Essential Skills for Online Teaching is a short, four-to-six-hour, self-paced course that tours the competencies required to be successful in teaching online. When participants finish the course, they will have explored the scope of skills necessary to create and teach a high-quality online course. Example strategies and resources are examined for each of the skill categories, including course design, communication, time management and technical competencies. The course is open to both credit and noncredit instructors teaching at UD.

Contact UD Online to enroll at any time.

UD Online also recommends CTAL’s Course Design Institute, a multi-day workshop that can jump start the course design process and is suitable for any course modality. IT ATS’s Innovative Teaching Strategies, a four-week course covering educational technology tools and course design, is also a fantastic option.

The UD Online office will contact each instructor to request the coming semester’s exam dates. About six weeks before the start of a new term, the UD Online Testing Center sends out a faculty information form that allows the UD Online Testing Center to plan and schedule examinations.

UD Online students take their exams at the UD campuses in Newark, Dover, Georgetown or via ProctorU.com, a live, online exam proctoring service. 

Exam locations are determined according to residency and student status. Students must book their exams in advance.

• Dover and Georgetown –  Exams given in Georgetown and Dover are administered on the Wednesday of the exam week specified for each course, as submitted by each course instructor to UD Online before the semester begins. Friday is added during finals week.
• Newark  – Newark students take their exams at the Newark Testing Center on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday during the exam week you designate. Depending on the academic calendar, Saturdays may be added for finals during the summer and winter terms.
• ProctorU – Students testing remotely via ProctorU take their exams on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday during the exam week specified for each course, as submitted by each course instructor to UD Online before the semester begins.

In order for your course exams to be duplicated and distributed to non-Newark students enrolled in your distance learning class, course exams are due to the UD Online office three weeks prior to the scheduled exam date. Please contact UD Online exam staff at 302-831-1500 or udonline-exams@udel.edu with any exam questions.

If a student does not take his or her exam as scheduled, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the course instructor for permission to reschedule the exam. No exam will be rescheduled by the UD Online office without approval from the instructor, which must be e-mailed to udonline-exams@udel.edu. 

Please include the following information:

• Faculty member’s name
• Student’s name
• Exam # being rescheduled
• Approval for student to reschedule exam
• Deadline for student to complete rescheduled exam

Link UD’s Academic Honesty Policy prominently in the course, such as in the syllabus or on the Canvas homepage, to ensure students are aware of the consequences of academic dishonesty.

Graduate students and all new students, both graduate and undergraduate, have been protecting their accounts with two-factor authentication (2FA) since November 2016. This requires students to have access to a code sent to a personal device in addition to the username and password for the LMS.

At the start of an online course, have a small assignment in which students film a short selfie video introducing themselves. This will help the instructors get to know the students and create a “baseline” for future assignments.

Encourage use of online office hours, ideally using Zoom video conferencing. Brief instructor-student meetings at the start of a course are another great way to get to know online students and could be made a requirement.

Require identity verification for at least 20 percent of the course’s final grade. Such assignments include the following:

1. Proctored exams – Depending on a student’s residency, exams can be given onsite at one of the UD Online Testing Centers or remotely through ProctorU. In both cases, a valid government-issued ID is required to take an exam.

2. Video-based assignment submission – Recorded presentations or assignments allow instructors to cross-check student faces with photos on record in the student database.

3. Live video presentations – Live presentations given in an online class using a video conferencing application allow instructors to cross-check student faces with photos on record in the student database.

4. Oral exams – Using videoconferencing for oral exams with remote students is another way to verify student identity. Moreover, it is a way for instructors to connect with students while they demonstrate their learning. Visit CTAL’s website to learn more about oral exams and other alternative assessments.