For purposes of calculating instructional time in the context of asynchronous distance education (Online Anytime courses), a week of instructional time is any week in which:

The institution makes available the instructional materials, other resources, and instructor support necessary for academic engagement and completion of course objectives; and
The institution expects enrolled students to perform educational activities demonstrating academicengagement during the week.

At minimum, the number of instructor contact hours of regular and substantive interaction with students per week in any Distance Learning course shall be equivalent to a section of the same course delivered in person. Faculty Office Hours are not included in this requirement.

Census and Drop Roster

Census is how colleges report all registered students to the state. The numbers are used to determine a college’s apportionment funding. Census is a state requirement and is taken 20% into the course. All faculty are expected to:

Check Banner rosters to ensure the students who are registered are attending.

Any students who have not logged in and completed an initial check-in assignment as of the census date must be dropped.
If you are unsure of your census date, you can find it on your Print Basic Roster link in your Banner roster.

Census input and Drop Roster is via Banner. You can access Banner from your mySiskiyous portal. If you forget your mySiskiyous Password & Username please call/email the numbers below:

Phone – 530-938-5523 (if no answer- call Technology Services at 938-5222)
Email – studenthelpdesk@siskiyous.edu

Please review this Admissions and Records presentation specific to Census and Drop Roster (PPT). Contact Admissions and Records if you have questions or need additional guidance.

Be sure to select "submit" after you finish. Continue for each course you are teaching.

Last Date of Attendance & Participation Best Practices

Recent examples of financial aid fraud have caused the Federal Department of Education to require last date of attendance information and tracking of student attendance for online courses. Therefore, it is up to the instructor to closely monitor student participation in Online and Hybrid courses.

It is not enough to evaluate a student’s attendance based solely on the number and frequency of logins or through course statistics on Canvas. Instructors must drop students based on their “lack of” participation in class. “Attendance” (through logins) is not the same as participation. Participation means actively completing course activities in the CMS (Canvas) such as assignments, assessments, discussion posts, etc. Participation policies must be clarified in your course syllabus. The suggestions that follow are meant to protect the institution from fraudulent student enrollments.

Monitoring for NS, Last Date of Attendance, and Withdraw / Drop

Create a course Check-In Assignment, such as a discussion forum, a survey or syllabus quiz, or a self-assessment. Simply having the student login for the first day of class is not enough.
State the last day for Check-In to occur (e.g., the third day after the course begins, end of the first week, etc.).
Use the module “requirements” area to set module requirements. If you need assistance setting up your modules, contact Maria Elena Fernandez, fernandez@siskiyous.edu
Provide the census date and last day to drop with a “W” date for your course. Find these dates in your Banner roster in mySiskiyous
If students are late checking in, or have missed more than one week without contacting you, send a message via Canvas Inbox or via the grade book before the census date to inform students that they are in danger of being dropped if they do not respond and/or complete the required activities by the deadline you establish.