3 Days Prior
Three days prior to the first day of class, the university will give students access to the course materials. Please complete the following tasks to prepare to facilitate your course:
Verify that you can access the course materials
If you have not already, verify that you can log on to My ASU and access the class materials via the "My Classes" area. If you do not have access or have problems accessing the materials, please contact your lead instructor (and copy your instructional design team) immediately.
NOTE: You will receive an email approximately 2-4 weeks prior to the class start date introducing the team associated with the course you are teaching, including the instructional design team, program coordinator(s), academic advisor(s), and co-instructor(s). If you did not receive that email, please contact Ana Ruiz (Ana.Ruiz@asu.edu) or Elizabeth Ford (eaford@asu.edu) to request the information.
Verify that you can send/receive email from your ASU email account
If you have not already, verify that you can send/receive email from your ASU email account. This is a critical step as students will email with questions, and it is essential you be able to receive and respond to their questions.
NOTE: Once you are hired, the university and university personnel will send all correspondence to your ASU email address (not a personal email address). This applies to students as well—all correspondence should be sent to their official ASU email address only.
Respond to any student questions that you receive
Upon accessing the course, students will find information on how to get started, the syllabus and schedule, the Student Community space, and other course pages. Since they are not yet assigned to groups prior to the first official day of class, students usually contact the lead instructor with questions; however, they may contact you since co-instructor names are listed on the ASU Class Search and in the course materials. You are encouraged to use the syllabus, schedule, and course materials to respond to student questions. If you need clarification or want to confirm any information before responding to a student, please contact your lead instructor. As a reminder, college practice stipulates that lead instructors and co-instructors respond to student email within 24 hours.
The most common questions students ask include the following. We have provided sample responses for you to share with students as needed.
How do I access the online course materials?
To access the course materials:
Log on to My ASU and you should see [COURSE NAME: COURSE NUMBER] listed under the "My Classes" area.
Click on the hyperlinked course name to access the course materials.
If you have any problems accessing the course through My ASU, you can use the direct link to the platform: https://canvas.asu.edu/, then click the link with the course number, name, year, and session. For example, COE 501: Intro to Research and Evaluation (2021 Fall B).
What group am I in?
To maintain small communities of learners, you may be placed in groups of students. Should this course require groups, a link to your assigned group will appear within the Groups item within the Global Navigation Menu on the official start date of the course. The letter (e.g., A, B, C) represents the group to which you have been assigned. If you do not see the link to your assigned group by the second official day of class, please use the Inbox or email the instructor directly so that you are assigned to a group. Once you have been assigned to a group, please direct all questions and email to your instructor or co-instructor assigned to your group. (The instructional team and their group letters are listed on the Meet Your Instructional Team page.)
What do I do if I haven’t received my textbook yet?
We endeavor to provide the first lesson/module’s reading online as a PDF in case there are issues with obtaining textbooks prior to the course start date. For copyright reasons, we cannot provide PDF copies after the first lesson/module, so every student is responsible for having the required textbooks as of the start of the second lesson/module.
Can I get a copy of the syllabus and/or schedule before the class starts?
Your lead instructor may send a copy of the syllabus and/or schedule to students prior to the course start date, however, this is not required. I will forward your request to the lead instructor; in any event, the course syllabus and schedule will be available to all students on the first official day of class via the course shell.
I need a special accommodation. What do I do?
All students requesting a special accommodation must register with the ASU Disability Resource Center (DRC), now Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services (SAILS). SAILS will provide the lead instructor with information about approved accommodations.
NOTE: Any accommodation(s) made for a student must have been determined by SAILS and sent directly to the lead instructor. The lead instructor will notify you if a student needs an accommodation, and the instructional design team for the course can assist if certain changes are needed. If a student contacts you saying they need an accommodation, you must first confirm the information with the lead instructor and SAILS.
Review the list of students for group assignments
Please review the list of students in your class and notify your lead instructor and instructional design team if you would like to request a special group assignment for a particular student in the class.
As much as possible, special group assignment requests should be submitted by the lead instructor, co-instructors, or students prior to the first official day of class. This means that students should review the list of instructors/co-instructors in the class (which they often do) and lead instructors and co-instructors should review the list of students to alert us to any possible conflicts.
It can be disruptive to both students and co-instructors if groups are rearranged after the first official day of class, especially with the short 6-week classes in the summer. In addition to affecting the community of a particular group, moving a student or co-instructor can also result in technical and grading issues.
Acceptable reasons for requesting that a student not work with a particular co-instructor or for moving a student from one group to another
The co-instructor works closely with the student in their place of employment, either as a peer/colleague or as a supervisor/subordinate.
The student is retaking the class because they failed the class and needs to retake it. In this case, the student should be assigned to work with a different person when retaking the class to receive fair assessment.
Non-acceptable reasons for requesting that a student not work with a particular co-instructor or for moving a student from one group to another
The student questioned a grade given by a co-instructor but resolved the issue at the appropriate level with the co-instructor prior to final grades being submitted.
The student requested a grade change (because of a miscalculation) that was resolved professionally at the appropriate level with the co-instructor and instructor.
The student does not like the co-instructor (personally or professionally) or had him/her in a previous class (online or f2f) and does not want to work with the person again.
Borderline/Gray areas (to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis)
The student filed a grade appeal or disputed a grade that might indicate one party or the other cannot be objective and/or unbiased in subsequent interactions.
The student and co-instructor had a conflict that might indicate one party or the other cannot be objective and/or unbiased in subsequent interactions.
Contact your lead instructor and instructional design team about suggested changes to the course materials or settings
Because all changes made to the course materials or class settings are visible to students, please do not make any changes to the course materials/settings. This includes posting class-wide announcements via the Announcements tool. If there are changes you would like to suggest based on student feedback, please forward them to your lead instructor and instructional design team for review and implementation if approved.