Frequently Asked Questions

• Getting Started

• Technical Assistance

• Administrative

• Design & Development

• Student Assistance

Getting Started

Who do I contact if I am interested in developing and teaching an online course?

Interested faculty must contact their Department Chair/Lead Staff. Respective units will conduct the search and hiring of qualified faculty to teach an online course. For more information on teaching with FIU Online, please click here.

Who should I contact once notified that I will be teaching an online course?

For information on teaching with FIU Online, please click here.

I'm new to online teaching. Where do I begin and how do I get training?

For information on teaching with FIU Online, please click here. In addition, FIU Online is continuously offering hands on training for Faculty who are teaching, or interested in teaching fully online courses. To learn more about these trainings and register please click here.

What preparation/requirements are needed before starting development of my online course?

Please visit our faculty site prior to your first development meeting with your Instructional Designer.

What are the benefits of taking the FIU Online Instructor Training Course?

Increase knowledge about eLearning, Technologies, Teaching Philosophies, Best Practices, Assessments, and Assignments to improve your online teaching.

What does an online course look like?

For an online course demo, please click here.

How is online teaching different from traditional classroom teaching?

Although similar materials can be used the online learning process differs greatly from face to face instruction. It requires that both the instructor and students take active participation throughout the length of the course. The instructor at times will play the role of a facilitator overseeing and directing students in achieving the learning objectives for the course. FIU Online offers a training program to ensure that you feel comfortable and confident in the online classroom.

How many class sessions am I allowed to have on campus for my online course?

A course is considered online when at least 80% of the class meetings that would be held for a standard classroom course are replaced by online activities. For example, the fall semester has 16 class meetings, therefore you will only be allowed up to 3 class sessions on campus.

Who is responsible for placing textbook orders for my online courses?

All textbook orders for online courses should be made by the professor to their respective departments. FIU Online is not responsible for placing textbook orders.

Will I be able to use another professor's course materials for my online course?

Yes. Please make sure to obtain the instructor's written permission. We are unable to copy another instructor's resources without their written consent.

What is the difference between my fully online and UTS web-assisted courses?

FIU Online hosts fully online courses while UTS (which is an entirely separate department) assists Faculty with their web-assisted courses. For more information on teaching with FIU Online, please click here.

Technical Assistance

What if I am unable to log into the LMS and/or I need a password reset?

Contact your assigned Instructional Designer and/or Support Services.

Where can I find resources for using tools, software, and the LMS?

For faculty resources, tools, and training & development, please click here.

Who do I contact in an emergency if my Instructional Designer or their Course Developer is unavailable or unresponsive?

Please contact FIU Online Support Services.

What is a streaming server? Why can't I just upload my video & audio files into the course?

The streaming server mitigates technical difficulties and improves the viewing capabilities of the video. Another reason why video and audio files which tend to be large should not be uploaded into a course is due to course size restrictions.

How do I include my Adobe Connect recordings?

For tutorials & help with on the use of Adobe Connect, please click here.

Why can't my Instructional designer update my UTS course shells?

Instructional Designers do not have access to UTS hosted web-assisted courses.

Who do I contact if the system is down?

Your Instructional Designer, or Support Services who are available during extended hours and on weekends.

Administrative

When should I expect to receive my payment for teaching online this semester?

Please contact your College's assigned Program Manager or contact Support Services.

What is the limit on the total number of students I can teach per semester?

Faculty are limited to teaching 200 students (4 sections of 50) per semester or 400 students per year. This only applies to overload-extra state compensation workload appointments. Adjuncts have no cap restrictions.

If I am conducting an on campus exam how do I accommodate out of state students?

Please refer to our Student Proctored Exam Instructions.

How often is an instructor expected to log into their course and for how long?

Instructors should log into their online courses 2-3 times per day and should take the necessary time to address student inquiries and work on evaluation and feedback. Student inquiries should be answered within 24-48 hours.

How will teaching cross-listed sections affect compensation?

