Policies and Best Practices

The Office of Educational Technology is constantly improving its services by integrating the best practices in all technology related areas.  This page houses all policies governing faculty and student best practices in online learning.

College-wide Policies:

• Academic Honesty and Integrity
• Academic Integrity in Online Learning at Hostos Community College
• Gen Ed Policy
• Grading Policy

Online Learning Best Practices:

• Netiquette

  
  Netiquette or etiquette when on the Internet refers to the conduct that is socially acceptable in the online environment.

  Everyone deserves to be treated as a respected colleague. Any behavior that is inappropriate in a traditional classroom is inappropriate in the online classroom.
  • Exhibit the same courtesy to your classmates and professor as you would expect to receive. Be open-minded and accepting of constructive criticism and difference of opinion.
  • Make certain that your tone is positive and professional.
  • Flaming, or bashing, is when someone attacks a person instead of the logic of his or her argument. Flaming will not be tolerated.
  • All criticism should be constructive.
  • If someone posts a message that is difficult to understand or offensive, ask for clarification. Don’t respond in kind.

  Respect Privacy
  Within campus online services it is important to recognize that these services are ACADEMIC online spaces and have a different level of privacy than spaces like social media. In any academic online service it’s important to remember:
  • Don’t post private matters on the discussion forum.
  • Don’t spam the instructor or classmates or send Facebook friend invites.
  • Don’t send harassing or bullying communications.
  • Don’t send or post inflammatory, argumentative or hate speech.
  • Use private emails to socialize.
  • Don’t make inappropriate overtures to classmates or instructor

• Using the Course Calendar function available in Blackboard Course Tools is recommended for the benefit of faculty and student alike.  This creates a common place for deadlines and milestones to be shared with a class.
• A clear policy regarding both Instructor Presence and the Online Participation Policy for students is essential.  Emphasizing frequency and duration for these shared concepts can have a significant impact on the momentum and success of any course.
• Regardless of modality, a course will cover the same amount and complexity of material.  As such, plan accordingly.  Online Learning offers flexibility in terms of where and when we engage with course but does not take less time.  Manage your time accordingly.