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:

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?

Instructor on Laptop- What are your expectations?

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

Topic

Questions to Answer

Participation and attendance

  • How often should students log in to the online course?
  • How do you define "participation and attendance" in your online course?
  • How many hours a week should they expect to spend working in the course?
  • Is the course an online course or a hybrid course? Does it have any face-to-face meetings?

Contact information

  • What is your name and contact information?
  • How can students contact you? What is your preferred method of contact?
  • What are your office hours? How should students contact you during office hours?

Communication

  • How soon can students expect a response from you? Do you reply on weekends or only on weekdays?
  • What communication do you expect from students? How soon should they contact you when there is a problem? How much advance notification do you require if the student has a conflict with a deadline?
  • What is the proper online etiquette when interacting with others (including the professor) in an online course?

Grading

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

Assignments, discussions, and exams

  • What are your expectations for assignments, discussion posts, exams, and other course activities? How are they graded? (Consider using grading schemes and rubrics.)
  • What are the deadlines for the assignments? Are the deadlines firm? Are there any exceptions to the deadlines?
  • Where do students take the exams? Do they take them online at the location of their choice, or are they required to take them at a specific testing center or other proctored location?
  • How many exams are included in the course? What types of questions are included on 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 the title, edition, author, and ISBN.
  • How much reading is required each week?

Technology requirements

  • Do students need their own computers for this course?
  • What type of Internet access do they need?
  • Is any specialized software required for the course?
  • Are computers available on campus?
  • How can they get technical support?

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?

Student at a computer; text asking, what can students expect?

 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:

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:

Other Elements that Enhance Expectations

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

Other Helpful Suggestions

 

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:

Key Points and Best Practices

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

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

Contact info                                                

Communication                                          

Grading                                                      

Assignments, discussions & exams           

Textbook                                                   

 

 

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