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HIGH SCHOOL POLICIES

Academic Standards

  • Courses will be taught by experienced educators certified to teach high school in South Dakota. 
  • Teachers will be certified in their discipline and preferably hold a Master’s or Ph.D. degree.
  • Courses will be designed to meet state and national standards for the discipline.
  • All courses will have two-way audio/video sessions as well as Internet interaction.
  • A variety of teaching and assessment strategies will be employed in each course.
  • Course grades will be determined by the Master Teacher and based on the following grading scale:

100-90 = A
89 - 80 = B
79 - 70 = C
69 - 60 = D
below 60 = failure

Add/Drop Policy

  • There is no penalty to a district if the district decides not to receive a course for which it has preregistered.
  • If a district is signed up to receive a course, students from that district will be allowed to enroll in the class any time up to, but not past, the first two weeks of the course.
  • If a district is signed up to receive a course, students from that district signed up for the course may drop the course without penalty within the first two weeks of the course. Enrolled students who drop the course after the two-week grace period, but before completion of the class, will receive a "W" for the course in the NSU records. The impact of this failing grade on the student's high school GPA will be determined by the student's high school administrators.
  • If a student enrolls after the first day of class, but within the two-week grace period, it will be the student's responsibility to make up all missed work.

Course Records

  • Student scores will be maintained in a WebCT site for all graded activities and tests for each course.
  • Each student will be able to view his or her grades at any time by accessing the WebCT course site.
  • The parents or guardians of each student will be provided with their child's WebCT login and password so that they can monitor the academic progress of their child at any time.
  • High school administrators will be given the login and passwords for all students from his/her district enrolled in the course so that he/she can review the academic progress of the students at any time. Administrators will not have access to records for students from other districts.
  • At the conclusion of the course, the percentage earned by the student and the letter grade designated by the Master Teacher will be posted on WebCT for view by the student, his/her parents, and the appropriate high school administrator. 
  • The WebCT site records will remain posted and accessible on the Internet for at least one month following the conclusion of each course. After this time, a hard copy of the records will be maintained in the NSU Center for Statewide E-learning office, and the WebCT site will be deleted.
  • The NSU registrar's office will maintain a long-term electronic record of the student participation and final course grades in the student information database.

Course Enrollment Limits

  • Course enrollment will be limited to 30 students per section at the discretion of the Master Teachers.
  • No more than nine sites (eight districts plus NSU) will be linked together to receive one section of a course at the discretion of the Master Teachers.
  • If there is high demand for a course, there may be an enrollment limit of ten students per district.
  • If demand is high, a district may be limited to receive no more than five courses per year.

Sign-up Procedures

  • Course availability for the upcoming academic year will be announced in December.
  • Announcements will be mailed to principals and superintendents of all South Dakota high schools and posted on the DDN and NSU Center for Statewide E-learning Web sites.
  • District registrations will be accepted during a one-week registration period each March. Registrations received during this period will be accepted according to South Dakota Department of Education’s priority ratings based on districts’ sparsity and size. After this period, districts will be accepted into courses on a first come-first served basis.
  • Districts must designate an e-mentor for their district at the time of application.
  • Districts will be sent a confirmation letter verifying their acceptance into a course; until receipt of the confirmation letter, participation in the course is not assured.
  • Districts may cancel their registration at any time without penalty; however, we do encourage districts to notify our office immediately after deciding to cancel a registration, so we can accommodate others on the waiting list.
  • When courses are full, districts will be placed on a waiting list and added to courses in the event of a cancellation by another district.

Cost

Although the courses are being made available TUITION-FREE, there are some costs the districts must absorb if they wish to participate in this program: 

  • Educational Materials: The Master Teacher at NSU will select a textbook for the course. Districts receiving the course will be responsible for providing copies of the textbooks and other related educational materials for each student who is enrolled. In the case of courses such as the lab sciences, the educational supplies may be significant. 
  • E-mentor: Each school district must assign (and cover the employment cost for) an e-mentor for the receiving classroom. The e-mentor will serve as an adult facilitator whenever the class meets and work with the Master Teacher throughout the school year. This person may be a teacher’s aid, school secretary, adult volunteer, or teacher from another discipline with a free period. Northern State University will cover the expenses for the e-mentor to travel to NSU to meet with the Master Teacher during the summer to learn the skills necessary to serve as a facilitator. 
  • Computers for Students: To complete the course work, students will need to have access to computers and the Internet where course materials will be available through WebCT, other Internet multimedia and streaming media resources. (Districts need not purchase this software.) Districts should also arrange to have at least one computer in the DDN classroom and arrange access through local firewalls.
  • Technical Support: The school district must assume responsibility for making sure its DDN studio and computer technology are functional and available to the students when needed.  If equipment is broken or not working, the problem will be reported to DDN.
  • Lab Kits: The NSU Center for Statewide E-learning will provide kits for those courses that require expensive, reusable equipment or educational materials. These kits will be loaned to districts at no cost. However, districts will be required to replace items from the kit that are lost or damaged.