Students from multiple sections of the same course taught by the same instructor will be added together for payment purposes and students from different courses taught by the same instructor will not be added together for payment purposes.

How can I retrieve or view my student evaluation results at the end of the semester?

FIU Online provides each respective Department Chair with professor evaluation results approximately three weeks after the end of each semester. Instructor should then contact their Department Chair or refer to CBASYS.

Who should have access to my course?

Students, Professors, Support Services members, Instructional Designers, Course Developer, FIU Online Administrators, and individuals who you have been given permission to assist you in the design and development of the course.

Where should final grades be posted?

Final grades for students should be posted in the LMS grade book, but must be entered into student records by the instructor through the PantherSoft system. If you have trouble accessing or posting grades into PS, please contact UTS at 305.348.2284 or click here.

How long do the students and professors have access to a shell after the classes end?

Students have access to their online course(s) for 7 days after the last day of classes. Professors will have access to their online course(s) that have taken place during the current and last 2 terms; so you will have access to Fall, Spring, and Summer courses.

When do course grades need to be posted to PantherSoft?

Course grades are to be posted by the deadlines on the Academic Calendar.

Does my Instructional Designer have access to my web-assisted course?

Instructional Designers only have access to fully online courses hosted by FIU Online.

Design & Development

Can a course be developed one or two semesters prior to its offering?

This is handled on a case by case basis. Typically, courses are developed during the semester prior to the course offering.

How can I handle group work in online courses?

We have a few ways in which group work can be handled in your online course. Your Instructional Designer can share the tools we commonly use. It is highly recommended that you incorporate the use of collaboration tools such as Adobe Connect for group work. Please visit our Adobe Connect page for more information.

Can I show videos in an online course?

Yes. And not only can you show them, you can make them and have your students make them, too. If you have an existing video (for example VHS) that you would like to use in an online course, we can digitize that and put it in a format for streaming online. Just as in a face-to-face course, there are special rights (as outlined in the TEACH Act and through fair use guidelines, for example) for the use of video in an online educational setting. We recommend using smaller clips and integrating video into the curriculum (for example making specific activities for students based on viewing short to medium size clips), both as an instructional strategy and as a way to honor the copyrights of both content creators and users in the spirit of sharing and spreading knowledge. Additionally, there are many tools that allow instructors to integrate video right in their courses, whether it be from YouTube, NBC Archives, or other video depositories. FIU Online also has many tools that can help faculty to create instructional videos, and there are also tools that will allow students to upload video assignments and interact with video as well. Instructional designers at FIU Online will be happy to work with faculty to integrate various video options into their courses.

How much time should I give students to take a multiple choice test? How many days should it be available?

The amount (duration) of time depends on the level of difficulty per question; for example one minute per question if 1 minute is reasonable to answer the specific question. The availability period typically ranges from 1 day to 7 days. Consider your audience, their responsibilities, as well as the specific assessment type (quiz vs. exam).

What can I do to prevent academic misconduct in my online course.

There are a few ways to circumvent academic misconduct in your online course. Your Instructional Designer can recommend our best practices.

What games/activities can I offer in my course?

Please contact your Instructional Designer for suggestions and recommendations or visit our faculty website.

Student Assistance

Who do my students contact if they are having technical difficulties?

Please contact FIU Online Support Services.

What type of special accommodations should be made for students with disabilities?

For information regarding accommodations for students with disabilities, please click here.

A student registered late. When will he/she gain access to his/her fully-online course?

Students will gain access within 24 hours of registration.

A student has already submitted a paper in Turnitin. He/she realized the wrong file was submitted. How can I allow him/her to resubmit?

The student can't resubmit and we cannot reset the submission for him/her. The student needs to e-mail you (the professor) his/her paper and you will have to manually submit it for the student through Turnitin.

Will FIU Online give support to students having issues with publisher hosted material?

FIU Online only provides support for content created and hosted by FIU Online.