Vice President for Academic Affairs: Mr. Larry Brooks larry.brooks@vcsu.edu Executive Assistant: Kelly Spanier kelly.spanier@vcsu.edu Office Location: McFarland 213 Phone Numbers  800-532-8641, extension 7202 701-845-7202 Office Hours  7:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Academic Affairs Solutions 

Statement on Synchronous Learning Etiquette and Engagement Created by Synchronous Learning Etiquette and Engagement Task Force Dr. Margaret Dahlberg, chair Gratia Brown, Faculty Senate Representative Kenneth Jimenez, Faculty Senate Representative Amber Ussatis-Aberle, Faculty Senate Representative Shannon VanHorn, Faculty Senate Representative Tanya Campos, Student Representative Emily Smith, Student Representative  Approved by Task Force on October 8, 2020 We acknowledge that the synchronous environment is challenging for all. The most important principle we should remember is to keep dialog open between faculty and students.   Guidelines for Students:   In general, students should make sure they communicate their needs to faculty and be respectful of faculty and classmates. This means:   Communicate your needs with faculty.  For example, changes in scheduling/technology/living situations/health/family issues that might make engaging meaningfully in class difficult.   When possible, use your webcam. This helps instructors gauge comprehension, pace their lectures, and makes the synchronous environment more engaging and effective for all.   If you have technology challenges, please communicate your issues with your instructor. For example, if you have limited bandwidth, you may be present but not have your camera on.   Notify instructor of display and audio issues (not seeing a shared screen, not hearing audio, strange background noises, fuzzy pictures etc.) immediately and appropriately by vocal alert, chat message, hand signal, or email.   Limit the impact of your environment on the class. This means: Wearing headphones Keeping your background professional/blurred Wearing clothing appropriate to the classroom environment and Avoiding activities that may distract you or distract your classmates   Follow the instructor’s guidelines for synchronous class as set forth in the syllabus or other course materials, including procedures for initiating a discussion, asking questions, etc. Guidelines for Faculty:   Set clear guidelines and procedures for synchronous students. Some example questions to address: Do you expect webcams to be on?  While encouraging the use of cameras, faculty must remember that students may have personal reasons for keeping their cameras off or lack the bandwidth to participate with the camera on. If a student cannot have their webcam on, what is an alternative way for them to demonstrate their presence and engagement in class? Should students join class muted, or unmuted? Should students participate in class mainly through text chat, audio-only, or audio and video? How do synchronous students initiate a discussion or get your attention? How do synchronous students notify you if they’re having issues with technology? How do you notify synchronous students if you are having issues with technology? How do students demonstrate participation and engagement in your class? (small group discussions, asking questions, performing skills/tasks, etc.) Develop tools and methods for managing classroom discussion and student engagement. There are a variety of methods for allowing F2F and synchronous students to work together and to monitor student progress in real time – online collaborative whiteboards, shared documents for collaborative note-taking, quiz activities like Kahoot, and more – take time to find what works for your classroom environment and confer with fellow faculty members to find solutions.   Understand that students outside of the classroom sometimes have issues outside of their control -- roommates that barge in, or issues with Internet connectivity, for example. Treat everyone with grace and do your best to help those that are struggling but making a good-faith effort to participate in your class. Click link to open: Statement on Synchronous Learning Etiquette and Engagement

