Spring 2022
Our schedule follows the traditional format, beginning Jan. 18 and ending May 3, with finals week May 5-11. Spring break will occur from March 28-April 3, 2022. The full calendar can be found here.
Our schedule follows the traditional format, beginning Jan. 18 and ending May 3, with finals week May 5-11. Spring break will occur from March 28-April 3, 2022. The full calendar can be found here.
We know that experiential learning experiences are a critical part of student learning. As part of Kent State University’s reopening effort and keeping the university community safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, several documents have been developed to provide guidance for off-campus sites hosting Kent State students.
Find all relevant information on our COVID Response Team and reporting webpage.
There are many options for delivering exams and assignments (see the Keep On Teaching: Strategies and Technologies page for further information). One of the most common options is to create an exam in Blackboard or Canvas. Exams may be proctored using Proctorio (see www.kent.edu/proctoring). If a faculty member is delivering short answer or essay questions, they may wish to consider creating an assignment instead. This allows the instructor to collect all written exams in a central location, to grade these questions in the same location within Blackboard/Canvas, and if selected in settings, to use SafeAssign (Blackboard) or TurnItIn (Canvas) to compare student work with an extensive database to prevent plagiarism. Another option for delivering exams includes distributing take-home exams and asking students to return them by email.
Consistent with Policy 3-01.4, every course requires a final examination. Final examinations can take various formats including a final paper or student presentation. If you are changing the final examination in your course, please ensure that (a) all students are well informed about the changes through a revised syllabus, (b) the change is not negatively affecting any students in the class, or if it potentially affects some students negatively consider an alternative arrangement for the students who are potentially negatively affected. The Department Chair/School Director should be consulted in making changes to the final examination.
Consistent with Policy 3-01.4, Final examinations scheduled during Final Exam Week should occur at the time they are scheduled. Thus, if you are giving a synchronous final exam during Final Exam Week, this exam should occur only at the time the exam is scheduled.
In evaluating the length of the exam, particularly in situations where you are using proctoring software (e.g. Proctorio) ensure you allow sufficient time for set-up and for student ID checking.
If exams in your face-to-face class were proctored, and you are now considering an alternative to a proctored exam, please discuss these alternatives in your academic unit before proceeding.
In requiring a student ID, consider that all students have a KSU ID but not all students may have a different type of photo ID. Make sure students are aware well in advance they need to show an ID for the exam and ideally provide multiple options of ID.
If you are changing the final examination in your course, please ensure that (a) all students are well informed about the changes through a revised syllabus, (b) the change is not negatively affecting any students in the class, or if it is potentially affecting some students negatively consider an alternative arrangement for the students who are potentially negatively affected.
In making any changes/modifications to examinations check with SAS about potential accommodations students in your class may need.
If you are delivering a proctored exam in Blackboard or Canvas with Proctorio, consider creating a low-stakes or no-stakes practice quiz with Proctorio for practice and tech troubleshooting prior to a high-stakes exam. Also, consider sharing the following information to prepare your students prior to their first Proctorio assessment.
The Division of Information Technology has created a hub of information to facilitate working from off-site. Access that information, as necessary.
In the event you have been approved to work from home during the current period that Kent State is taking precautionary measures to mitigate the Coronavirus (COVID-19), there are steps that should be taken to safeguard university property, data, and documents.
Faculty/staff are expected to work with local IT support to verify that your computer is up-to-date and set up to enable you to be productive and that data remains secure.
This includes:
To support technology-related questions, the university has assembled a Working from Off-Site website that includes best practices and information about tools and resources available to you. For general questions related to university operations for faculty, staff and students, see the FAQ’s located within this COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) information page for Kent State.
If you need any technical assistance, please contact your local IT support professional or the Kent State Helpdesk.
If you run into technical difficulties, please visit www.kent.edu/it or contact keeponteaching@kent.edu in addition to contacting your college or campus instructional designers and IT support staff for assistance.
If students need technical support, they should contact the HelpDesk (330-672-HELP), submit a request for support or use the Live Chat available at www.kent.edu/it.
