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Cynthia Eaton
As noted in the companion piece to this article, “Here is your free Brightspace syllabus module,” the memo of agreement that became effective last September mandates that all faculty must use Brightspace, the college’s currently approved learning management system, to web enhance all of their classes. This applies to all faculty who are teaching at the college to either web enhance their traditional on-campus classes or provide the more robust support required in distance ed modalities. The minimum requirement is that all faculty at least upload their course syllabus to each of their class websites. To facilitate this, I provide a free syllabus module in that companion article, along with instructions for how to download it from the FA website and import it into your class. In this article, however, the focus is on increasing student awareness of the robust support and resources the college makes available to them. Student support improves retention We know our members stand at the ready to provide incredible academic and student services support to our students, which are key in improving retention rates. No matter how wonderful our librarians, counselors, academic advisors & mentors, and PAs and specialists across the college are, however, students may not benefit from their expertise if they do not know about all these wonderful supports we have available. Consider: The students in need of additional individualized assistance with their math skills benefit from knowing we provide free professional math tutors. The students who are unaware of campus LGBTQ-affiliated clubs benefit from knowing those exist. The students who come to campus feeling too hungry to focus benefit from finding the location of their campus food pantry. The students struggling with research benefit from knowing librarians are available both in person and via chat to help them locate high quality sources. The undocumented students who consider withdrawing from the college benefit from learning about a special scholarship offering by the Center for Social Justice. You get it. Now let’s make sure students get it. Since it is faculty prerogative to design your class websites in a way that makes sense for your discipline, course and pedagogical approach, I share two options below with some pros and cons for each. You decide which one makes the most sense in your class websites.
Let students know SCCC has their back: Option #1 One option to better ensure awareness of student support is simply to direct students’ attention to the Quick Links in the Brightspace class website menu. The college has made this Quick Links menu available in all class websites in the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. Students will see a drop-down menu leading them to some very helpful pages on the SCCC website. This is a notable improvement over having Quick Links reside solely on the main Brightspace landing page.
That Quick Links shows fewer options may not be a bad thing; sometimes less is more! And since students may not understand what “Quick Links” actually is, I’d suggest offering an explanatory note in your Announcements area, welcome email, intro to class quiz or icebreaker activity, etc. Let students know SCCC has their back: Option #2 Another option is to import a module of student support pages that not only includes links to the college website but also a bit of explanatory text about those resources. For example, rather than just link students to the registrar page, in this module there is an explanation of what the registar office is and does—as a gesture of inclusivity since we cannot assume all students are familiar with college lingo—before providing the appropriate contact information. This module is called “Help for Students” so hopefully they’d be more likely to access it and find a list of the many, various resources the college proudly offers students to better ensure their persistence and success. I include a list of the module pages at the very end of this article.
If you choose to import the student support module, it is on the FA website. Instructions are provided there, but here’s a basic overview of the steps:
To access the student support module file, go to the FA website section on distance education, in the Professional Matters section, and click DE and Brightspace Materials. You can see instructions and a link to the zip file. Follow those steps! Please note that you cannot see the content of the module until you import it into Brightspace (they are packaged in a zip file, which is required to import them).
Need help? If you have any trouble with the steps shown on the FA website, please contact me at cynthia@fascc.org. If you have questions about using Brightspace, however, those should be directed to the college Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) staff. Dean Carol Hernandez, Robin Hill and Alexandra Belanich stand at the ready to assist faculty with all things Brightspace, whether you are using it for the first time or you have experience using Brightspace but feel ready to advance your skillset. Faculty can also contact the very helpful SUNY Online Help Desk toll free at 844-OPEN-SUN (that’s Open SUNY without the Y to help you remember it), or 844-673-6786. They are able to see your screen and walk you through the necessary steps to accomplish what you wish to do. Again, the basics needed to fulfill your contractual requirement is to upload your syllabus, but we encourage you to do all you can to help make sure students know about the many supports we have available to them. Student Support and Resources Module This module contains the following pages. For each, I have written a brief introduction or explanation and provide the appropriate college contact information, with links to the appropriate college webpages and email addresses. Please get in touch if you believe any pages should be revised. Help With Your Classes (Academic Support)
Help With Navigating the College (College Policies and Physical Locations)
Help With Your Wellness, Health & Safety
Help With Student Life and Campus Activities
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