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Web Based Learning Systems

WBLS Faculty Responsibilities

DRAFT* DRAFT* DRAFT

When using an online system such as Desire2Learn, faculty, teaching assistants, and students must follow certain policies* in the following areas:

Faculty must ensure that their teaching assistants and students are made aware of these policies.

return to topPrivacy

  1. The faculty will advise participants that the course is PRIVATE, accessible to only the faculty(s) and participants.

  2. The faculty must inform participants of any non-affiliated persons granted access to the course. Before anyone not affiliated with the course can participate in or observe the course, he or she must obtain permission from the faculty.

  3. The faculty is advised that electronic conversation is different from oral conversation, because it retains the identity of the participant. Privacy must be maintained if course information is shared. Participants must agree in advance that course information can be shared for educational purposes. No participant identity can be released without prior permission.

  4. The faculty is advised that academic information is confidential and is governed by the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which forbids the disclosure of such information without the participant's consent.

  5. The faculty should collect the least amount of personally identifiable participant data necessary to meet legitimate institutional purposes. Contact your institution's Records Management Office and Registrar's Office if you have any questions.

  6. The faculty will advise the participants that names of participants registered in the course are listed in some course modules.

return to topAppropriate Use

  1. At the start of the electronic course, the faculty will advise the participants that they are not allowed to give out their username and password.

  2. The faculty will inform participants that they will be operating under UW-Eau Claire's Computer and Technology Usage Guidelines.

  3. If a faculty member assigns any responsibility for his or her course to assistants, they are responsible for the assistants and any information given to the assistants for the purpose of setting up the course. Assistants must be aware of all of the faculty responsibilities listed here.

  4. Before anyone conducts educational research on the electronic course (i.e., course structure, course content, web-based courses as a learning tool), he or she must obtain prior written permission (via signed paper or electronic forms) from the faculty and participants.

  5. The faculty has knowledge of and is responsible for applying the fair use guidelines in determining if permission is necessary when using copyrighted materials in the course content. The faculty will remind participants that they need permission to use any copyrighted material the participants might post in the course. For additional information on copyright and the internet, refer to Internet Copyright Guidelines, developed by Washington State University. Further information on copyright can be obtained from the Copyright Officer, or visiting UW-Eau Claire's Copyright Website. 

  6. When creating materials for the Web, the faculty need to consider the principles of accessible design and how well their materials can be used with "assistive technologies," such as screen readers and non-visual browsers. All non-textual material should be supplemented with textual equivalents wherever possible. For more information, see Accessible Web Pages, part of the UW-Eau Claire Web Development Tools.

return to topSoftware Use

  1. The faculty will inform participants how the course will be used.

  2. The faculty will inform participants of the software/hardware requirements for accessing the course and what, if any, institution resources are available for their use in doing their course work.

  3. The faculty will inform participants of the available options for help (such as a student tip sheet, local support, utility support).

return to topRetention and Disposition

  1. The faculty should know the current campus policies regarding the retention and disposition of materials submitted for grades, the course materials themselves, and student academic information. See your institution's Records Management Office for more information. UW-Madison's bulletin on Records Management for Web-based Learning Systems is a good reference.

  2. The faculty is advised that their Registrar's Office is the "custodian" of official academic information. The collection and retention of student academic information must be coordinated with the Registrar's Office.

* Draft of UW-Eau Claire's Course Leader's policy. Based on Madison's WebCT policy (http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/webct/support/designer.htm).

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