time virtual instruction must be offered during all scheduled class time.
    • All SR classes should utilize the entirety of the scheduled class period. 
  • Real-time virtual instruction can include:
    • Lecture
    • Discussion of readings and concepts
    • Review of course material
    • Demonstration or practice of classroom skills
  • All real-time virtual sessions must be recorded and made available for students with captions. See Accessibility Guidelines Section  for more information on closed captioning expectations.
  • FERPA guidelines should be read prior to recording (these pop up automatically in ZOOM).
  • Students are expected to attend SR sessions, and are accountable for all information and material covered in a recorded SR session. 
  • If a course has grant or certification related requirements for attendance, those guidelines must be followed.
  • Students can be encouraged but not required to utilize a web camera or microphone. 
    • Camera use cannot be positively incentivized through extra credit.
      • Students cannot be penalized for not turning on a camera.
        • Students have many reasons for not turning on a camera:
          • They may not own one
          • There may be technology/bandwidth barriers
          • The student may not be comfortable inviting people into their home
  • Web cameras can be required during proctored exams. Students who do not own or are unable to access a web camera should work with their professor ahead of the exam to come up with alternate arrangements. 
  •  Students may be required to come to campus, or an approved testing center, for certain assessments as specified in the syllabus.
    • These requirements should be clear in the syllabus.
    • The Testing Center does not have capacity to provide testing for entire online or Structured Remote courses.
    • Due to limited capacity the testing center can only support exams for:
      • Accommodated FCC Course Exam
        • Students registered with Disability Access Services who require testing accommodations listed on the Student Success Plan (SSP).
      • Pre-Approved Make-Up Testing Students without access to a personal device for testing or students who do not meet the technology/device requirements for online proctoring services enrolled in Online, Structured Remote, Hybrid sections.
      • Other circumstances with prior approval from the Testing Center Director to arrange a make-up exam in a proctored environment.
      • Submit your test using the Exam Form on the Testing Center page under Faculty and Staff.
    • Faculty can work with their AOM to schedule regular classroom time through 25 live to hold proctored exams on campus. Faculty are responsible for proctoring these exams when the Testing Center cannot accommodate the request.
    • Faculty can use Honorlock online proctoring services through Blackboard. Faculty can find more information around the Honorlock tool at https://guides.frederick.edu/honorlock or contact the Testing Center.

 

Hybrid Courses (HYB):

Hybrid Courses (HYB) require in-person and virtual participation. In addition to participating in real-time virtual sessions, students will be expected to come to main campus, clinical sites, or the Monroe Center for in-person class sessions during the scheduled time. In-person and real-time virtual session meeting dates will be designated on the syllabus. Students are expected to attend all in-person and real-time virtual sessions. Virtual sessions will be recorded and made available to students unable to attend. To expand possibilities for further interactions, faculty can choose to take advantage of the FLEX teaching option within the HYB format.

All college health and safety protocols must be observed while on campus.


  • Face to face class sessions should be held during the scheduled class meeting time and communicated to students on the first day of class and in the syllabus.
  • All students and faculty will be expected to adhere to cleaning protocols, which are outlined in the document “Space Use Recommendations by Program.”
  • HYB classes are expected to have at least one on-campus meeting per week, lasting the full scheduled class time.
  • If a class has multiple meeting times, any session not used for on-campus instruction should be a real-time virtual session.
  • Course content that is not taught on-campus or through real-time virtual sessions should be delivered asynchronously.
  • Notify students in the syllabus and through Blackboard at the beginning of the term which sessions will be real-time virtual and which will meet on campus.
  • For all classes, but especially classes longer than 1hr 15 min, consider adding in time for a brief break for students who may benefit from taking some air outside of the building while maintaining appropriate physical distance from other students. Students should be wearing masks and should reapply hand sanitizer upon re-entering the classroom.

All faculty can choose to use the FLEX option to teach their class. FLEX is a teaching tool. It is NOT an additional format. The FLEX option enables faculty to livestream their class so that all students can participate live even if not every student is on campus.

Take a class of 20 people. The room capacity is 10 plus faculty. On one day the 10 students are in the classroom on campus and 10 are attending from home as the on-campus class is livestreamed to them via videoconferencing. The next day the class meets they switch. This enables the faculty member to offer new content every class session despite not having all students in attendance on campus. 

The professor will establish their attendance rotation and expectations. Students should be prepared to attend any/all days the class is offered even though they will not likely come in every one of the class sessions. Virtual participation can be required/assessed as well as on-campus participation.

 

Given the challenges COVID 19 and our remote environment imposes on faculty and students alike, we ask that all faculty approach their courses with the following general principles in mind:

  • Be flexible and accommodating with your students.  Many continue to grapple with limited access to technology or internet access.  Home learning environments may be disruptive.  Food and housing insecurity are impacting more students than ever before. COVID-19 continues to be a health concern for all students, especially those with additional risk factors or who live with/care for family members who do.  Many students have experienced the past year as trauma, and their mental and physical health are in a tenuous  place.  Whenever possible, assess students on the basis of their ability, rather than their fidelity to due dates. Avoid one size fits all policies and build flexibility into your classroom practice and syllabus construction.
  • Recognize that online learning can be significantly more labor intensive for faculty and students alike.  Without sacrificing core learning outcomes and essential skills development:
  • Seek out regular feedback from your students. What is working well and what isn’t?  Even those of us who are veteran professors are still new to this environment.  We are all learning, and real-time feedback enables us to better tailor what we are doing to the specific needs of our students
  • We are in the middle of an unprecedented success story. While we are all facing major challenges, we have consistently overcome them and will continue to do so. Take pride in your accomplishments, celebrate the work of your colleagues, and remind your students of how impressive they are.

 

Course Design & Blackboard Support:

If you need assistance from OLII, please submit a support request here:  https://servicedesk.frederick.edu.

 

Course Design Expectations and Tips
 
Learning Technologies
 
Accessibility Guidelines
 
Faculty Links for Additional Guidance
 
Trainings and Individual Consultations
 
Student Academic and Support Resources