Courses & Grading

Blackboard Learn is a platform for online engagement between students and instructors. Instructors can post course materials, assignments, discussion forums, and more on their Blackboard site for students to access. Instructors may also post grades on assignments via Blackboard, although this is not a substitute for submitting official grades at the end of the term.

A Blackboard site may already exist for the course(s) you are teaching. Ask your program director if this is the case, and if so, request that they “roll over” the course to you. This will give you access to the course site from its previous semester, often including the materials used. If a Blackboard course site does not exist for the course, request a site through Blackboard Help. Be sure to indicate that you are already listed as the instructor.

You are free to customize the site regardless of whether or not a version existed before your instruction.

Room assignments are made by the BU Registrar’s Office according to enrollment limits in a course. Faculty can request their room needs for their courses through the Room Attributes Form. Once room assignments have been made through the BU Registrar’s Office, they cannot easily be changed. If there are any major issues regarding your room assignment, please contact your program director.

For information about the technology in your assigned classroom, visit BU Classrooms.

For upcoming semester: Program directors enter plan for next semester based on previous semester via link to a Google Doc sent to PDs. PDs should request link from the DEMO Director.

To request a schedule change for a faculty member, submit the Schedule Change Request Form. Submission must be approved by Program Directors before submission. To request a schedule change that involves a part-time faculty member or student, submit a Part-time Appointment Request.

Faculty members work in collaboration with program directors and department chairs, the associate dean for academic affairs, and the associate dean for faculty affairs in determining teaching loads and assignments to courses. Preliminary plans are developed in the preceding year and adjustments to assignments after that fact must be discussed with the same individuals.

Getting listed as the instructor of the course(s) you’ve been assigned to teach is essential for grading, gaining access to the Blackboard course website, and more. Two tasks must be completed before you can be listed as the instructor:

• If a new appointee, attend HR Orientation and receive BU ID and Kerberos password.
• Become enrolled in payroll by the Payroll and Personnel Administrator.

Once the above is completed, your program director will complete a Schedule Change Request Form to add your name as course instructor. Once this is done, you can access the University Class Schedule via Faculty Link and search for your course by course number.

Faculty course materials can be made available to students through several different means:
1. Blackboard Learn.

2. BU Barnes & Noble Bookstore
910 Commonwealth Ave| 617-236-7440 | http://bu.bncollege.com

Course books and packets can be ordered through the BU B&N Bookstore or through the Faculty Link. Faculty should contact the bookstore before each semester to make sure that enough materials have arrived.

3. Library Reserves
Pickering Educational Resource Library (PERL), 2 Silber Way
Mugar Library, 771 Comm Ave.

Instructors may create their own three-ring binder of readings and place it on reserve in a library for students to read on-site or to photocopy. To place materials on reserve, instructors must fill out a Reserve Request Form. Forms may take several days to process.

4. Online Library Materials
BU has access to many online journals, e-books, and search databases. To access these resources, visit BU Libraries.

BU Wheelock faculty who would like to propose a new course or revise an existing one should refer to the Academic Affairs Committee.

To enter grades, follow this step-by-step guide:

• Login to the Faculty Link, and select “Grading” from the menu.
• From the “Select Class” screen, click on the course to be graded.
• Choose the “Enter” option.
• Click the boxes on the right to enter individual grades.
• When all grades are entered, click the “Save Grades” button.
• When you are ready to submit all grades for final submission, select “Review” then click on the “Submit Grades” button.

Note:

• Only the instructor can submit grades. No staff member is allowed to post grades. If you are unable to access the Grading option on Faculty Link, email Data Management & Enrollment.
• Assigning grades on Blackboard does not result in the grades’ being submitted to the Registrar nor appearing on students’ transcripts. Grades have to be submitted as specified on the link above.

For more information, visit Webgrading.

If the need arises for a student to receive an Incomplete as their grade for the course, the student must complete an Incomplete Grade Form. This contract should be filled out and signed by both the student and instructor and returned to Data Enrollment & Management. Incomplete grades cannot be awarded without this contract.

Students have one year to resolve the terms of the contract, after which point the grade will be changed to reflect the completion of the course or the grade will become the grade earned at the time the “I” grade was issued.

Grade Change Forms are available at the Data Enrollment & Management Office or by emailing DEMO with the following information:

• Student name
• Student ID
• Semester & year of course taken
• Course number
• Previous grade
• New grade

Students who do not successfully defend their dissertation in any given semester and who will continue their dissertation work the following semester should receive a grade of J for the term. After the completion of their final defense, students should receive a Pass (“P”) or Fail (“F”) grade, and no other letter grade.

• If a student appears on your class list but has never attended class, please assign a grade of MG.
• If a student appears on your class list, attended class and then disappeared, assign the grade earned by the student at the point of disappearance. Do not assign a grade of MG.