Summary of Faculty Responsibilities for Online Teaching

Training

Faculty teaching online classes must have regular access to a reliable internet connection and be possess the necessary training in online pedagogy and use of the learning management system currently in use, either through the SMCCCD Quality Online Teaching and Learning (QOTL) training, on-campus activities, @ONE, or another approved or accredited program.

Successful online teaching requires following several state Links to an external site. and federal Links to an external site. policies around regular and substantive contact and attendance that are different for online classes compared to face-to-face classes. At any time, if you need additional support, please contact your campus Distance Education Coordinator or Instructional Technologist.
Faculty should never give out their Canvas log-in information (user name and password) to anyone. This specifically includes technology support for third party and publisher course materials and add-ons. District-provided Canvas support will not ask for this information.
The United States Department of Education requires that regular and effective contact between students and faculty take place in all online courses. The SMCCCD faculty distance education handbook outlines best practices for regular and effective contact. Faculty are responsible for organizing their online courses to meet this requirement, and this should also be outlined in the Course Outline of Record (COR) DE Supplement.
New federal guidelines around attendance policies in online courses are meant to protect institutions from financial aid fraud. Instructors must drop students based on whether they are actively completing course activities, such as assignments, assessments, and posting on discussion forums. Participation and instructor-initiated drop policies must be clarified in the syllabus.

Faculty are responsible for the same course administrative functions as those teaching in a traditional classroom, including following the COR, choosing books and curriculum, verifying course rosters, adding students, and entering grades. Faculty are responsible for creating and loading syllabi, assignments, exams/quizzes and calendars to the course website.
SMCCCD requires that faculty use their smccd.edu email account as the primary contact for students and to ensure student authentication, faculty are required to use the district provided Canvas shell as the primary entry to their online course.
Should a faculty member be interested in using publisher content integrated into their Canvas course, they should first review the SMCCCD Approved Vendor List (coming soon), and then contact your campus Instructional Technologist to determine whether this publisher’s materials have been reviewed and approved for use.

To ensure equal opportunity for students with disabilities, online courses should use materials that are accessible to all. For example, videos should be captioned, images should include descriptions/alternate text, and documents should be structured with appropriate headings. Faculty are responsible for ensuring that their online courses meet the requirements for accessibility. For more information, please refer to the OEI Accessibility Support website and review Section 508 of the COR DE Supplement.

For accreditation and faculty evaluation, evaluators must be allowed guest entry into an online course. For more information, please refer to AFT 1493 website Links to an external site..