Campus Support Center

Federal Initial Attendance and Participation Module Documentation (Instructor Version)

* NO changes may be made to the module without prior approval from Academic Affairs and Dr. Norton. In most cases, changes to the module itself will be performed by the Blackboard Coordinator.

The packaged module consists of one Content Area that contains 2 items shown below.

When the module is installed to a course it will do four things:

1) It creates a new Content Area listed at the bottom of the Table of Contents which becomes the new entry point of the course by default. It may take 30 minutes or more for this to show up.
2) It adds a folder to the course Files that contains the Instructor_Documentation.html file.
3) It adds the Policy Agreements assessment to Tests, Surveys, and Pools and deploys it to the new Content Area automatically. Feedback is checked, which gives the students the following when submitting the assignment:
      *Correct Feedback            Correct!
      *Incorrect Feedback         You must answer "Yes" to each of the Policy Agreements to be considered as actively participating in this course. Please re-submit this assignment and answer "Yes" to each agreement.
Note: Answers are not case sensitive. They may answer Yes, YES, or yes.
4) It adds a Grade Center column for the assignment with 3 points that are calculated into the Total Score. If you find that it is messing up a Weighted Total calculation, the simplest resolve would be to follow the Instruction Documentation in the module for not including the points in the Grade Center Score Calculations by editing the Test Options.

You should not remove any of these items from your course!

If you have any questions pertaining to this module you may contact the Campus Support Center at campussupport@atu.edu or (479) 968-0646

1. The Instructor Documentation item is left unavailable so that only Instructors will see it and it says the following ...

Attendance 

If you are teaching a web based course utilizing Blackboard, your students MUST complete the Policy Agreements assignment in the Federal Attendance Module to be considered as "actively participating" in the course and receive a grade. The assignment in the module consists of three questions that they must answer "Yes" to receive a 100%.  They are allowed multiple attempts to do this correctly, but they must do so to be considered as "actively participating" in the course.

You may NOT change the Test itself or the point values of the questions.  For purposes of tracking the results, the Test must remain worth three points (one per question) and the Title of the Test must remain “Policy Agreements”.

Locating Syllabus/Other Course Information 

The second item in the Module is “Locating Syllabus/Other Course Information.” Please take a few minutes to edit this item so that students can locate the syllabus and direct students to the first assignment.

Attendance Policy and the Grade Book

The assignment has a Grade Center column associated with it that records three points.  By default the points are included in the Grade Center Score Calculations.  You may leave them as is or choose not to include them in the Grade Center Score Calculations. To not include the Policy Agreements Test in the Grade Center Score Calculations:

• Go to the Grade Center

• Click the arrow next to the Policy Agreements column name

• Choose "Edit Column Information"

• Check No to "Include this Column in Grade Center Calculations"

• You should leave "Show this Column to Students" set to Yes so that the student can see in “My Grades” that he/she has 100% and has completed it correctly.

Hiding the Module After the Attendance Report Date

To ensure that no changes are made to the assignment's grades once the Initial Attendance date has been reached, hide the module in the menu but DO NOT DELETE the module. (Click the arrow next to the module name and "Hide Link.")

Change Course Entry Point

By default, this module has been made the entry point of the course and it must remain that way until after the Initial Attendance has been reported.  Hiding the link (see above) will change the course entry point. Non-eTech courses may change the entry point to the Instructor's preference. If this is an eTech course, you must change the entry point back to Announcements:

• Go to the Control Panel

• Customization

• Teaching Styles

• Select entry point

* Please note that it can take up to 30 minutes before a student's view will show the new entry point after it has been changed.

Run a report on the Initial Attendance date and determine participation of your students:

• Open Grade Center

• Hover over Work Offline (at the top right of the screen) and click on Download

• Choose "Selected Column" and in the drop down box choose "Policy Agreements"

• Click Submit

• On the next screen click Download to save and open the report.

• When you receive the email from the Registrar's office to report Initial Attendance Accounting, you should mark anyone who has not received a grade of 100% as non-attending.

2. The Policy Agreements assignment

Description:

This assignment must be completed for you to be considered as actively participating in this course and to receive a grade. If you do not receive 3 out of 3 points (100%), you must resubmit it until you do.

Read through the following policy agreements and fill in the blanks with 'Yes' that you have read and understand each of them.

Note: This assignment is not "Blackboard Mobile" app compliant but it can be completed in the browser of a mobile device.

Assignment questions (agreements):

I have read and understand the syllabus provided by the Instructor which is attached to this course in the Course Menu.

Enter Yes in the box below.

Academic Conduct Policies

A university exists for the purpose of educating students and granting degrees to all students who complete graduation requirements. Therefore, Tech requires certain standards of academic integrity and conduct from all students. Tech expects an academic atmosphere to be maintained in all classes. This atmosphere is created by both the professor and the class to enable all students enrolled to reach their academic potential. Students are expected to attend class, conduct themselves in a non-disruptive manner in class, and refrain from cheating, plagiarism, or other unfair and dishonest practices.

