Designing and Teaching Online
Module 2: Setting Expectations

Introduction

In this module, the importance of clearly defining the expectations for students in your online course will be discussed along with where to include that information. 

Module Outcomes

After completing this module, you should be able to:

• Determine and communicate your expectations to your students
• Determine and communicate what students can expect from you
• Describe additional information you should add to the sylabus for an online course

What to Do

To complete this module, do these things:

1. Read all the content posted in this modules.

2. Complete Assignment:  Defining Your Expecations

What do you expect from your students?

It is important to clearly state your expectations to your students. Doing so will help them get off to a good start and will also reduce the number of emails and calls you receive from students asking basic questions about what they are supposed to do. According to e-learning author and consultant Dr. Judith Boettcher, the imporance of setting clear expectations cannot be overemphasized (Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online (Links to an external site.)).

If you are new to teaching online but have taught in the classroom, think about the information you provide to your students on the first day of class. What do you tell them? Do you give them any handouts in addition to the syllabus? What questions do student typically ask you the first day? That is the type of information to give students in writing in an online course.

Information to Include

Syllabus Contract

Consider having students complete a "syllabus contract" in which they verify that they have read and agree to abide by the syllabus and course policies and procedures.  The contract can be a question in a Getting Started section of your course and can be a quiz or an assignment.

What Can Students Expect from You?

 Some of the questions listed on the previous page overlap with what students can expect from you -- for example, your response time to student inquiries and turnaround time on providing feedback. Your online syllabus and Getting Started module should thoroughly address what you expect from students and what they can expect from you.

When you clarify what you will provide to students, you give them some assurances and also give yourself some protection against unreasonable student expectations such as expecting you to be available 24 hours a day to respond immediately to questions. 

Basic Expectations

Some basic expectations of an online course include:

• A well-designed course – Students should easily be able to find everything they need in the course. This includes using standard navigation structure in the course navigation menu as well as logical organization to the content in the course modules.
• Course requirements clearly stated and easy to find – The requirements should be posted in the syllabus.
• Communication policy – Let the students know your expected response time to their communications. For example, if you check your messages once per day, state in your policy that students can expect a reply from you within 24 hours. If you do not plan to engage in the course on weekends, include that information in your policy.
• Grading timeframe – State the turnaround time students can expect after submitting assignments.
• Assessment info - Provide a description of the types of assessments, number of assessments and location(s) of assessments.  Provide dates if possible.
• Feedback – Let students know the frequency and form of feedback you will provide.

What to Add to Your Online Syllabus

Your online syllabus should thoroughly address what you expect from students and what they can expect from you.  When you clarify what you will provide to students, you give them some assurances and also give yourself some protection against unreasonable student expectations such as expecting you to be available 24 hours a day to respond immediately to questions. 

Many institutions have templates that have been designed for use by their instructors when developing a syllabus.  Check with your campus to see if they have a consistent format and/or template. 

Include the following in your syllabus:

• Course title, section and year
• Professor contact info and office hours (on campus/virtual)
• Disability services statement required by your campus
• Course description; general description of the subject matter of lectures or discussions by week
• Academic integrity policy
• Participation policy
• Communication policy (see above)
• Grading info (see above)
• Assessment info (see above)
• Student learning outcomes
• General education competencies (if applicable)
• Expected classroom etiquette
• College and/or course policies if applicable (participation, attendance, academic integrity, etc.)
• List of textbook ISBN numbers - for required texts and recommended readings
• Additional materials and supplies required
• Technology requirements for your course along with contact info for available tech assistance (if applicable)

Other Elements that Enhance Expectations

The information listed below would work well as a Getting Started module for your course. 

• Welcome page - A short greeting from you to your students that includes info about you and the course.
• Course orientation - Info students need to know to get started and succeed in the course.
• Syllabus link - Provide instructions on how to access the syllabus.
• Syllabus extras - Info that supplements the online syllabus and includes elements that might not be in the syllabus.
• Course schedule - A timeline of the semester activities - weekly or other structure - including deadlines if possible.
• Assignment instructions - Info on the types and number of assignments student must complete, grading info and instruction on where to find and submit assignments.
• Discussion instructions - Info on the types of discussions (graded/non-graded), number of discussions, grading info, where to find the discussions and the requirements for student posts and responses.
• Exam instructions - Number and types of exams, whether they are proctored or non-proctored, location for the exams (testing center or other location), grading info and other requirements.
• Technical support - How to get technical support; recommended browsers for the learning management system on your campus; instructions if you require students to access additional systems to complete the course requirements.
• Online student orientation - Use your campus's online orientation or develop 1 to use for your course(s).
• Syllabus quiz - A brief assessment over key info in your syllabus.

Other Helpful Suggestions

• Orientation assignment to get students used to submitting assignments.  This assignment could serve as a syllabus contract.
• Introductions or icebreaker discussions to get students used to posting discussions.  It also helps student become acquainted with each other and helps you learn more about them.

Module 2 Summary and Resources

In this module, the importance of clearly communicating expectations to students was discussed.  We also considered what students can expect of you in an online course.  We looked at the elements of an online syllabus which is the key location for communicating expectations.

Module Outcomes

In this module you learned to:

• Determine and communicate your expectations to students.
• Determine and communicate what students can expect from you.
• Describe info that should be added to the online syllabus for an online course.
• Describe other elements that enhance expectations along with other helpful suggestions.

Key Points and Best Practices

Here are the key points and best practices from this module:

• Clearly stating your expectations to your student will help them get off to a good start and will also reduce the number of questions from students asking what they are supposed to do.
• You'll communicate your expectations and requirements in your syllabus and/or a course orientation if you develop one.
• Students should be able to expect a well-designed course and clear, easy-to-find requirements.
• Let students know your expected response time to their communications and your grading timeframe.
• For online and hybrid courses, include the following extra info on the online syllabus:  ISBN of the textbook and technology requirements.
• Additional course policies and info should be included on the official syllabus for your course.

Resources

Get Your Online Course Off to a Good Start  (Links to an external site.)

Ten Best Practices for Teaching Online (Links to an external site.)

Five Expectations Students Should Have of an Online Instructor (Links to an external site.)

Assignment:  Defining Your Expectations

Begin to define your expectations as preparation for teaching your online course.  Think about the following questions and answer as many of them as you can.  If you're not sure of some of the answers yet, briefly describe the things you'll consider to make your decision.  For this assignment, assume that you're teaching a completely online course (not a hybrid course).

Participation & attendance

• How often should students log into your online course?
• How do you define “participation & attendance” for your online course?
• How many hours a week should they expect to spend working on the course?

Contact info                                                

• How can students contact you?  What is your preferred method of contact?
• When will you hold office hours (on campus and/or virtual)?
• How should students contact you during those office hours?

Communication                                          

• How soon can students expect a response from you? 
• Do you reply on weekends or only on weekdays?

Grading                                                      

• How is the semester grade for the course determined?
• How soon can students expect feedback on their graded assignments/exams?

Assignments, discussions & exams           

• What types of graded activities are included in your course?
• How will they be graded (consider using schemes & rubrics)?
• Are the assignment deadlines firm?  Are there exceptions?  What are they?
• Where do students take the exams?
• Do the exams have a time limit?  For what time period are they available?

Textbook                                                   

• Are students required to purchase a textbook for the course?
• What is the textbook?  Give title, edition, author & ISBN.
• How much reading is required each week?

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