WebCT Vista Polices and Procedures Guide
DRAFT
September 23, 2005
Table of Contents
About This Document 4
Document Revision History 4
WebCT Vista Course Management Overview 4
WebCT Vista Maintenance and Downtimes 5
Scheduled Maintenance Window 5
Unscheduled Downtime 5
Support Resources 6
Getting Started 6
Faculty Support Resources 6
Student Support Resources 7
Support Call Escalation 8
Documentation 9
Training 9
System Administrator Resources 9
Communication 10
Listservs 10
Automatic Listservs 11
Announcements 11
WebCT Vista Roles 11
Server Administrator 11
Domain Administrator 12
Domain Designer 12
Institutional Administrator 12
Institutional Designer 13
Group Administrator 14
Group Designer 14
Course Instructor 14
Course Designer 15
Section Instructor 15
Section Designer 16
Student/Auditor 16
Teaching Assistant 16
Help Desk User 16
WebCT Vista Account Management 17
Manual Account Creation 17
Automatic Account Creation 18
Instructor Enrollment 18
Student Enrollment 18
Access to Vista Courses 19
FERPA Restricted Account Names 19
WebCT Vista Course Maintenance 20
Beginning of Term Processing 20
Archiving the WebCT Vista Section Grade Book 20
Archiving WebCT Vista Course Content 20
End of Term Processing 21
WebCT Vista Implementation Settings 21
WebCT Vista Integrations 22
Central Authentication Service (CAS) 22
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) 22
uPortal 23
PeopleSoft Student Information System 23
The Role of Authoritative Sources 23
WebCT Vista PowerLinks 24
Frequently Asked Questions 25
Appendix 26
NAU Vista License 26
WebCT Vista Data Center 27
WebCT Vista Backup Procedures 27
NAU Vista Course Lifecycle 28
NAU Vista Account Life Cycle 30
Roster Management 32
FERPA Restricted E-mail to Students 32
WebCT Vista Implementation Settings 33
About This Document
This policy and procedures guide describes details important to the implementation and operation of WebCT Vista at Northern Arizona University. WebCT Vista is a commercial course management system, which is to say that Northern Arizona University purchases an annual subscription for a license to run WebCT Vista in order to locally host web courses and to provide on-line services to other types of courses and activities.
The most recent version of this guide can be found on the Vista server under the File Manager in the top level “Documents” folder.
Document Revision History
Date / NotesSeptember 2005 / First release of this guide
WebCT Vista Course Management Overview
The current implementation of Vista builds on lessons learned from operating previous web course and course management systems at Northern Arizona University as well as internal discussions related to best practices based on papers, consultants, and conferences. Vista is a major upgrade over past web environments. It takes its place among other mission critical online services and is similarly subject to enterprise-level administrative policies and procedures.
One of the changes from the past is the improvements Vista offers in integrating to other campus data sources. The interface to the PeopleSoft sudent information system, for example, is a critical piece of the Vista implementation. In fact, all official for-credit classes taught in Vista are derived from the data interface to PeopleSoft; the data feed from PeopleSoft runs at two hour intervals. This means that PeopleSoft schedule of class data, including start dates, section numbers, and instructor(s), are initiated in PeopleSoft and continuously fed to Vista. Class rosters are likewise managed as part of the ongoing data feed from PeopleSoft to Vista.
Class rosters, in fact, may be worth discussing as an example of this improved data interface. In the past, faculty had to manage and worry about matching PeopleSoft rosters to their web courses. Now, with Vista, this is handled automatically. Adds and drops, subject to a two hour delay, are continuously passed from PeopleSoft to Vista. Faculty no longer have to worry about mismatches between the two systems. All changes, even instructor initiated administrative drops, are handled through the Registrar’s office. An administrative drop, for instance, will result in the student being denied access within two hours of the registrar’s office processing the request.
