Pre-Launch Checklist
When the Instructional Designers review a SUNY Online course, there are a few quick items that are checked to make sure the course is all ready to run:
Course includes Welcome and Getting Started content
In the course menu under Start Here, there should be a welcome video item and a getting started item. The Welcome video can be added as a hyperlink to Ensemble. If there is no welcome video, this item should be deleted.
The Start Here item has placeholder text for a welcome message and some already filled-in steps to get started. The welcome message should be filled in. If there is not a welcome video, the first bullet under the Getting Started section can be deleted.
Course syllabus is fully populated, includes all the required template elements, and is presented in a printable format
There is a course syllabus template that can be found in the course design notes area. This should be downloaded as a word document and information should be filled in.
Once the course syllabus template is filled in, it should be uploaded to the course syllabus area as a printable version.
My Instructor page is set up
The My Instructor tab has placeholder text and an image. The instructor can replace the placeholder image with a picture of themselves. Information should be filled in here with whatever you would like to share with your students.
Gradebook is set up with accurate weights
The Gradebook can be accessed by going to the Full Grade Center in the navigation panel.
Select the drop-down area next to the weighted total and select Edit Column Information.
The weights of each category should align with what is presented in the course syllabus.
Old announcements are deleted or hidden
All announcements should be checked to make sure they are set to show during the current term. If there are old announcements they need to be deleted or edited to show at a future date.
Due dates are accurate/present
When a course is copied over from a previous term, the old due dates will still be present. All due dates throughout the course should be set for the current term.
The due dates can also be edited within the assignment.
Course menu is clean and visible
After the course is imported, the content is placed in the navigation panel under your campus resources. This needs to be moved and organized within the course.
This is what the course menu should look like based on the SUNY Online template. The SUNY IDs can help with this, they just need permission to hide, delete or move anything.