Planning

Kent State has large and diversified offerings of fully online programs and of individual online courses. Making our online offerings into truly great learning experiences is a priority at Kent State. We are here to help!

We have many resources available from tutorials to facilitated workshops. As you begin planning for putting a program or individual course online, please reach out to us for a consultation at onlinesupport@kent.edu. Or, go to our resource request site.

Online Courses

Classification types of online courses

There are three classifications of “online” courses: V1, V2, and V3:

V1 – 100% online requiring no face-to-face or online live sessions
V2 – 100% online with one or more synchronous online live sessions
V3 – A blend of a minimum of 50% online sessions (asynchronous or synchronous) and requirement of one or more face-to-face meetings

Note: The online course must be delivered exactly as advertised and listed in the BANNER registration system and KSU course catalog.

Expectations for Online Teaching

As an online instructor, according to Federal standards (link), you are required to engage in regular and substantive interactions with your students. An online course is not a correspondence or self-paced course.

Link to Teaching expectations guide.

If you have been asked to develop an online course, you may want to check to see if there is a Foundational Course available for you to use (email).

Guidelines for Online Course Development (PDF)
Basic Accessibility Guide
Quality Matters Rubric

Quality Matters

Kent State has developed suggested course development guidelines based on the Quality MattersTM rubric. These guidelines will help us proactively meet accessibility standards and incorporate universal design principles that will help ensure the success of our diverse student body.

Learn more about Quality Matters
Request to have your course/program Quality Matters certified

Technology

There is a comprehensive information technology infrastructure to help you teach online.

Flashline

FlashLine is the main portal to systems and tools you’ll need to access while teaching. You access the Flashline portal by going to www.kent.edu and clicking on the FLASHLINE LOGIN button found in the top left corner. Note that your FlashLine username/password are used for many software services across Kent State University.

View support information for FlashLine.

If you have not received your Kent State FlashLine ID, contact Academic Personnel, or call 330-672-8040.
Final grades submission is completed in FlashLine. Login and click on the Faculty and Advisor Tools tab. Deadlines for final grade submission by faculty are posted each semester on the Registrar’s Grades and Transcript Processing Dates page.
Questions about grading? Look for clarification and reminder emails from your department and contact your department chair with any concerns or questions. Support for using Faculty and Advisor Tools.

Blackboard Learn

Blackboard Learn (Bb Learn or Learn) is the course management system supported at Kent State and is the expected delivery platform for online courses. You can access Blackboard Learn from the FlashLine portal or directly at learn.kent.edu. When you log in to Blackboard Learn, you should see your current course listings. If you do not, you should contact your department scheduler and let them know you are unable to see your sections in Blackboard.

Learn more about support for Blackboard Learn.

Distance Education Policies

Research

We have created a library of relevant research to help you in your planning. We will continue to link to important research and welcome your suggestions for articles/books we should include. Visit the Research Library.