SAS staff are working during regular business hours: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students or faculty can email sas@kent.edu to set up an appointment or to arrange a phone consultation. Faculty should continue using relevant accommodations, such as extended testing time. SAS will continue to provide interpreters, transcribers, alternative media, and captioning services for students with those accommodations. If you have questions related to student accommodations in your class or if you are unsure of which accommodations will apply to remote instruction, please contact SAS at sas@kent.edu.
If you do not have the internet at home, please do the following: If you are at a regional campus please speak with your Dean first to see if there are options available to you from your technology team at your campus. If not, or if you are at the Kent Campus, the Division of Information Technology has a limited inventory of Internet Hotspots for students and faculty in need. Please submit a request at https://www.kent.edu/ineedtech.
All relevant academic accommodations should continue to be in place as the format of your course shifts.
An exact implementation may vary based on the format and technology you are using.
Remember to review your course assignments and ask yourself the following:
If your student needs access to SPSS, SPSS is giving students free access to the SPSS Statistics free trial period through June 15, 2020. To download the free trial, fill out the request form at IBM.com.
Students will need consistent feedback on their progress.
State to students the importance of ensuring that Chrome and the Proctorio extension are installed and updated prior to the exam. Additionally, state the importance of rebooting immediately prior to starting an exam; often, a reboot will greatly improve the functioning of a computer, especially if it has not been restarted in a while. Next, ask students to check with their household members and ask them to refrain from high-bandwidth activities during the exam time; this is especially important if the internet connection is not fast, to begin with (take a speed test). Rebooting the WiFi router and/or cable modem can be useful as well; sitting closer to the WiFi router will improve connectivity too. Lastly, remind students to have some extra patience while systems load – images and videos may take some extra time to come up in an exam.
Remember that these are unusual and extreme conditions. Your classroom has changed without the proper time to prepare. Determine the essential learning outcomes you feel the students need and prioritize these. What is absolutely essential for the three weeks of teaching at a distance? You are advised to strip out any non-essential work and consider how to create a good learning environment. Undue stress will not help with teaching or learning. Try to create a relaxed and reassuring learning environment for your students.
Google Drive is a good option for sharing large files.
Every student and instructor have access to Google Drive and the Google Suite or tools through the Google login in FlashLine.
The primary tools we anticipate faculty using to interact with their students are:
Start by establishing your preferred method of delivering learning content to your students.
Determine synchronous and asynchronous learning.
Synchronous learning is learning that occurs in real-time, where the student would need to attend the course online at a specific time. Common features of synchronous learning include scheduled chat room or discussion board time for students to share ideas, scheduled video conferences or group phone calls, or live-streamed lectures or demonstrations.
Asynchronous learning is learning that occurs at different times, allowing the student to self-pace through the course and log in at various times. Common features of asynchronous learning include recorded presentations (such as slideshows or video), email, discussion boards, or collaborative cloud-based documents.
Your course may be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous components. If you use synchronous web conferencing, you should consider providing alternatives in case students are unable to connect at the appropriate time.
MS Teams integrates with Canvas and is also available to use in Learn. Teams is the official video conferencing tool for Canvas. More information about this exciting integration can be found on the MS Teams for Academics Support website.
Students should be advised to join your session using their computer audio first. A Collaborate Ultra session has a default seat limit of 250 users in a session at the same time. Those users have full access to their webcam and computer audio. You may have up to 25 attendees on the phone in a session.
Students and instructors can find Collaborate Ultra recordings by following the steps below or viewing Restrict Access to Collaborate Ultra Recorded Sessions (PDF).
Using the camera and microphone to capture what is happening in class may require some adjustment. Some tips include repeating students' questions/discussion points and asking students to post questions/discussion points in the chat window or on a separate shared Google document. For additional assistance, view Active Learning In Physically Distanced Classrooms (PDF).
There are many options for finding free movies, art, informational videos to use in your course.
For example, two exceptional, free (to you and your students) resources you can use include, Kanopy which streams documentaries, the Great Courses series, and movies to your preferred device with no fees and no commercials. Log in with your Flashline ID to access a diverse catalog with new titles added every month. Whatever movie you assign for viewing will be available to all of our Kent State students.
