.png)
Classroom Maintenance
Helpful Hints for Successful Teaching
Learn how to effectively run a course with helpful information on this page. Teaching entails more than being in front of the class, organization and facilitation are effective teaching strategies. Organization means having clear instructions for assignments or how to contact you if there are questions.
Facilitation means keeping your content moving at an appropriate pace and keeping your grade center/grading current. It also means being involved with your students by answering emails and communicating important information.
Contact ITAS at itas@wsutech for additional information or questions.
Grading
Importance of Keeping Current on Grading
As an instructor, it is important to keep an up-to-date gradebook. This keeps the students engaged and helps them assess their classroom progress.
Role of Financial Aid and Registrar's Office in Grades
Students need to have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher in order to have a good standing with Financial Aid. Once the course is complete and the final attendance has been submitted by the instructor. The instructor will then go into the Blackboard gradebook to add the students final letter grade. Once the final letter grades are added and transferred over through the banner system, the registrar's office will be the recipient of the grades on the other end.
The final grade is a letter grade that is added into the final grade column found in your Blackboard course gradebook based on the studenst completed grade in the Overall Grade column. Once the final letter grades are entered and transferred over through the Banner system, the registrar's office will be the recipient of the grades on the other end. It is important to be cognizant of the deadlines provided by the Registrar's office (usually by email) as several department processes such as student transcripts, student financial aid and graduation are dependent on timely submission of final grades.
Select the linked title to view a tutorial on Submitting Final Grades in Blackboard.
ITAS had created a checklist with best practices and task faculty need to know how to do to utilize the grade center in Blackboard. It includes tasks such as setting up the grade center, entering grades, several caveats when using the grade center and submitting final grades.
Select the linked title to view the Blackboard Grade Center Best Practices Checklist.
Attendance
Attendance Requirements Traditional, Hybrid & Online Courses
Traditional Method – Attendance will be taken for every face-to-face meeting day scheduled.
Online Method – Attendance will be taken once a week and include the last day of the course.
Hybrid Method – *As with traditional courses, all hybrid courses will take
attendance on every face-to-face meeting day scheduled.
*If a hybrid course does not meet face-to-face within a week, the online method should be followed.
Role of Financial Aid and Registrar's Office in Attendance
Link Between Final Grades and Attendance
Before submitting your final grades, final attendance has to be taken.
Select the linked title to view the tutorial.
Attendance Terminology
-
Take Attendance Button - Button found in Bb course that allows you to take attendance.
-
Ellucian - Banner platform that houses your courses for attendance tracking.
-
Take Roll - Button in Ellucian that allows you to access your classroom roster to take attendance.
-
Present - Student present
-
Absent - Student absent
-
Absence Notified
How to Enter Attendance
Census Roster
Role of Census Rosters
The Census Day Roster ensures that enrollment is accurate in a course. When the roster is available to you, you will receive an email from the Registrar's Office. You would then check the names of any students who have not yet participated in your course on the roster.
Impact of Census Rosters on Student Financial Aid & Access to Blackboard
The students that are selected as not having participated in your roster will be dropped from the course, and therefore will not have access to the course in Blackboard and their financial aid may be impacted for the next semester.
Select the title to the left to view a step-by-step guide for how to enter the Census Day Roster.
Retention Resources
Available Retention Tools
WSU Tech provides several tools to assist faculty with determining student retention issues and avenues for notifying students with those retention tools. These tools include Navigate, Blackboard Retention Center and Blackboard Grade Center Color Codes. Refer to the guides below for assistance with utilizing these resources.
Student Withdrawal Process
Select the linked title to the left to access the Student Withdrawal Policy.
Select the linked title to the left to access the Student Withdrawal Form.
Incomplete Grade Process
Select the linked title to the left to access the Incomplete Grade Policy. The specific policy is on page 4 of the document.
Select the linked title to the left to access the Incomplete Grade Contract Form. This form can also be accessed on the myWSUTech Faculty page, under the Academic Affairs Forms link.