Index. Introduction.. 1. Becoming a student.3. Academic Integrity..4. Privacy Policy...5. Course Progress..5. Final Grades.6

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1 1 elearning Handbook The Niswonger Foundation is partnering with 15 local education agencies in Appalachia to establish the Northeast Tennessee College and Career Ready Consortium. Partner LEAs include Bristol Tennessee City Schools, Carter County Schools, Cocke County School System, Elizabethton Tennessee City Schools, Greene County Schools, Greeneville City Schools, Hamblen County Schools, Hancock County Public Schools, Hawkins County Schools, Johnson City Schools, Johnson County Schools, Kingsport City Schools, Sullivan County Department of Education, Unicoi County School System, and Washington County School District. The Consortium plans to expand access to rigorous courses by: (1) creating a regional coordinating body that will analyze course supply and demand in the region and determine course need; (2) scaling up local promising practices to offer more rigorous courses, including distance and online learning, Advanced Placement, and dual enrollment; and (3) providing new resources on college preparedness, access, and application processes via college counselors. Key objectives over the five-year grant period include: (1) offering an additional 45,646 seats in rigorous courses to high school students in the region, with an additional 15,804 seats in these courses being provided annually after the grant ends; (2) ensuring that by at least 10% of students in the region graduate from high school with a full year of college credits, and an additional 20% of high school students graduate with at least half a year of credit; and (3) increasing the region's college enrollment and persistence rates by at least 10% by To ensure sustainability, LEAs will have incorporated over 80% of the grant costs into their annual operating budgets by The Consortium has a strong set of state and national partners that will help scale the grant in two other regions of the state beginning in if the project proves successful."

2 2 Index Introduction.. 1 Becoming a student.3 Academic Integrity..4 Privacy Policy...5 Course Progress..5 Final Grades.6 Completing the online course.6 Frequently asked questions 6 Bibliography 7

3 3 Becoming a Student Application Process: Applications are made available online at three times a year. These times correlate to the fall, spring and summer semesters at our consortium schools. These applications, once submitted, are entered into a database and saved until approval has been granted or denied. All applicants must have a valid address and must have their guidance counselor complete the application. Administration officials will examine all of the submitted applications and decide, what classes are to be offered. Applications that are not complete or that do not have a valid address included will not be accepted. SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION DOES NOT ENROLL A STUDENT IN A PARTICULAR CLASS. Once an application has been approved, an is sent to the applicant and guidance counselor stating the day and time the student may begin working. All account information will be sent via to the student and counselor. Internet access is required for all NETCO online courses. Students who have failed a course in the traditional classroom and qualify to participate in the credit recovery program are not permitted to take an online course through NETCO Acceptable Usage Internet access is required for all NETCO online students, but access must be used in a responsible, safe, efficient, ethical, and legal manner. With expanded access to electronic information, availability of inappropriate material is not uncommon. Some sites contain illegal, defamatory, inaccurate, or offensive information. Although it is impossible to control such misuses, we believe that with responsible use, the benefits of the Internet as an educational tool outweigh the negatives. We especially appreciate partnering with parents to teach responsible Internet use. Please review the following etiquette rules and NETCO expectations carefully: Students are responsible for good behavior on the NETCO network, just as they are in a traditional school building. Always use a computer in a way that shows consideration and respect. It is illegal to use obscene, profane, threatening, or disrespectful language. We take integrity and authenticity of student work very seriously at NETCO. Do not cut, copy, or plagiarize Internet content or the work of your online classmates. NETCO instructors do utilize technologies to check for authenticity. Copying, knowingly allowing others to copy from you, and/or misusing Internet content could result in removal from our courses. Security is a high priority, especially when the system involves many users. If you can identify a security problem in the courses, network, or Internet connection, notify a system administrator. is not private. Never say anything via that you wouldn't mind seeing on the school bulletin board or in the local newspaper. Beware of s from anyone, particularly adults you don t know, asking for personal information, attempting to arrange meetings, or engaging in personal contact. Alert your teacher or NETCO administrators of any message you receive that is inappropriate or makes you feel uncomfortable. with your online classmates should be course-related. It is prohibited to send unsolicited to your online classmates. addresses that use profanity or may be construed as offensive, shall not be permitted for NETCO correspondence. NETCO administration reserves the right to determine if student addresses are

