Adding Students to DE Classes

According to survey results of LPC Distance Education instructors, students added prior to the beginning of the semester tend to be more successful than students added during the first or second weeks. They also showed that students added the first week tend to be more successful than students added the second week. Students added the second week tend not to be successful at all.

Based on these results, the DE Committee made the two recommendations below. Keep in mind that these are merely recommendations for trying to improve success and retention rates of DE students; they are not mandatory for you to implement. In fact, if you have a system that already works for your classes, feel free to continue using it.

Recommendations for adding students to DE classes:

1. Two days prior to the first day of classes, add 20-30% of your class size from the student waitlist (e.g. 6-9 students for a 30-student class size). DE classes tend to have more drops than on-campus courses, and approximately 20-30% tend to drop or fail to sign in to a DE class over the first two weeks. Adding students before the beginning of class will allow them to get to work right away, without falling behind.
2. During the first week of classes, add students based on additional drops.

FAQs for new DE instructors:

What should I tell students on my waitlist who email me regarding their chances of getting into my class?

Below is a possible text that you can use:

Hello,

Wait list information for DEPT. Course # (e.g., PSCN 13) for Fall 2018--

I will email XX (e.g., the top 6-9) students who are on the waitlist with add authorization numbers (starting on Aug. XX –two days prior to the first day of classes) so that they can add themselves into the course using ClassWEB. 

Regards,
Your name

Aside from students’ add numbers, what else should I tell them in my email? 

You might want to provide them information on how to log into your class via Canvas, and make sure they get started on any assignments you want them to complete by a specific deadline.  Here’s an example:

Hi,

Here is your add#: XXXX for CRN: XXXXX , PSCN 13, Multi-Cultural Issues in America, an online course for Fall 2018.  Please read this email in its entirety.

Once you are registered for Psych-Coun 13, Multicultural Issues in America, please access this class starting on Monday, August 18, by logging into Canvas at http://clpccd.instructure.com.

If you register for PSCN 13 after Aug. 18, check Canvas periodically within 24 hours to see when the link to the class appears on your Canvas Dashboard.

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Here is your username and password for Canvas: 

Username: Your W number, which begins with a W and contains 8 digits. 

Password: the first two letters of your first name, followed by the first two letters of your last name (all lowercased), followed by the last four digits of your W number. 

For example, Maria Valdez with a W number of W98765432 would log in as: 

Username: W98765432

Password: mava5432

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Two housekeeping items:

Please access the class during the first week of the semester (preferably the first day) to view the class. In particular, read any announcements, read the syllabus, and complete the assignments. Specifically, complete the email assignment in Module 1 before the end of this week (Sunday), or you will be dropped from the roster for “non-attendance.”

Please make sure that your email address that you will use to communicate with me is the same one listed within Canvas. If you are using your personal email account (e.g., AOL, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.) for this class, make sure that Canvas is using it as well.  If you do not update your Canvas email address, it automatically defaults to your Zonemail address. Going forward, when I email students, I use what is stored in Canvas.

If you do not want to use your Zonemail address for Canvas, do the following:

1. Log into CLASS-Web (https://banssprod.clpccd.cc.ca.us/)
2. Select "What is my email address?"
3. Select "Update Email Address".
4. Under "Type of E-mail to Insert", select "Email for Canvas" and click "Submit".
5. Enter the email address in the field next to "E-mail", and click "Submit".

Once done, Canvas will be updated with the new address within 2-3 hours. Feel free to email me if you have any questions!

Regards,
Your Name 

Why would I add students two days prior to the first day of classes?

That is when add numbers first become available. You can always email your syllabus to the first 20-30% of students on your waitlist earlier if you intend to add them.

What is LPC’s drop policy for students who either don’t log in or don’t do any work the first week?

Here it is:

The instructor may drop students who miss the first meeting of a course. The first meeting of online or hybrid Distance Education courses is the first day of the class as specified in the class schedule listing.  For these courses, instructors may drop students who do not log into their Canvas course and/or complete indicated activities by the third day of classes. DE instructors may drop students if they have not submitted work and/or accessed the class for two consecutive weeks. For Summer courses, DE instructors may drop students if they have not submitted work and/or accessed the class for one week.