Spring 2020 Faculty/Staff Information

Visit the Online Learning Resources page for more information about teaching online courses.

Please note there are numerous ways to engage with your students online; just a few are listed below:

• Note about Academic Integrity: Resources including "Methods to Maintain Academic Integrity without Proctoring," and "Getting Started with Honorlock for Faculty" are available here.
  • Honorlock - due to resource constraints faculty should limit use of Honorlock to essential tests only, if possible, finals or the last exam of the semester.
• Videos –You can use a brief video to share your expectations for the week, alternative learning methods, and important subject matter.
• Discussion Boards – Flip your teaching and ask the students to read texts and slides prior to original class time and host an online Canvas discussion board about the week’s materials.
• Meetings – Schedule times with your class to discuss materials and address activities for the week. Record the meeting for students unable to access the meeting synchronously.
• Open source content – you may benefit from reviewing content currently available through YouTube or other sources.  You can provide students with information about specific topics in this manner without having to record new lectures or videos.
• Laboratories – more information regarding laboratories will be posted as soon as possible.

A great resource for faculty on making this transition is available here: https://www.msstate.edu/acfaculty.

Description of mailing lists:
https://servicedesk.msstate.edu/TDClient/45/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1142

1. Email lists for classes can be created through myBanner if you haven't already requested mailing lists for your classes this semester. You can do this by going to Banner and selecting "Faculty and Department Users", "Class Management", and then choosing "Class Email Lists". Please note that class email lists take 24 hours to become available after you have requested them through Banner.
2. Sending messages to students through Canvas:
   https://servicedesk.msstate.edu/TDClient/45/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1369

All university-sponsored events with dates on or before May 10 have been cancelled.

If students are having trouble accessing Canvas, they should review this set of instructions.

Graduate assistants (GTA, GRA, GSA) should contact their immediate supervisor to develop a suitable work schedule that both ensures they are meeting the requirements of their position and adheres to Dr. Keenum's guidelines.

Undergraduate student workers should touch base with their supervisor before attempting to return to work.

Additional information about the spring semester has been emailed to students. You can find it here.

The University is providing an option for students to select Pass/Fail Grading in the Spring 2020 Semester. Please review the university website for additional details including an FAQ: https://www.msstate.edu/passfail.

Dr. Steve Elder from the ABE department has also created a helpful spreadsheet for calculations. Undergraduate students who are not enrolled in any graduate courses may use this Excel spreadsheet to determine the impact of their grading scheme choice on their cumulative GPA (overall GPA). You will need to look at your transcript in Banner to find the GPA Hours and Quality points you’ve earned up to this point (through the end of the 2019 Fall semester). Then enter your classes, credit hours for each class, and your expected letter grades. For each course,  you can then enter Yes to accept the Pass/Fail option (S-P-U) or No to decline it and accept the letter grade (actually Y or N will work too). Once you’ve done this for all your courses, your cumulative GPA will be calculated in the yellow-highlighted cell. If you change the Yes or No answer for a class, then the GPA will automatically recalculate.

Thesis and dissertation defenses can proceed as scheduled unless they cannot be held remotely. WebEx or other remote conferencing platforms can be used for these events.

The deadline for thesis/dissertation defenses is March 27.
The deadline for initial submission to the Library is April 3.
The deadline for final submission to the Library remains April 24.
The deadline for non-thesis comprehensive exams remains April 29.

Remember also that all forms take digital signatures.  Please work internally with students to ensure that they can defend in a timely manner.

Online advising best practices can be found here.

We encourage advisors to use the recently developed option of creating and viewing student academic plans in Banner 9 Registration to advise students.

Webex can be used to host virtual office-hours. It is available for all faculty/staff to use. If you need further assistance with Webex, please contact the ITS Help Desk at 662-325-0631 / 888-398-6394 or servicedesk@msstate.edu.

https://www.its.msstate.edu/article/webex-now-available/ and https://servicedesk.msstate.edu/TDClient/45/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1477

Please use individual WebEx sessions for each student and lock the room to prevent anyone other than you and the student from entering. If you choose to use a single WebEx session for all students (not recommended) then you should be careful to not discuss any grades, holds or other protected information in the session. Students should also be informed that they are not to volunteer any protected information in an "open-to-all" WebEx session.

Presently, all international travel has been canceled. Do not register for any international or domestic trips for the future without discussing with your supervisor.

Interviews should be either rescheduled or done virtually.

Please reference this site for the most up to date information including library hours: https://guides.library.msstate.edu/coronavirus/.