A Message to our Students from Provost Deek

I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy during this unprecedented event. The well-being of our students, faculty, and staff is our top priority and we appreciate your patience as we respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic. We recognize this is a stressful time and many of you have questions about the move to online instruction. I want to answer some of these questions and outline what you can expect for the remainder of this semester.

First and foremost, NJIT is committed to keeping our community safe while delivering a quality education. It is important to us that you are able to stay on track with your academic progress. We also want to recognize all the hard work that you have already put into this semester. 

To that purpose, your instructors have been working on their plans to move your courses online over the past two weeks. If you have not already heard from them, you should – by next week - be receiving communications from them outlining their plans for the rest of the semester.

We ask that you be patient throughout the first week of online classes as we all make this adjustment together. We will need to be flexible as we may experience some bumps along the way, but be assured that we will not compromise on the quality of your NJIT education.

While each teaching plan will be a little different, here are some tips/suggestions:

Learning Management System (Canvas and Moodle): Most instructors will use either Canvas or Moodle to share readings, lectures, and other course materials. They will communicate to you which tool your class will be using. You can log into both Canvas and Moodle with your UCID and password and should check your courses daily to keep an eye out for updates and announcements.

Video Conferencing (Webex): Many classes will use video conferencing technology to deliver course lectures. We will use this opportunity to become comfortable participating in video conferences - both with the technical mechanics as well as the etiquette. This experience will help prepare you to use these tools professionally. As such, here are some suggestions:

• Prepare a professional and organized work space - this is especially important if you will be using a web camera.
• Let roommates or family members know that you will be on a video conference.
• Keep your microphone muted when you are not speaking.
• If you experience video lag, turn off your web camera and/or hide the participant’s video.
• Join the conference before it is scheduled to start.

If your class is using Webex, you will receive a meeting link from your instructor. For more information on joining a meeting, please see the following guide: Participating in a Webex meeting.

Quizzes and Assignments (Respondus and Proctor U): Depending upon the course material, you may be asked to upload assignments to Canvas/Moodle and/or take proctored online exams. Proctoring tools will be used to ensure the same level of integrity for online and face-to-face courses. This is a standard practice and not something we do because we do not trust our students. Given the unexpected nature of this situation, NJIT will be covering the cost of proctored exams.

The proctoring solutions are the same ones that we use to deliver NJIT’s fully online programs. These solutions adhere to best practices for online learning and academic integrity and are an industry standard across institutions within higher education.

• Respondus is an online exam monitoring software that uses artificial intelligence for proctoring.  Students show their NJIT ID before taking an exam and any potential violations are flagged for later review by the instructor.
• ProctorU is an online proctoring service that uses both artificial intelligence and human proctors. Proctoring is done via webcam and screen activity is monitored.

Specialized Software: We are working with software companies to provide remote access to specialized software that would normally be available in NJIT’s computer labs. Each arrangement is different. Your instructors will provide more information as it is available.

Labs: These are being handled differently on department by department basis.  More information will be available next week.

Time Management: It can be easy to fall behind in a course when you aren’t physically in class every week. Log into the learning management system every day to check your course for announcements, updates, and new materials, and use your scheduled face-to-face “meeting times” to focus on work for each class. Make a schedule of assignments and due dates in a calendar or planner.

If you have concerns about online proctoring or access to resources (e.g. computers or the internet) please contact the Dean of Students https://www5.njit.edu/doss/contact.php. If you need assistance with a technical problem, please contact the Service Desk by visiting servicedesk.njit.edu, emailing servicedesk@njit.edu, or calling (973) 596-2900.

We appreciate your flexibility over the next few weeks. While this may not be the semester that we envisioned, we will succeed as a community.