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Office of the Provost

Frequently Asked Questions

Information for Faculty

Faculty will have the option to adapt their courses due to a disruption. Online options include synchronous and asynchronous delivery, and faculty choosing either option must adapt their courses accordingly. 

Students must be registered with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) to receive accommodations. The SDRC will contact faculty who have students registered with disabilities to help make sure the online course is accessible. The SDRC will also provide one of their counselors as a teaching assistant for classes with heavy accessibility needs.

In general, the academic integrity expectations of in-person learning transfers to remotely delivered content. See the resources on  the Academic Integrity page.  

Faculty teaching online are also encouraged to develop alternative ways of evaluation (e.g., papers, take-home exams, quizzes or exams through Blackboard that do not need proctoring, etc.).

A course instructor is not required to give a final examination. Consider alternative ways to assess student learning. You may design or select an assessment that is consistent with course outcomes and well connected to learning experiences. Alternative assessments include: written assignments that students submit in Blackboard, student presentations through video or PowerPoint, electronic portfolios or other culminating projects. You may need to revise your course syllabus to specify whether a final assessment will be given during finals week or modify the course syllabus to include the new assessment. To convey that the assessment is comprehensive, an instructor may want to refer to this as the final comprehensive assignment, since it is not an examination.

If you are teaching a face-to-face or synchronous online course (meeting at specified times every week), the registrar has assigned a time period for your final exam, and that time can be used as the starting point for the final exam.

For courses that are completely asynchronous, you have more flexibility in when you administer your final exam. In either situation, instructors should be flexible when administering a final exam, considering that students may be in a different time zone or country, perhaps with limited or shared access to the internet or to a computer.

Please be aware that final exams cannot be administered or due on Reading Day or during the last week of classes. It is recommended that instructors not schedule an asynchronous exam in a tightly limited time period during the final exam period because of possible conflicts with synchronous courses (see the Registrar for synchronous exam schedule). For example, your final exam should not be scheduled on Monday from 9am-11:30am, rather it should be open for a window of one to two days even if the exam itself is limited to 2.5 hours. Blackboard testing tools can help to ensure the integrity of the exam. For more information on how best to utilize Blackboard for creating an exam review the Blackboard Basics page.

Instructors have use of Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor or ProctorU for exam proctoring.

  • Respondus LockDown Browser locks down the testing environment within Blackboard.
  • Respondus Monitor uses the student’s webcam and video analytics to prevent academic dishonesty. Respondus offers training webinars for instructors on how to use their products and other resources for both instructors and students including quick start guides. It is recommended that instructors share instructions with students if they choose to use Respondus.  Respondus Monitor is available for unlimited use and there is no charge to students to use the service.
  • ProctorU allows students to take exams at times and locations that are convenient to them. ProctorU's services are accessed using a computer equipped with a webcam and internet connection, ProctorU verifies the student's identity, records the testing session, and has every testing session reviewed by a certified proctor to ensure integrity. An $8-14 fee for online proctoring, depending on the length of the exam, is paid by students directly to ProctorU during their exam. Instructors wishing to register an exam in ProctorU should contact Shannon Carson in the Office of Distributed Learning at scarson@mailbox.sc.edu. ProctorU resources including guides for faculty and students as well as recommended language to include in the syllabus to inform students of the test proctoring fee can be found on the Office of Distributed Learning Test Proctoring page.

Be aware that not all students have access to a webcam and the University does not have the ability to provide this technology.

You should have received accommodation letters for students with disabilities who are enrolled in your course(s). Be sure to review the accommodation letters if you are providing an online exam. The most commonly used accommodation is extra time on exams. Be flexible. The length of time a student sits and views a computer screen can be problematic and students may need to use the restroom or stretch during a long exam. Clearly communicate expectations in a timely manner to all students (e.g., who to contact for technical issues, how the exam will be proctored, technology requirements, testing platform). If you have questions about considerations for students with disabilities, please contact the Student Disability Resource Center at SADRC@mailbox.sc.edu.
Similar to cases in which you might assign a grade of “Incomplete,” you should use your discretion to determine the extent of the problem and if possible require documentation of the issue (i.e. a written statement from a physician, counselor, safety officer, or other qualified professional). Do not retain such information in your course records; validate and discard. Understand that technical problems might also be an extenuating circumstance. Using your best judgement and interest in the student’s academic success, you may arrange an alternative time period and date(s) that is suitable to the student and you.

Faculty should direct students to the Thomas Cooper Library with their Carolina Card to check out the technology that is needed.  Since there is not an unlimited supply of computers, we are relying on faculty, advisors, and professional staff to direct students appropriately.

 

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