Guidance for Transitioning to Remote Instruction

NJIT is prepared to transition to remote instruction, when necessary, in order to ensure an uninterrupted academic experience. In such an event, an announcement will be posted on the NJIT website and broadcasted through NJIT’s Campus Wide Notification System. We have prepared the following guidance to help in these situations:
Guidance for Transitioning to Remote Instruction

Information for Instructors

Video Conferencing

Instructors will be expected to utilize video conferencing software to deliver lectures and lessons. These sessions should take place at the same time as the normally scheduled face-to-face courses. 

It is recommended that instructors schedule these meetings using ZOOM (Support articles), NJIT’s video conferencing platform. Once the meeting is scheduled that information should be sent to students via email as well as posted to Canvas as an announcement. We suggest that class be recorded (following NJIT’s Policy for Recording Classes) and then directly embedded into the course so that students who are unavailable can review them afterwards. 

The ZOOM meetings should be scheduled as soon as possible and communicated with students to help set expectations and make the situation less stressful. Instructors who need assistance during a regularly scheduled class period should contact Media and Technology Support Services at 973-596-3005.

In the event that an instructor cannot hold a live video conference during the pre-scheduled class meeting time, lectures and lessons may also be recorded using Panopto (Support articles) and then embedded into the course. This information should be sent to students via email as well as posted to Canvas as an announcement.

Syllabi

While a transition to remote instruction is an emergency situation, instructors are encouraged to share the following blurb with students in their syllabi:

“Prior to the start of this semester, please read through the NJIT Guidance for Transitioning to Remote Instruction page and register for the Campus Wide Notification System. In the event that NJIT transitions to remote instruction, I will share course-specific delivery information with students via email and through the Canvas Announcement tool. It is recommended that students have their notifications turned ON for Canvas Announcements. If you do not have adequate computing equipment for remote instruction, please contact the Dean of Students (dos@njit.edu).”

Flexibility

It is recommended to be flexible in these circumstances as students may not have adequate resources to connect remotely in the event of a transition. This may include necessary computing equipment, a sufficient internet connection, lack of power, or even a quiet place for meeting. If students reach out to you that lack necessary computing equipment, direct them to the Dean of Students (DoS) office (dos@njit.edu). Note that while there are computer labs on campus for student usage, an emergency switch to remote instruction may not be a viable option for students. 

Exams

If there is an emergency transition with a face-to-face exam, instructors have two options: 

  1. Postpone the exam to a later date
  2. Convert the exam to an online proctored exam


For emergent transitions, it is recommended to incorporate Respondus LockDown Browser. NJIT does not suggest using either ProctorU solution (Record+ and Live+); there is a larger needed time frame for scheduling and student practice. In these cases, exams must be within a Canvas quiz for the proctoring solutions to work correctly. 

Additional Resources

The following additional resources are available:

Information for Students 

Instructors will send a communication with details on how the course will be facilitated. This information may be shared via email and/or a Canvas course announcement. If students have not heard from an instructor they should reach out and ask how the course will be offered. If students do not have adequate resources to connect remotely such as a sufficient internet connection, lack of power, or even a quiet place for meeting, students should reach out to the instructor to discuss options. If students lack necessary computing equipment, reach out to the Dean of Students (dos@njit.edu) for a loaner device. 

  • ZOOM is the most commonly used tool for remote instruction at NJIT. 

  • ZOOM accounts must be activated by logging in to njit-edu.zoom.us using UCID credentials. This is only required once.

  • See NJIT’s ZOOM tutorials (Zoom in Canvas) for additional assistance in using ZOOM. 

If you have any questions or encounter issues logging into ZOOM, please reach out to the IST Service Desk at 973-596-2900.