Mentors are expected to grade and comment on Learner assignments within seven calendar-days, uploading them to the Learner page within seven days following submission by a Learner. Please remember that course grades must be completed and submitted to the University within five calendar days after a course is completed.  If a grade is not issued within five calendar days after the scheduled end date an auto Incomplete will be generated. 25 days later an automatic F is issued if a final grade has not been posted.

The University requires faculty mentors to be available on a regular basis to assist Learners. The NCU Messaging System provides an excellent way to communicate with Learners.  Mentors should check the Mentor site weekly for incoming messages and alerts for submitted assignments.

The pay cycle begins with the posting of a grade at course completion. On the first of the month all the course completes for the previous month are compiled in a report that’s reviewed by the chairs. When the pay approvals are completed, the report is forwarded to payroll, checks are written and issued by the end of the month.

How do I update my syllabi?

For important links see http://mentors.ncu.edu/faculty_development/syllabus_links.asp

To update a syllabus use the NCU Syllabus template at http://mentors.ncu.edu/faculty_development/template.asp

The 21^st of the month is the cut-off date for mentors to send in syllabi to the Department Chairs. If a syllabus is received/approved between the 1^st and the 21^st of the month, that syllabus will be effective the first of the following month. EXAMPLE: syllabus received/approved between July 1^st and July 21^st will be used for August 1^st start date. Learners will have access to the syllabus on their Course page starting 21^st of the month.

Revised syllabi must be approved by the Department Chair.
 

Learner Leave of Absence (LOA) Policy:

A regular Leave of Absence (LOA) is intended for situations where personal and/or professional commitments inhibit continuous enrollment. LOAs are granted for a period of 30 days, and may be granted a maximum of three times during a calendar year. The Request for a Leave of Absence is submitted through the Learners website (at the bottom of the Course Review tab), including the requested duration and sufficient information on the reason for the leave. A Leave of Absence will not be granted in the fourth month of a course session, except in emergency situations approved by the department chair. The mentor will be notified by the Registrar when an LOA is processed, along with the adjusted course end date.

How often should I expect to hear from a Learner?

Learners are expected to be involved in a minimum of one scheduled instructional activity per week. To meet this expectation, Learners should make contact with the faculty mentor on a weekly basis through one of the following methods:

• Posting of an assignment (e.g., paper, project, etc.) in the Course Work area of the Learner’s course website
• Posting of an assignment to share with the faculty mentor and other Learners in the course website (e.g., a review of a book or article, a proposal for a research study, a presentation in the form of a PowerPoint Presentation file, reporting on participation in a research study, etc.
• Participation in a threaded discussion in the course website (e.g., commenting on a discussion question posted by the faculty mentor, providing feedback to another Learner, etc.).
• Viewing instructional materials (e.g., a PowerPoint presentation prepared by the faculty mentor, link to a reading, a streaming audio or video presentation, etc.).

Learners must use the NCU messaging system on the course website to contact faculty mentors. Learners who fail to make contact within the time period of one month may be withdrawn from the course by NCU.

Military Learners:

Military Learners may have special circumstances that inhibit their ability to academically participate on a weekly basis. Such Learners should contact their faculty mentor, through NCU’s messaging system, to establish a schedule for submitting their coursework. The Learner should also notify Learner affairs (LearnerAffairs@ncu.edu) and their academic advisor so that NCU can provide additional support, as needed, for the Learner in completing their academic program. 

Q:

A:

On the opening screen of the Mentor site, look for the "Forgot Your Login?" link underneath the login/password boxes. The following screen appears allowing you to request your password. Enter your NCU email address.

Q:

How do I create folders for a course discussion?

A:

On the mentor site, locate the tab for Course Forums.  This area lists the courses currently assigned.  By clicking on the course number, you enter the Course Page. Click on Discussion Forum.  Click on "Add a new folder" to place discussion folders in the forum.  Remember to click "Save." By clicking "Edit Folder Order," you can rank the folders in a preferred order.

Q:

How do I add resources to a Course Page?

A:

On the mentor site, locate the tab for Course Forums.  Click on the course number.  On the Course Page, click on Resources. The + sign found on the right side opens a dialogue box for adding a resource.

Q:

How do I use Track Changes for grading assignments?

A:

In Microsoft Word, select Tools/Track changes.  "Word allows you to easily make and view tracked changes and comments in a document. In order to preserve the layout of your document, Word shows some markup elements in the text of the document while others are displayed in balloons that appear in the margin. With the Track Changes feature turned on, each insertion, deletion, or formatting change that you or a reviewer makes is tracked. As you review tracked changes, you can accept or reject each change. (Microsoft Word Help, 2003)".  Be sure your Learner has a compatible version of Word so that the Learner can view the Track Changes.  If not, you may want to select a different color font to use for comments and corrections in grading assignments instead of Track Changes.

Q:

What do I do if I suspect a Learner of plagiarism?

A:

All assignments, exams, term papers, and other projects submitted to a faculty mentor must be the Learner’s own work. Faculty may submit coursework to TurnItIn.com for originality evaluation. The submission of another person’s work represented as that of the Learner’s without properly citing the source of the work will be considered plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, Learners should not “copy and paste” into any assignments without using quotation marks and citing in APA format the source of the material.

Mentors are encouraged to register with TurnItIn.com at http://www.turnitin.com Contact the ELRC for information on logging into the NCU account.

The faculty mentor has the prerogative to challenge a Learner’s work, and to ask a Learner to resubmit an assignment or to retake an exam. Faculty mentors have the academic freedom to reject questionable work and not assign a grade to the corresponding assignment. When the first incident of plagiarism is discovered, faculty mentors may assign an unsatisfactory grade for the assignment or for the entire course. Faculty mentors should discuss the incident with the department chair.  Notification to the Learner should include details and comments on how to avoid plagiarism in the future or links to the Learner page on academic integrity http://learners.ncu.edu/elrc/research/plagiarism.asp 

The Learner's Academic Advisor should be notified of the incident and your follow-up actions.  The Academic Advisor sends a formal warning to the Learner. 

The first incident of plagiarism will result in a formal warning. NCU may conduct an investigation to review past assignments submitted by the Learner in this and prior courses. NCU reserves the right to change past grades awarded by the University if plagiarism is subsequently found on assignments for such courses. If additional incidences of plagiarism are found, the Learner will be informed of the cases and Academic Standards will review the situation.

Any further incident of plagiarism detected by a faculty mentor will result in the academic dismissal of the Learner. The Learner’s right to appeal is covered under policies for appeal of a grade and appeal of academic dismissal.

For more information on the problems of “cyber-plagiarism”, please check the ELRC and Mentor Center web sites (http://mentors.ncu.edu/faculty_development/academic_integrity.asp) for links to discussions on plagiarism and distance education.