Student Discipline Policy

  • Because distance education demands a maturity level and dedication beyond what is necessary under normal circumstances, good behavior, a cooperative attitude, and a serious dedication to learning are expected of all students wishing to participate in these courses.
  • All students, their parents and the school administrator will be required to sign a Behavior Contract in order for the student to participate in a course delivered by the NSU Center for Statewide E-learning.
  • Monitoring student behavior and assuring that the students adhere to the conditions of the Behavior Contract and the rules of the local school district are the responsibilities of the high school administrators and their on-site e-mentor.
  • NSU reserves the right to bar a student from a course if he or she violates the conditions of the Behavior Contract - this decision is the purview of the Master Teacher.

Daily Schedule and Annual Calendar

    Most classes will run for 50 minutes daily (selected AP courses will run for 1 hour and 20 minutes).
  • The first class will begin at 7:30 a.m.; the last class will begin at 3:05 p.m. Central Time.
    • Students will be expected to adhere to a yearly calendar that will be established for all courses being offered by the NSU Center for Statewide E-learning, with courses beginning in late August and ending in mid-May and having at least 175 class days. 
  • 2007-2008 Academic Calendar for E-learning Center High School Courses
    • 2007-2008 Schedule by Course
    • 2007-2008 Schedule by Time
    • Classes begin: August 22, 2007
    • Classes end: May 13, 2008
    • In-service/teacher work days: August 20-21, 2007; May 14-15, 2008
    • Fall 2007 Holidays/Breaks (no class sessions):
      • September 3, 2007  (Labor Day)
      • October 8, 2007  (Native American Day)
      • November 12, 2007  (Veterans' Day)
      • November 22-23, 2007 (Thanksgiving break)
      • December 24, 2007 – January 2, 2008  (winter holiday break)
    • Classes Resume: January 3, 2008
    • Spring 2008 Holidays/Breaks (no class sessions):
      • January 21, 2008  (Martin Luther King Day)
      • February 18, 2008  (President's Day)
      • March 7, 2008  (State Girls’ Basketball Tournament)
      • March 14, 2008 (State Boys’ Basketball Tournament)
      • March 21-24, 2008  (Easter break) 

       

  • 2008-2009 Academic Calendar for E-learning Center High School Courses
    Classes begin: August 18, 2008
    Classes end: May 13, 2009
    In-service/teacher work days: August 14-15, 2008; May 14, 2009
    Fall 2008 Holidays/Breaks (no class sessions):
      • September 1, 2008 (Labor Day)
      • October 13, 2008 (Native American Day)
      • November 11, 2008 (Veterans' Day)
      • November 27-28, 2008 (Thanksgiving break)
      • December 22, 2008 – January 2, 2009 (winter holiday break)

      Classes Resume: January 5, 2009
      Spring 2009 Holidays/Breaks (no class sessions):

      • January 19, 2009 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
      • February 16, 2009 (Presidents’ Day)
      • March 13, 2009 (spring break)
      • March 20, 2009 (spring break)
      • April 10-13, 2009 (Easter break)
         

Academic Assistance

  • Each Master Teacher will hold at least six office hours per week when they will be accessible by phone and e-mail.
  • Teaching assistants (either graduate students, undergraduates majoring in the discipline or experts in the field) will be accessible by phone and e-mail on a schedule designated for each course by the Master Teacher.

Academic Eligibility   All courses from the NSU Center for Statewide E-learning are limited to college-bound high school students who are in good academic standing in their high school, can read at grade level or beyond, and are willing to make a good faith effort to successfully complete the course. Additional eligibility requirements for specific courses are listed below:  

  • First Year Foreign Language Courses
    • Grades: 9-12
  • Second Year Foreign Language Courses
    • Grades: 10-12
    • Grade of C or better in the first year of the foreign language
  • CP Courses (course prerequisites, if they exist, are included in course syllabi)
    • Grades: 11-12
  • AP Courses (course prerequisites, if they exist, are included in course syllabi)
    • Grades: 12 (advanced or highly qualified juniors will be accepted)

Technical Assistance

  • DDN network tech support -  Help Line 800-567-8345
    • 8 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
  • NSU Help Desk: phone: 605-626-2283 or 1-866-693-0163 (toll free)