Kent State makes LinkedIn Learning available to all students and instructors. There are more than 4,000 online courses taught by industry professionals in 12 categories, including education and e-Learning, business, design, marketing, photography, and more. Users can take courses on general topics like mobile marketing strategies and time management fundamentals or learn specific software such as InDesign, Photoshop, Java, and even virtual reality. Instructors can assign individual videos or entire course series.
Perusall and Cengage are also making free, digital copies of textbooks available to students for the remainder of the spring semester.
Need photos? Visit Unsplash, the internet’s source of freely usable images.
University Libraries can support you with the following resources:
Check University Libraries’ COVID-19 Support Page for more information.
Yes, there are many options for finding free movies, art, informational videos to use in your course. University Libraries can assist you in finding photos and videos. Visit the Library's COVID19 support page.
Determine how you will communicate with students. In a time of change, regular and frequent communication is best. Ensure that students also understand how to get in touch with you as you provide ongoing feedback. Be explicit in your communication expectations, meaning let your students know when will be checking email and how quickly they can expect a response back.
Blackboard or Canvas can be used as the basic platform for all communication. You can email, send announcements, post-use threaded discussion boards, deliver live (synchronous) lectures, and post recorded lectures as well as post assignments, give tests, and grade.
Communicate your expectations clearly:
Establish specific and consistent times when you are available to interact with students whether through live conferencing, phone, or email.
Discussion threads can be used to facilitate discussions and allow students to interact with each other.
Students may contact their on-campus counseling services. To look up the on-campus counseling services, as well additional support resources near your campus community, please visit the Step Up & Speak Out website and select your campus.
The Division of Mental Health and Substance Use also has created a list of anxiety & stress relief resources.
Faculty and staff may contact Kent State University’s Employee Assistance Program, IMPACT, at 1-800-227-6007, for live, immediate assistance.
In addition, there are several 24/7 professional support services available that can also connect you to local resources. You can reach the Crisis Text Hotline by texting 741-741. You can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website for a live chat.
Find more information on Ashtabula Campus Student Resources.
For campus questions via email: ashtabula@kent.edu
For campus questions by phone: 440-964-4217
Find more information on Columbiana Campus resources here.
For Campus questions by phone:
For Campus questions by Email: infocolumbiana@kent.edu
Find more information on Geauga and TAC Resources here.
For campus questions via email: GeaugaAdmissions@kent.edu
For campus questions by phone: 440-834-4187
Find more information on Stark Campus Student Resources here.
For Stark Campus General Questions:
Find more information on Trumbull Student Resources here.
For campus questions via email: infotrumbull@kent.edu
For campus questions by phone: 330-847-0571
For general campus questions, contact infotusc@kent.edu.
If your students have technical problems, they can contact TechHelp by either submitting a Support Ticket or get help via Live Chat with support staff. They can also call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 330-672-HELP.
Students may also email keeponlearning@kent.edu for any other issues.
The University has provided funds for students in need of technology thru the emergency grant fund. Please direct students to the COVID-19 Emergency Resources page.
Most students have access to email through their phones, so be sure to reach out to them through email. Phone calls are also an option. There is a mobile phone app for Blackboard Learn. Information for students about using the app is on the Keep On Learning site. The app is most useful for email, accessing content, videoconferencing, and discussion threads. Complicated written assignments are difficult for students to submit by typing on a phone. There are creative solutions such as written assignments that can be photographed and attached to the assignment tool.
The Academic Success Center (ASC) is working to shift supplemental instruction, drop-in, and scheduled tutoring to an online format in order to continue to support students in their coursework. Please refer to the ASC website and contact the ASC at asc@kent.edu or 330-672-3190 with questions. For Regional Campus tutoring services, please contact your campus for information regarding available resources.
Faculty -- If at any point you need assistance, please contact the Online Support Team at the button below or email keeponteaching@kent.edu. In your email please include the CRN and name of your course.
Keep on Learning -- Student resources, guides, and tips for success
Working from Off-Site -- A guide to assist if emergency conditions should cause disruption to university operations
Kent State's Coronavirus Response -- The University's main website for all items related to COVID19
Academic Affairs Response to COVID19 - Summary of policies, procedures, and guidelines for faculty