Faculty-to-student feedback related to grades for discussion forums/collaborative learning should be private in the LMS gradebook, not placed in the forum itself.

Additionally, instructors might decide to host a voluntary, synchronous video meeting with students using a platform like Microsoft Teams or Zoom. See 4.3.4 Instructional Presentations.

Due to the often-accelerated nature of online education, timeliness in all online-related communications is one of the most critical factors for faculty engagement and student success. To ensure that students have timely responses to inquiries, instructors should respond to student emails, phone calls, or other modes of communication within forty-eight (48) hours. Additionally, instructors must check into the online course within the LMS at least every 36 to 48 hours to respond to in-course messages, discussions, and manage the roster. This frequent course presence supports the requirements of regular and substantive interaction. Written communications to students should be cordial, address the student by name, be well-written and thorough, and should answer content-related questions.

Internal communications between faculty and administration regarding urgent online matters require timely responses to triage and mitigate specific issues. When such an issue is flagged as urgent (which should be somewhat rare), please respond to applicable communication as soon as possible.

KYSU Online/Global does not require that online faculty hold virtual office hours, but instructors can choose to offer this to their students. Due to the nature of online learning and the unique needs of online students, faculty are expected to schedule online appointments with students who request to one. Although KYSU Online/Global does not require a minimum number of virtual office hours each week, instructors should invite students to schedule synchronous communication such as phone calls or video conferences when needed (on platforms like Microsoft Teams or Zoom).60 The instructor should be reasonably available and accommodating to student’s meeting requests within a couple of days. Additionally, online faculty should be reasonably flexible to accommodate the schedules of online students, who sometimes prefer meetings outside the regular business hours of 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Sometimes students inquire about the course content via email, but a response is more effectively communicated in a conversation rather than an email response. Instructors should proactively embrace these opportunities to engage students on a scheduled call. In other cases, instructors should use the scheduled calls to support student success and retention efforts.

Faculty should intentionally identify and assist struggling students. This is an essential piece of a broader student support infrastructure. To that end, faculty should deploy a consistent range of strategies to help that portion of the student population.

Online faculty should contact students who miss assignment due dates. If a student misses an assignment due date or fails to post to the discussion board, instructors should contact them within 48 hours to indicate concern and to offer relevant support. Depending on instructor

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