Creation and Access of Courses

1. All official Hudson Valley Community College course sections will be provided with a Blackboard course shell as scheduled in Banner
2. This shell will consist of the “Announcement” and “HVCC WebMail” buttons.
3. Course shells will be created when the master schedule is made available by the Registrar. Instructor access to courses is contingent upon the Department Chair scheduling an employee as the “instructor of record”. (updated daily)
4. Student enrollment in each Blackboard course corresponds with their official schedule, and is updated daily.
5. Students will have access to Blackboard the day after they pay their bill.
6. Users are not created manually. All Blackboard accounts are generated according to Banner.
7. All registered students will be enrolled in the How to Use Blackboard orientation course.
8. Courses will stay on the system for 395 days which is 1 year and 30 days from start date of term of course.

Student enrollment/unenrollment for course procedures
         (Note: Part of term is defined as the start and end date of instruction for a course, not

         including final exams).

1. Student access to MyHudsonValley Portal is enabled following the payment of their bill.
2. Student access to a Blackboard course is the first day of the part of term for that course.
3. Students will not have access to their Blackboard courses 8 days after the last day of the part of term for that course (generally the day after finals).
4. All students given a grade of “I” (incomplete) in Banner will regain access to their Blackboard course as soon as the Registrar posts grades. The student will continue to have access to the course until either their grade converts or 30 days into the next semester, excluding the summer parts of term when the “I” was awarded in the Spring semester.
5. Student enrollment in a completed course are maintained as long as the student is enrolled in the MyHudsonValley Portal or 395 days following the first day of the part of term (which ever is shorter).
6. Instructors will not be able to modify enrollment. Concerns regarding enrollment should be directed to the responsible Department Chair and the Registrar’s office.
7. Grade book activity for students who have withdrawn from a course or the college will remain on record in that course.
8. Students who withdraw from a course lose access to the course the following day.
9. Students with a complete withdrawal or termination from the college will lose access to the MyHudsonValley Portal.

Instructor Responsibilities:

1. Instructors teaching online for the first time must attend training offered by the Distance Learning Center as per the faculty contract.
2. It is highly recommended that Instructors teaching web-enhanced courses attend training prior to using Blackboard as a supplement to on campus courses.
3. Instructors will use their Hudson Valley Community College email account for all communication with Blackboard users.
4. Blackboard course gradebooks and electronic student work are the sole responsibility of the instructor. The Blackboard administrator is not responsible for deleted grades or work. Instructors should make copies of the grade book or download student work prior to removal of material from the course at timely intervals and prior to the Archive process.
5. Instructors will copy or export/import courses from one semester to the next.
6. Instructors will maintain a backup copy of the course material at timely intervals.
7. Instructors will Export (saves the course content only and can be Imported) or Archive (saves course content and student activity but must be restored by system Administrator) all course content at the end of the semester and at timely intervals.
8. Instructors will make their courses available (Distance Learning does not have this responsibility.)
9. Online courses must be made available by 8 a.m. on the morning that the course is officially scheduled to begin
10. Web enhanced courses can be made available at anytime during the semester
11. Instructors will reply to student emails in a timely manner.
12. Instructors will be vigilant in resetting assessments as needed.
13. Instructors will direct students to the appropriate help desk:
    Distance Learning help desk for course specific technical assistance
    Computer Learning Center help desk for login assistance
    Computer Services help desk for WebMail assistance and Portal technical assistance.
14. Instructors will give Incompletes via WIReD to all students who need to retain access to the Blackboard course after the semester ends.
15. Creation of course content is the responsibility of the instructor. The Distance Learning staff will provide assistance with instructional design, technical issues and training to instructors as necessary.
16. Both design and content of Blackboard courses must meet federal guidelines and standards for accessibility.

Department Chair responsibilities:

1. Schedule courses on the master schedule specifying the instructor of record.
2. Send the Distance Learning staff information on new trainees prior to the training period.
3. Approve newly developed online courses.
4. Observe online courses as per faculty contract guidelines.
5. Access to courses for observation may be requested by filling out the Observation Request from. In order to comply with the contract, another form should be sent for removal. The form can be found in the portal in the Courses tab under DL Help Links.
6. If a person has been asked to develop an online course but has not yet been officially hired as an instructor by Hudson Valley Community College, in order to obtain a computer account and access to Blackboard a “zero payroll authorization” must be completed with Human Resources.

Distance Learning Staff Responsibilities:

1. Provide training in Blackboard course functions for Online and web enhanced courses and Organizations by offering a number of diverse classes and workshops.
2. Research and Recommend use of Blackboard LMS features and functionality based on academic and pedagogical needs.
3. Provide help desk support by phone, email, and in person for course specific technical assistance. Screen for necessary forwarding to other departments to resolve.
4. Provide and conduct an Orientation to Blackboard for all registered students.
5. Communicate to Faculty and Department Chairs concerning semester process and procedures for Blackboard courses and the MyHudsonValley Portal.
6. Design and manage the Course Tab area of the LMS.
7. Post end of semester surveys in the LMS.
8. Be enrolled for the duration of the semester into all online courses in the Blackboard teaching assistant role, unless a request is made by the instructor to the Coordinator of Distance Learning.
9. Research and test new or modified Blackboard functions in coordination with Computer Services.
10. Will not make changes to courses unless requested by the instructor for technical reasons. (example: the Distance Learning staff will not reset assessments)
11. The Distance Learning Coordinator acts as the liaison between all academic and administrative offices regarding the policies and procedures of the Learning Management System.