This sort of tight integration eliminates duplication of data entry effort and reduces errors. Of course, there may be rare cases where a problem arises. In such cases, faculty should contact the E-Learning Center—and students should contact the Academic Computing Help Desk—to have the problem investigated and corrected. Problems, in these cases, are fixed at the source (e.g. in PeopleSoft). In cases where the problem is time-critical, both the E-Learning Center and the Academic Computing Help Desk have the skills and escalation procedures in place to initiate an investigation to correct the problem as quickly as possible.
Of course, there is more to Vista than just data interfaces. The remainder of this document addresses a wide variety of policies and procedures which are necessary when implementing and operating a sophisticated enterprise level course management system. Topics addressed include system maintenance, support services, communication, account management, and course maintenance. As befitting such a complex system, the reader is encouraged to provide feedback regarding this document in order to point out inconsistencies, problems, or lessons learned and assure this document, and the Vista system, remains viable over its lifetime. Suggestions for improvement are welcome and may be sent to the E-Learning Center ().
WebCT Vista Maintenance and Downtimes
The production Vista server is designed with “high availability” in mind. This means that the server is, as much as possible, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also means that many types of potential failures have been anticipated and, through redundant hardware and special software, will likely be averted so that Vista services remain uninterrupted. However, even with a high availability architecture, a system this complex requires continual maintenance. At the same time, there are unforeseen events that can cause unscheduled outages.
Scheduled Maintenance Window
Northern Arizona University technical support teams will perform weekly maintenance on Vista every Thursday between 2am – 6am Mountain Standard (Arizona) time. This scheduled outage is communicated to all faculty and students using the system. Assignment due dates should be scheduled outside this reserved maintenance window.
Occassionally major upgrades may require more scheduled downtime than this window allows. In such cases, every effort will be made to do this work during semester breaks and to use Vista mailing lists to notify every account holder a week in advance of such a major maintenance event.
A log of all maintenance work can be found on the Vista server under the File Manager in the top level “Documents” folder.
Unscheduled Downtime
Unfortunately, events occur that can interrupt services even with high availablity disks and servers. When unscheduled downtimes occur, Vista users will typically see a message in their borwsers indicating there is an outage. This mechanism is not fool-proof, but in most cases a “server down” message will appear if a severe outage occurs. In all cases, calling the Solution Center (928-523-1511) or the Academic Computing Help Desk (928-523-9294 or 1-888-520-7215) will result in the most up-to-date status for the outage.
The Vista servers are monitored continuously and calls to support staff are made automatically if an outage is detected. WebCT system administrators are contacted whenever an unscheduled outage occurs: Someone is on call every hour of the day, every day of the week. Northern Arizona University also subscribes to WebCT premium support services, which provides the most timely assistance possible in the event of an unscheduled outage.
Support Resources
A number of services are available to support the Vista course management platform. The ITS Solution Center (523-1511) will direct faculty and staff with questions about Vista to the appropriate campus entity. The ITS Academic Computing Help Desk (523-9294 or 1-888-520-7215) will assist students and statewide callers. In some cases, faculty will work directly with E-Learning Center project managers; in other cases faculty can take advantage of online tutorials, partner with resource specialists from the library to integrate quality resources and services into their courses, or collaborate with Vista savvy colleagues to develop course content and learn to manage Vista class activities.
Getting Started
Accounts for Vista are provided to every faculty, staff, and student at NAU. Perhaps the best way to get started with Vista is to explore the actual Vista system at http://vista.nau.edu. Everyone is enrolled in at least one non-credit course called “TIPS” (Technology Information and Proficiency Skills). There is also a web site devoted to Vista at http://www.nau.edu/vistainfo, which lists training schedules and other events and resources related to Vista.
The E-Learning Center (ELC) has developed a “Getting Started with WebCT” web tutorial for students. The first link in the Vista TIPS course accesses this tutorial. This material will also be made available as shareable content within Vista. Designers (instructors and/or ELC staff) can choose to insert this content as a Learning Module within Vista courses. Plans are underway to also make this part of the basic NAU template for new courses.
Faculty and motivated students are also welcome (and encouraged) to use the online help available from within Vista, as well as the help resources and discussion groups available at www.webct.com.