4 4 inappropriate. When necessary, students will be asked to use an alternative address or be refused for participation in NETCO courses. Protect your password. Keep it secret from anyone except your parents. NETCO assumes no responsibility for any phone charges, line costs or usage fees for connectivity to the Internet. Academic Integrity (FLVS 2010) Academic integrity is one of the foundations of learning at NETCO. Because of its importance in all of our instruction, there are a variety of tools that we utilize in ensuring the integrity of student work. Among these tools are: Turnitin.com This Internet tool compares student work against a variety of databases. The NETCO instructors have the option of using Turnitin.com. This database compares students work against other students work, as well as work found on the Internet. Academic Integrity Database NETCO maintains its own database of student integrity incidences or violations. This database is used to monitor the number of student integrity issues. Teacher Expertise NETCO instructors have extensive classroom experience. Their expertise is often a guide in identifying the level of originality in student work. Discussion Based Assessments Each teacher regularly conducts discussion based assessments with his or her students. These conversations occur at specific intervals as well as randomly in a course and are included in the assessment component of each course. The teacher discusses individual student work and extends the conversation to allow the student to demonstrate mastery of the content and to verify the authenticity of the student s work. Proctored Exams Each teacher can request a scheduled proctored exam at any time for a student. There are two kinds of academic integrity violations. One is plagiarism and the other is cheating. Plagiarism According to Merriam-Webster online dictionary, plagiarism is to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one s own: use (another s production) without crediting the source. (plagiarize, 2010) Some examples are, but not limited to the following: Copying and pasting a report from the Internet and representing it as your own work Copying any other work and not properly citing authorship Cheating According to Merriam-Webster s online dictionary, cheating is defined in multiple ways. NETCO finds that two definitions are particularly relevant: (cheating, 2010) To influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice a: To practice fraud or trickery b: to violate rules dishonestly <cheat at cards> <cheating on a test> Some examples are, but not limited to the following: Providing questions/answers/ work to another student Receiving questions/answers/work from another student Discipline for Academic Integrity violations 1 st offense.zero on the assignment(s) in question or Removal from the online course

5 5 2 nd Offense Removal from the online course Privacy Policy Some schools assign a lab facilitator to help students who use school labs to access NETCO courses. Facilitators will have access to students online work. Facilitators will not have access to students demographics. No member of the NETCO staff is authorized to release student information without the written permission of the student s legal guardian. Names, images, and/or course work of NETCO students will not be published in print, video/film, or on our website without written student and guardian consent. All NETCO students are provided a unique password to access online courses. It is the student's responsibility to keep his/her password in confidence. Bullying & Harassment It is an expectation that all NETCO students and employees shall use all equipment and programs for the intended educational purpose. Bullying and harassment will not be tolerated and shall be just cause for disciplinary action. Conduct that constitutes bullying or harassment, as defined herein, is prohibited. Bullying, harassment, cyber stalking is defined as inflicting physical or psychological distress, communicating words, images or language using electronic mail that causes emotional distress and for which there is no legitimate purpose. Any action by a student or parent deemed inappropriate will be fully investigated by the appropriate NETCO administrator. Consequences for actions that violate the policy on bullying and harassment shall be determined by the administrative staff of NETCO and may include: Student/teacher/parent conference Removal from access to NETCO courses Progress: It is the sole responsibility of the student to complete the work for this course. Instructors will make themselves available to help and will make several contacts during the semester, but ultimately the student must take the initiative to complete the course. Three progress reports are submitted by all online instructors each semester. These reports are electronically sent to the guidance counselor, student and administration. If student progress is unacceptable and a progress report stating this has been sent, a teacher will attempt to make contact with the school counselor. If no contact can be made, the student will be removed from the class until such time as contact has been made by the student. All work is due the last day of the current semester. Extensions can only be granted through a formal request made by the student to NETCO administration.

6 6 Final Grades: Once a course has been completed the teacher will electronically submit a grade report which is sent to the guidance counselor, and NETCO administration. Grades are then entered into the student s permanent record. Cost: While the NETCO I3 grant is supporting the online initiative there is normally no cost to the students or school districts. Completing the online course: Students may be required to come on site at their home school to take benchmark exam(s) throughout the semester. These exams will be scheduled in advance and students must bring photo Ids with them. Students taking writing intensive courses may be required to submit writing samples to the instructor at the beginning of each class. Frequently Asked Questions: How do I apply to take an online course? Students must fill out an application for enrollment and submit it to NETCO Applications can be found online at How do I contact my teacher if I have questions? Your teacher will provide you with his/her address in case you have questions. What do I do if I m having technical difficulties? For technical problems related to the course or content, contact the teacher first. If there is a problem that the teacher cannot solve, they will contact an administrator for assistance. If you are unable to contact your teacher, the next point of contact is Dr. bhenley@tusculum.edu How long do I have to complete assignments and the course? Assignments, quizzes, and tests are posted on the site according to teacher discretion. Many teachers will post the assignment with a due date. After the due date, the assignment may be turned off so you would have to contact the teacher for access to that assignment. The course is designed to complete in one semester. Logging in to your course is your statement that you have read and understand the rules explained within this handbook

7 7 Bibliography: 2010, from Plagiarize. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved June 21, webster.com/dictionary/plagiarize Cheating. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved June 21, webster.com/dictionary/cheating 2010, from Florida Virtual School (2010) Policies. Retrieved June 10, 2010 from Bristol Tennessee City Schools online learning center (2008) Student FAQ Retrieved, June 10, 2010 from