Computer Services Responsibilities: (Note: Computer Services still needs to approve this)

1. Ensure the portal servers are operational.
2. Provide daily backups of portal systems
3. Research and implement upgrades and patches to the portal as needed.
4. Provide documentation on Blackboard Portal system requirements for users.
   Inform HVCC employees and students about Blackboard unavailability as stated by the Blackboard Notification Policy.
5. Keep a running log of Blackboard/Internet outage which is accessible to the Hudson Valley Community.
6. Maintenance of the Blackboard system.
7. The Blackboard administrator provides advance notice of such upgrades and maintenance work via an Institutional Announcement which appears in all courses in Blackboard. Note: As a rule, upgrades will occur during December/January holiday break

ComputerLearningCenter Staff Responsibilities: (Note: CLC still needs to approve this)

1. All user login problems will be supported by the Computer Learning Center.
2. Student must present positive identification in person to have their password reset. If the student cannot be present a password can be set over the phone if a signed notarized FERPA form is on file in the registrar’s office.
3. Help users navigate the MyHudsonValley Portal and Blackboard courses
4. Assist users with functionality of specific Portal and Blackboard tools
5. Provide help desk support by phone, email, and in person for MyHudsonValley Portal and Blackboard course technical assistance. Screen for necessary forwarding to other departments to resolve.
6. Computer support with Plug-in applications.

Development Areas:

1. All instructors are provided with a course development area designated as ZZZZ_999_username.
2. Students may not be enrolled into a development area.
3. Instructors may request additional development areas by sending an email to Distance Learning staff who will forward to Computer Services for creation.
4. Staff other than faculty must have the approval of their supervisor for creation of a development area.
5. Distance Learning and Center for Effective Teaching (CET) staff may request course development areas for training or trouble shooting.

Guest access:

1. According to a memorandum signed by the Academic VP, the Deans and the Faculty Association, instructors may allow other Hudson Valley Community College instructors and staff to view their courses for mentoring, training, and support. The faculty member who has developed the course must fill out the Observation Request form. The form can be found in the portal in the Courses tab under DL Help Links.

Course Parameters:

• Course Cartridges and or publisher files used in the LMS that are deemed unstable or incompatible to the Blackboard system may be removed from the course area by the Distance Learning and or Computer Services staff with cooperation of instructor.

Blackboard Notification Policy  (Blackboard Users = All Employees and All Students)

Planned Shutdowns

• Computer Services will send an email to Distance Learning and the Computer Learning Center explaining the need and the selected time and duration for the shutdown and requesting confirmation from Distance Learning for the shutdown. This will be done with as much advance notice as possible.

• Computer Services will notify Blackboard users of the planned shutdown by posting an institutional announcement in Blackboard. This will be done with as much advance notice as possible and will be removed after the planned shutdown.

• During the planned shutdown an error page will be presented to Blackboard users attempting to access Blackboard through the Enrolled Students or Faculty and Staff home page links and through the Blackboard and MyHudsonValley quick find links. This error page will provide a message describing the planned shutdown of Blackboard. People directly linking to Blackboard may not receive this error page.

• No notification will be sent to Blackboard users when a planned shutdown ends unless the planned shutdown is extended by more than a few minutes. In this case Computer Services will notify Blackboard users of the extended shutdown by changing the message on the error page described in the previous bullet item.

Unplanned Shutdowns (normal business hours - 7:30AM to 4:30PM )

• The first department to notice the problem will immediately notify the other departments both by telephone and email using the following contact information.

Distance Learning Department Telephone/Emails

Computer Learning Help Desk Ext 7891 Computer Learning Center  clhelp@hvcc.edu

Computer Services Ext 7311 Computer Services   bbhelp@hvcc.edu

Distance Learning Ext 7070 Distance Learning  dlhelp@hvcc.edu

Unplanned Shutdowns (nights, weekends, college closed)

• The first department to notice the problem will immediately contact the Public Safety front desk at 629-7210.

Public Safety will log the call and will use the Computer Services Problem Notification List to contact and inform Computer Services of the problem.

Computer Services will contact Distance Learning and Computer Learning Center Help Desk by email to insure that these departments are aware that there is a problem, that Computer Services has been informed of the problem and that Computer Services is working to resolve the problem.

Unplanned Shutdowns (normal business hours, nights, weekends, college closed)

• If Computer Services is not able to resolve the problem within 10 minutes Computer Services will post a message on the error page and will send an email to all employees briefly describing the situation. These actions will not be able to be taken if the problem is broader than just Blackboard and if these other services (email and web site) are effected by the problem.

• Computer Services will briefly describe the problem and solution for Blackboard users when Blackboard is again available by posting a 24-hour institutional announcement in Blackboard.

Web Services Log

Computer Services will keep a Web Services Log on the Computer Services homepage and is also found by a link on the Portal log in page. The Web Services log is intended to provide a listing of times when Web services (the college's Web site, MyHudsonValley Portal/Blackboard, WebMail or WIReD) are unavailable. Depending on the situation, these services may be unavailable from on-campus only, off-campus only or from both on-campus and off-campus locations.