Faculty Support Resources
As with other on-line services, faculty may use the ITS Solution Center (523-1511) as an initial starting point for assistance. When the call is related to login problems or information about the status of the server or network, then the Solution Center will be able to directly assist the caller; on the other hand, if the problem is related to using Vista or requesting help with instructional design, the E-Learning Center is also available and more appropriate. The E-Learning Center can be contacted during business hours at 928-523-5554 or via e-mail at . ELC phone support will be staffed during business hours (8am – 5pm for the Fall and Spring semesters, 7:30am – 4:30pm during the summer) at a minimum; hours are likely to be expanded in the future.
The Academic Computing Help Desk (ACHD) is available 24/7 during the Fall and Spring semesters, and ACHD staff will attempt to resolve instructor questions immediately. Those inquiries requiring additional expertise or access rights will be escalated to ELC or Academic Computing, who will follow up the next business day.
Faculty are also likely to seek support from other NAU units, such as Cline Library and statewide offices. ELC will continue to work with such units to ensure their staff have at least a working knowledge of Vista so that they may provide an appropriate level of support.
During the implementation phase, August 2005 through June 2006, stipends are available for faculty who attend training and work with-Learning Center’s instructional designers and program managers to migrate WebCT Campus Edition courses into the new Vista environment. To find out more about these stipends, call the E-Learning Center (928-523-1629), sending email to , or check the E-Learning website (http://www.nau.edu/elearning), which has a wealth of information on online learning strategies, related campus events, resources for teaching online, and mini-grant opportunities.
Faculty can contact the E-Learning Center to learn what opportunities, initiatives, and types of support are currently available to help bring an online presence into their courses. Examples of initiatives and opportunities that faculty might access include the following:
· the E-Student Assistant Program, where students trained by the E-Learning Center work directly with faculty to develop online content;
· the E-Faculty Mentor Program, where experienced faculty help two or more other faculty develop e-learning projects; and
· the E-Faculty Fellows Program, which offers release time for faculty to promote and pursue e-learning initiatives.
More information on these initiatives can be found on the E-Learning Center web site: http://www.nau.edu/elearning.
Student Support Resources
Student support for Vista is available through the Academic Computing Help Desk. During fall and spring terms this is a 24-hour call center service available to all NAU students. During winter and summer terms the hours are slightly reduced. The Academic Computing Help Desk can help students configure their browsers so that they will work with Vista, log in and find their classes, assist students who are having trouble submitting assignments or taking quizzes, and provide general help using the tools and features found in Vista.
Some student problems require referral back to the instructor, to the library, or, in rare cases, to the E-Learning Center or to Information Technology Services system administrators. The Academic Computing Help Desk does not help students understand an assignment or learn course material. However, students can make arrangements with the Learning Assistance Center for tutoring, which is available for many of Northern Arizona University’s courses. The Learning Assistance Center also offers on-line tutoring for students at a distance. Problems requiring escalation will be referred to the appropriate support area and generally resolved within one business day.
Contact information for each of the above services is as follows:
Student Support Contacts
Support Resource / Phone Number / Web SiteAcademic Computing Help Desk / 928-523-9294 or
888-520-7215 / www.nau.edu/achd
Learning Assistance Center / 928-523-5524 / www.nau.edu/lac
Library / 928-523-6805 or
800-247-3380 / library.nau.edu/services/
request/askalibrarian.html
Support Call Escalation
Support call escalation is the effort to assure that a serious problem gets the appropriate and serious attention. Student technical questions from other units (such as Cline Library or a statewide office) should be escalated to the Academic Computing Help Desk, which is considered the primary contact for all student technical issues. The Solution Center, ELC, and the ACHD are considered primary support contacts for instructor and course designer support.
The support staff at the E-Learning Center, Solution Center, and Academic Computing Help Desk are fully prepared to escalate calls to other support staff whenever a serious problem is detected. Examples might be a network outage or a Vista server problem. In each case, these staff should alert the appropriate second-tier support areas for immediate assistance. Problems which cannot be resolved by the second-tier support areas will be escalated to WebCT Premium Support. All escalations to WebCT Premium Support will be coordinated through the Academic Computing group or the ELC Vista Administrators.