Instructor FAQ

Winter session key dates are located in the Academic Calendars.

CELT has created a Quick Guide and website on teaching a course in a condensed format. High-quality condensed-format courses allow the instructor to focus on the outcomes of academic rigor and efficiency.

Canvas@ISU on the CELT website provides Canvas resources for both instructors and students.

Information Technology Services will be available to support students and instructors.

At least a week before classes start, send an introductory e-mail to your students highlighting key information for the winter session. Include information on how students can contact you, if there are synchronous components to the course with required participation, and other expectations that will help students be successful. If possible, make the course ‘visible’ in Canvas at the same time so students can begin exploring the course before the winter session starts. Keep in mind students who are taking your course may be living in multiple different time zones. We recommend that faculty maintain the depth, breadth, and rigor of a full-term course.  Instructors are in the best position to recognize if a majority of the class has fallen behind and are in the best position to make adjustments.

In light of the accelerated nature of winter session, we expect and understand that course work will carry over into the weekends. However, classes are officially recessed on university holidays of December 24, 25 and January 1. Instructors should avoid scheduling assignment/exam/quiz due dates on those dates.

The winter session is a significantly compressed time frame of just 17 instructional days. The table below illustrates the minimum workload expectations for students based on the standard measures of time spent on coursework (2,720 minutes/credit hour).

The same guidance posted on the SVPP website for online student engagement during a regular semester is relevant for winter session. As an example, faculty teaching a three-credit course during the four-week winter session should include a minimum of 10 hours of engagement each week. Examples of engagement include:

• Interactive feedback regarding a student’s coursework
• Responses to student questions about course content
• Facilitated group discussions about course content or competencies
• Direct instruction (synchronous interactive sessions)
• Other instructional techniques that provide similar engagement to an in-class setting

No

No. Because all grades will be posted in AccessPlus as part of the spring semester, it is not possible to create a midterm grade submission equivalent for winter session. However, faculty are strongly encouraged to schedule some type of grade assessment prior to the midpoint of the winter session.

Grade reports are due in your Canvas course on January 23 by 5:00 pm, which is the second day of spring semester 2025. It is important to meet this deadline so the necessary prerequisite checks can be completed as soon as possible for those students who have taken a winter session course as a prerequisite to a spring semester course.

Yes. An incomplete grade can be assigned assuming the standard incomplete grade policy is followed.

Students will have the opportunity to complete a course evaluation using the same set of course evaluation questions used in fall 2024.

A full set of student support services will be available to students during winter session including, Student Accessibility Services, the Dean of Students Office, and the Academic Success Center.