Just over a year ago, campus life as we knew it changed dramatically when staff, students and faculty were sent home and classes moved online. The good news is that with safety measures in place and far-reaching access to COVID-19 vaccines, the University is planning for a return to in-person, on-campus instruction. Now that we’re back on campus, the ConnectCarolina team, in support of the Registrar’s Office, managed the data collection and coding for class schedules, course details and more to make it easier for faculty to add class information and for students to make scheduling decisions.
Modes of instruction
Unlike the past year, the default mode — the way a class is delivered — is “In-person” for Fall 2021. A department or school can request an exception to deliver a class remotely or to use a combination of in-person and online. Some exceptions are space constraints due to construction, specific faculty accommodations and Carolina Away or other specialized online degree programs. Instructors use a new page in ConnectCarolina to request one-off exceptions for mode changes, and those requests go to the Senior Associate Deans for approval.
New Class Features functionality
The Class Features page was introduced for Spring 2021 registration. It shows information about how the class will be delivered (mode) plus information to help students balance their class schedule. Faculty can also upload documents with more details, like the class syllabus, the weighted components of the class, or an estimated cost for supplies. The ConnectCarolina team recently updated the page to make it easier for instructors to add information about class features. New functionality includes:
- Copy-Over: Instructors can copy class features and documents from one class section to another.
Proxy Instructors can designate someone else, like a teaching assistant, to have access to add class features. Instructors can also remove a proxy and see the audit history of actions. When someone is added or removed as a Class Feature Proxy, they receive an email notifying them of their status for that class. - Proxy Instructors can designate someone else, like a teaching assistant, to have access to add class features. Instructors can also remove a proxy and see the audit history of actions. When someone is added or removed as a Class Feature Proxy, they receive an email notifying them of their status for that class.
Registration timeline
Fall 2021 class registration appointments for students start on June 1. In a “normal” year, registration for fall classes would be over before students left for the summer. Pushing registration back a few weeks gave the University time to assess the effects of our COVID safety measures before committing to a more typical residential academic experience. Once the decision was made, the work in ConnectCarolina began so the modes of instruction for the classes and the class locations were in place before the students registered.
