Steps to Semester Success - Information Services

Any courses you are assigned to teach in the Class Schedule will display for you in the Banner/myPNW Portal and in Brightspace. Confirm the courses you are teaching by looking up each course in the Class Schedule.

I don’t see my course in Banner/myPNW.

Contact your department secretary to be added as the instructor of record from Banner/myPNW Portal.

I don’t see my course in Brightspace.

Brightspace receives registration information from Banner/myPNW. Courses are loaded into Banner/myPNW on the following schedule:

Spring courses—week before Thanksgiving
Summer courses—week of Spring break
Fall courses—week before Spring Finals week

Teaching online, face-to-face, virtual classroom, or hybrid?

Review this PNW Supported Instructional Technology document to learn about tools available to you to support and enhance student learning and connect with OIT for further training or support.

Use a Course Template

Unsure how to structure your course content, and assessments in Brightspace? Visit the PNW Template Course (linked) to copy technical support resources for students as well as a link to the PNW Accessible Syllabus Template.

Master Course Development

Leverage a Brightspace Master course for each course you are teaching. This private, nonacademic area, allows you to build modules, update material, test restrictions, and optimize navigation without any students enrolled. Then simply copy into your live academic course.
Need a master course? Email oit@pnw.edu.

Course Copy

Easily copy content from your Master course into your live academic course using this Course Copy Guide.
Copy all content/components or just some items. Use this feature to easily bulk edit dates, bulk offset dates, and set course availability.

Add Demo Student to view as Learner

Once your content is populated in your academic course, view your course as a learner by leveraging a “Demo Student”. This fake student is unique to you and allows you to see your course as students see it, test your course before it goes live, take quizzes and view grades to make sure everything is configured correctly. Once the class starts, use the demo account to troubleshoot when things don’t behave as you expected.
NOTE: The demo student is associated with a single course course and must be created for every course separately. Refer to this guide for instructions.

Using a textbook?

The following textbook publishers will require a specific role in Brightspace in order for you to link your course with the publisher’s content. Please complete this survey if you will be using one of the following tools and OIT will reach back out to you once you have been given the role needed to integrate your course. Tools needing the LTI role:

GoReact
Harvard Business Review/ Harvard Business Publishing Catalog
Macmillan -Tools
Pearson
MyLabs
Perusall
Vista Higher Learning (VHL)
WebAssign
W. W. Norton.
Zybooks

Verify Grade Center Settings

Create a grading scheme that matches your syllabi.
- The grading scheme, by default in Brightspace is set to percentage.

Ensure your instructor account and course(s) are accurately set up to function for the term.

Establish Account Settings (notifications)
Set Time Zone
Set Course Availability
Email Settings (ensure username@purdue.edu is forwarding to username@pnw.edu)

Ensure your students are ready for a successful semester by sharing this Student Brightspace Help checklist.

Ensure FERPA certification is up to date

Watch this video on how to register for the FERPA certification or verify your status.

Visit the webcert portal using this link to complete your FERPA.
Ensure you are FERPA certified.

Need to add a TA, SI, or other support user to your course?

Review the Roles and Permissions document to determine which role best meets your needs

Follow these steps to add/remove another instructor, TA, SI, Course Builder, etc. who is FERPA certified user to your course.

Brightspace communication tools

Communicate with your students about when your course is available, when grades are entered, or any pertinent course changes through email. Follow along with these guides to get started.

Using Zoom with your course?

Consider creating a “Zoom” module for your students to easily find your meeting links and joining information. You can simply add weblinks to each meeting from your Zoom account, or use the Brightspace-Zoom integration.

Need one-on-one assistance or further training for you or your students?

Connect with The Office of Instructional Technology