Summer School Procedures November First week: The Registrar’s Office will forward a memo to each Department/School with Summer Session dates and class meeting times for the various sessions along with the previous year’s schedule for changes. Third week: Information due back to the Registrar’s Office December First week: First draft returned to Department/School Chairs Third week: Revisions due before semester break February February 1: Summer Schedule published. April The Office for Academic Affairs contacts faculty to confirm summer teaching plans and sends contracts to faculty. May Two weeks prior to the start of classes, The Office for Academic Affairs identifies courses with under six (6) enrollment and negotiates class cancellations or reduced pay for these classes with faculty. One-week prior, designated classes are cancelled, and the Department Chair contacts any affected students to help them make schedule changes. Summer School Policy 1. Course Enrollment A course must enroll six (6) or more tuition paying students to be offered at full faculty salary, as described below in #3. With instructor approval, continuing education courses can be offered regardless of enrollment. Arrangements for teaching continuing education courses must be made with the Dean of Extended Learning. The Academic Affairs Office will notify faculty during the two weeks prior if enrollment is below six (6) students. Cancellation of courses will be discussed, and courses will be cancelled no later than one week prior to the start of the session. “Six” students is defined as six tuition paying students. Those receiving tuition waivers do not count toward the six. Courses with less than six (6) students may be offered for reduced salary (see #4, below). The decision to cancel or offer the course must be made in discussion with the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) two weeks prior to the start of Summer School. Faculty are not required to teach courses with under six (6) enrollment for reduced salary, but they may choose to do so. 2. Summer sessions compress the regular semester, by meeting 3, 4, or 8 weeks instead of 16 weeks. However, the expectation for academic rigor, course content, and study remain the same. Therefore, a 3 credit course offered during an 8 week session will take the same amount of time as 6 credits would in a regular academic term, and a 3 credit course offered during a 4 week session is equivalent to 12 credits (or full time) during a regular academic term. If a student will be registered for more than nine (9) credits at any one point in time, the student needs to submit a petition with an overload request to academic.services@vcsu.edu (Director of Student Academic Services) for review by the Academic Scholastic Standing Committee (ASSC). Undergraduate Registration - Courses with a Catalog Number 100-499 are undergraduate level. Course loads for the summer session are as follows: full-time - 6 credits; three-quarter time - 5 credits; and half-time - 3 credits. During the summer session, the maximum load is 9 concurrent credits for a student in good academic standing. An approved overload petition must be presented with any request to enroll for more than 9 concurrent credits. No more than 14 credits will be allowed during the summer. In addition, students should recognize the intense demands of the compressed summer term, and limit themselves to no more than two courses in any session (for example, no more than two courses during the first four weeks, or no more than two, non-overlapping courses during the first three week session). For purposes of federal financial aid, undergraduates are considered half-time at 6 credits, three-quarter time at 9 credits and full-time at 12 credits. Registration may be completed online in Campus Connection before the last day to add for each session (the dates are listed in Appendix A of this document). Contact the Office of the Registrar at 701-845-7295 or registrar@vcsu.edu if you have any questions. Graduate Registration – Courses with a Catalog Number 601-699 are graduate level. All graduate courses are online. Registration may be completed online in Campus Connection before the last day to add for each session (the dates are listed in Appendix A of this document). For purposes of federal financial aid, graduate students are considered half-time at 5 credits, three-quarter time at 7 credits and full-time at 9 credits. Contact the Office of Graduate Studies & Research at 701-845-7303 or graduate@vcsu.edu for assistance with graduate registration. 3. Change in Course Information Any changes in course information from that published in the Summer School Schedule will be reported in writing (email) by the Department Chair/Dean to the Registrar’s Office and the Office for Academic Affairs. Any additions or cancellations of COURSES must be approved by the VPAA prior to making these changes in the Summer School Schedule. If a course is cancelled due to low enrollment but has students enrolled, the Department Chair/Dean (or designate) of the department responsible for staffing the class is responsible for contacting the students who have been dis-enrolled from the course and offering enrollment options and/or advising assistance. 