Students should also realize that the classroom is under the control of the professor who will give students a statement of his or her classroom policies in a syllabus at the beginning of the semester.

Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty refers to the various categories of cheating and plagiarism in the classroom. Cheating on an examination, quiz, or homework assignment involves any of several categories of dishonest activity. Examples of this are:

1. copying from the examination or quiz of another student;
2. bringing into the classroom notes, messages, or crib sheets in any format which gives the student extra help on the exam or quiz, and which were not approved by the instructor of the class;
3. obtaining advance copies of exams or quizzes by any means;
4. hiring a substitute to take an exam or bribing any other individual to obtain exam or quiz questions;
5. buying term papers from the Internet or any other source;and
6. using the same paper to fulfill requirements in several classes without the consent of the professors teaching those classes.

Plagiarism is stealing the ideas or writing of another person and using them as one’s own. This includes not only passages, but also sentences and phrases that are incorporated in the student’s written work without acknowledgement to the true author. Any paper written by cutting and pasting from the Internet or any other source is plagiarized. Slight modifications in wording do not change the fact the sentence or phrase is plagiarized. Acknowledgment of the source of ideas must be made through a recognized footnoting or citation format. Plagiarism includes recasting the phrase or passage in the student’s own words of another’s ideas that are not considered common knowledge. Acknowledgement of source must be made in this case as well.

Procedure for Charges of Academic Dishonesty

Since charges of academic dishonesty may have serious consequences, a professor who suspects a student of any category of academic dishonesty must have facts and/or evidence to support the charge.

1. The professor will meet with the student and present him or her with a written outline of the alleged academic dishonesty and the evidence supporting the charge. Penalties for various levels of academic dishonesty vary from giving an ‘F’ on a particular quiz or exam, to giving an ‘F’ on a term paper or other written work, or giving the student an ‘F’ or ‘W’ for the course. The professor may also have different penalties for particular cases of academic dishonesty.
2.  The professor will notify his or her department head (or dean if the professor is a department head) of the charge, evidence, and penalty.
3. If the student accused of academic dishonesty denies the charge or disagrees with the evidence presented by the professor, the student should make an appointment with the relevant department head (or dean if the professor is a department head; in which case, skip steps 4 and 5). The student may remain in class during the appeal process.
4. If the student is still dissatisfied after meeting with the department head, he or she should make an appointment with the dean of the college who will seek resolution of the problem.
5. If a resolution is not found, the dean will refer the student to the Academic Appeals Committee.
6. The student should then submit a written appeal to the Chair of the Academic Appeals Committee.
7. If the Academic Appeals Sub-Committee determines academic dishonesty has occurred, it will confirm the recommendation of the professor concerning the penalty. Such a decision will be given both to the Chair of the Academic Appeals Committee and the dean of the college from which the appeal originated. The student will be notified of the Sub-Committee’s decision by the Chair of the Sub-Committee that sat for the appeal. The Chair shall also notify the Vice President for Academic Affairs of the decision. The Vice President will review the case and forward the outcome to the Registrar after the three-day appeal period.
8. The student shall have the right to appeal the decision of the Academic Appeals Sub-Committee by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs within three (3) working days of receiving notification of the sub-committee’s decision of the Chair of the Sub-Committee. The decision of the Vice President for Academic Affairs will be final.
9. If the Academic Appeals Sub-Committee determines academic dishonesty has not occurred or evidence is insufficient, the sub-committee will forward all pertinent information to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Vice President will confer with the dean, department head, and professor to facilitate the return of the student to class without penalty. The department head will notify the student of the decision.

I have read and understand the above policies about Academic Conduct and Dishonesty as printed in the Arkansas Tech University Student Handbook.

Enter Yes in the box below.

I hereby understand that by completing this module, I have complete comprehension of the expectations put forth on me for the participation in this course and I agree that I am actively participating in this course.

Enter Yes in the box below.

When the module is installed to a course it will do four things:

1) It creates a new Content Area listed at the bottom of the Table of Contents which becomes the new entry point of the course by default. It may take 30 minutes or more for this to show up.
2) It adds a folder to the course Files that contains the Instructor_Documentation.html file.
3) It adds the Policy Agreements assessment to Tests, Surveys, and Pools and deploys it to the new Content Area automatically. Feedback is checked, which gives the students the following when submitting the assignment:
      *Correct Feedback            Correct!
      *Incorrect Feedback         You must answer "Yes" to each of the Policy Agreements to be considered as actively participating in this course. Please re-submit this assignment and answer "Yes" to each agreement.
Note: Answers are not case sensitive. They may answer Yes, YES, or yes.
4) It adds a Grade Center column for the assignment with 3 points that are calculated into the Total Score. If you find that it is messing up a Weighted Total calculation, the simplest resolve would be to follow the Instruction Documentation in the module for not including the points in the Grade Center Score Calculations by editing the Test Options.

You should not remove any of these items from your course!

If you have any questions pertaining to this module you may contact the Campus Support Center at campussupport@atu.edu or (479) 968-0646