4. Faculty Salary Information For payment purposes, course enrollment will be determined on the morning after the “last day to add” for the session within which the course is offered. These dates are published online in the term/session calendar. Faculty will be paid for instruction of courses per credit hour according to enrollment below: Enrollment Pay Based on Enrollment 6 through 20 students enrolled $800 per credit 21 and higher students enrolled additional $60 per student per credit. Faculty teaching continuing education courses will be paid $60 per credit per student. Faculty teaching graduate courses will receive credit load with the following scale: 1 graduate credit = 1.33 credit load. Faculty choosing to teach a regularly scheduled undergraduate course with under 6 enrollment will be paid $100 per credit per student. An online course is “full” at 20. Faculty who do not wish to accept more than 20 students may set the cap at 20. Faculty who are willing to teach more students may set a higher cap. We will pay $100 per student from 21- 24. When a course reaches 25, we will pay for two sections. Faculty will not be paid for teaching independent studies or special topics courses not published in the print version of the Summer School Schedule. 5. Salary Disbursement Information Faculty will not be paid for courses that are cancelled. Salary payments for Summer will be made according to the pay schedule in Appendix B of this document. Payroll is processed on a bi-monthly payment schedule; work completed the 1st through the 15th of each month is paid on the last day of that month; work completed between the 16th and 30th or 31st is paid on the 15th day of the following month. Internship Supervision is paid at the end of the semester; $100 per student to faculty who complete the forms required by the Director for Career Services. Appendix A: Summer Term-Session Calendar DROP/CANCEL or WITHDRAW If you register for a summer course but will be unable to complete it, you must drop the course or withdraw from the term.   A drop may be entered in Campus Connection before the last day to Drop with Record "W" for each session. Campus Connection will only allow you to drop all of your summer undergraduate or graduate classes ON or BEFORE May 19, 2025 A withdraw form must be completed to drop all summer classes ON or AFTER the summer term begins on May 19, 2025, please contact the Student Academic Services Office at academic.services@vcsu.edu or 701-845-7302. DROP REFUND POLICY A refund is based upon the percent of the enrollment period that has been completed.  Because all summer session courses are delivered in an abbreviated schedule, the amount of time in which you can drop a course and still receive a refund is VERY brief.  Please review the Summer Session Drop/Add Dates above for the Last Day to Drop with a Refund for each session.   For more information on the tuition refund policy, visit the Drop & Withdrawal Refunds solution. Session: Begin Date: Last Day to: -Add -Drop with No Record -Drop with a Refund Last Day to: -Drop with a Record “W” End Date: First 3 Weeks May 19, 2025 May 20, 2025 May 30, 2025 June 6, 2025 First 4 Weeks June 9, 2025 June 11, 2025 June 25, 2025 July 3, 2025 First 8 Weeks June 9, 2025 June 13, 2025 July 15, 2025 Aug 1, 2025 Second 4 Weeks July 7, 2025 July 9, 2025 July 24, 2025 Aug 1, 2025 Second 3 Weeks Aug 4, 2025 Aug 5, 2025 Aug 15, 2025 Aug 22, 2025 Graduate June 9, 2025 June 13, 2025 July 15, 2025 Aug 1, 2025 Appendix B: Pay Schedule for Summer School First 3 Weeks May 19 – June 6 Pay Period May 16-May 31 Pay Day June 13 Pay Period June 1-June 15 Pay Day June 30 First 4 Weeks June 9- July 3 Pay Period June 1-June 15 Pay Day June 30 Pay Period June 16-June 30 Pay Day July 15 Pay Period July 1-July 15 Pay Day July 31 First 8 Weeks June 9 - Aug 1 Pay Period June 1-June 15 Pay Day June 30 Pay Period June 16-June 30 Pay Day July 15 Pay Period July 1-July 15 Pay Day July 31 Pay Period July 16-July 31 Pay Day August 15 Second 4 Weeks July 7 - Aug 1 Pay Periods July 1-July 15 Pay Day July 31 Pay Period July 16-July 31 Pay Day August 15 Second 3 Weeks Aug 4 - August 22 Pay Period August 1-August 15 Pay Day August 29 Graduate 8 Weeks June 9 - Aug 1 Pay Period June 1-June 15 Pay Day June 30 Pay Period June 16-June 30 Pay Day July 15 Pay Period July 1-July 15 Pay Day July 31 Pay Period July 16-July 31 Pay Day August 15