SCI Handbook
Information for students and facultyHello!
Welcome to the Shared Course Initiative (SCI) online handbook. If you are considering enrolling in an SCI class, you can use this page to get a better sense of the classroom experience. If you are currently enrolled, you will find information that will be useful to you as you the semester proceeds. If you are an instructor, you will be able to find information on SCI policies and semester calendars.
The Shared Classroom
The SCI classroom is a single class shared by more than one site. Students and instructors have the same responsibilities toward one another as any face-to-face language class for university credit. This means that students are expected to participate fully, to arrive on time, and to come to class according to the attendance policy laid out in the syllabus. By the same token, instructors will consider the remote students just as they would students in the classroom with them, because it is, in fact, one class at more than one site.
Nonetheless, there are some differences in policies and procedures between Columbia, Cornell, and Yale. One notable area of difference is the academic calendar. The academic calendar of the sending institution sets the calendar for the entire class, and remote students are expected to do their best to accommodate these differences in schedules. This can include attending class during breaks, watching a recorded version of a class, or doing extra work independently when the sending institution is on break. For more information on calendars, see section three.
Classes take place in the distance classrooms of each university’s language center, and it is the policy of the Shared Course Initiative that students attend in person in these classrooms. It is also the policy that students be able to attend all class meetings—missing significant portions of class because of other scheduled classes is not permitted in this program.
Get to know the technology
Since cross-institution interaction takes place via the camera and the screen, learning how to control the cameras on both ends will greatly enhance the class experience. Both students and instructors are active participants in creating the space of instruction, so feel free to experiment, get feedback, and work together to find what works best for you.
During the first week, all students will get a brief tutorial on the equipment from Vera at Columbia, Sam at Cornell, and David at Yale. If you aren’t sure how to operate the videoconferencing equipment, please ask!
Academic Calendars
Students and instructors should speak about the academic calendars at the beginning of the semester, and develop a semester plan that works well for everyone. There will be several times throughout the semester when the calendars of the three universities will vary. The sending institution sets the schedule for the class, and the remote students are expected to make reasonable efforts to participate as fully as possible in this schedule.
Download the 3-Site Academic Calendar
Use your course site
The Canvas course site is an essential tool in distance classes. Speak with your instructor about their preferred use of the course site.
You may be contacted at the beginning of the semester by the SCI program manager to get some information for being added to the Canvas site at another university. Please do give this information promptly, so that you will not miss out on any assignments.
Discuss homework submission
University Policies
Policies regarding academic integrity, student conduct, and access to disability accommodations are similar across the three participating institutions. SCI students are expected to adhere to the policies of their home institution, as well as to those of the sending institution, in areas where the sending institution provides greater detail and guidance. Discrepancies between policies can usually be resolved in conversation with your instructor. You may also contact Vera Felder, SCI Program Manager (vf2321@columbia.edu) if you have questions about policies across institutions.
Supervised Readings for Columbia students conducted across sites are governed by the SCI Supervised Reading Policy for Columbia Students, available here.
How to operate the equipment in your classroom
The Shared Course Initiative uses specially-designed videoconferencing equipment to connect each classroom. The name of the videoconferencing computer is a “codec.” Each codec has an associated remote control that operates it. You should know how to use this equipment, especially if your instructor is not on site. You are responsible for actively shaping the classroom view so that you can have the optimal experience. If you have any questions about how the classroom should function, please contact your on-site technology assistant.
Classroom-based instruction and attendance policy
Shared Course Initiative classes meet in the language center of each participating university. Students must attend in person in the designated classroom. Students may attend remotely (via Zoom) only when the academic calendars between the sending institution and the receiving institution do not align. Otherwise, they must attend in person.
Students must be able to attend all weekly meetings of a class. Attendance in class is required, and lack of attendance will result in a lower grade. Classes are not recorded for future viewing, since language classes require active participation on the part of students.
Information for Faculty
If you’re a new instructor in the Shared Course Initiative, there are some basic expectations we share across our three campuses, which are laid out in the Memorandum of Understanding, the institutional framework that guides the Shared Course Initiative.
Two Year Instructional Commitment
When a new language is added to the SCI, it is done so with the expectation that two years of continuous instruction will be offered for students, so that their study is not interrupted. If you start by offering a year of Elementary/Beginner level, it is expected that a second year will be offered.
Requirements for Listing Courses
When a new course is being offered through the SCI, some documentation is required by the committees on instruction at each campus. Most importantly, the administrators of the “receiving” campus require:
- Syllabi for the academic year (e.g., Elementary I and II, covering both the Fall and Spring)
- Your academic C.V.
- Columbia also requires the date of birth of any SCI instructor from Cornell or Yale
Curricular Requirements
There are several curricular requirements specific to each institution, specifically regarding required hours of instruction. For instance, for the first two years of language instruction, Yale requires their students receive 5 contact hours (or 5 x 50 minutes, for 250 total minutes) per week. However, Columbia and Cornell only require four hours of instruction per week for their students. If you are a Columbia or Cornell instructor sending instruction to a Yale student, there are several strategies for providing this extra hour of instruction.
Submitting Grades
Student privacy is of utmost importance to us. Therefore, each institution requires that no final grades should ever be submitted over email. All grades should be submitted over the phone. At the end of each semester, you can either verbally communicate your remote students’ final grades to your local campus administrator, or you can call the remote administrator directly.
Communicating with Remote Students
Early in the semester, you should collect your remote students’ institutional email. If you are able to add the student to your course management system (i.e., Canvas), you should add them and manage your outgoing messages from your course site. If you have any trouble collecting your remote students’ addresses, please notify your campus administrator and they’ll provide you with the correct contact info. Conversely, your remote students are expected to communicate with you through your institutional email address. Please Note: as with all your students, please refrain from using their personal contact info (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, etc.), even if they request you to do so.
At Columbia: Your remote students will be assigned Columbia UNIs in the first weeks of class, and will be added to your course site automatically.
At Cornell: Your remote students will be assigned a Cornell Net ID, and must follow these instructions for gaining access to the Cornell course site:
- Activate your NetID:
- New students: You will receive email information on how to activate your Cornell NetID.
- Returning students: Make sure your Cornell NetID is active and you can access Student Center: https://studentcenter.cornell.edu/.
- Once your NetID is active, you must log into Student Center for the first time for our system to recognize your NetID.
- Complete the Term Checklist in the Student Center. The Checklist will appear in your “To-Do List” in Student Center the day after you’ve fully activated your NetID by logging in the first time.
- When these steps are complete, please send an email to cusce@cornell.edu and we will process your enrollment. You will receive email confirmation from us when your enrollment is complete.
At Yale: Contact David Ortega, CLS Assitant Director (david.ortega@yale.edu) for information on adding Cornell and Columbia students to the Yale instantiation of Canvas.
Campus Visits
SCI instructors are encouraged to teach from the remote campus at least once a year, funding permitting. Teaching from the remote campus gives you an opportunity to build rapport with the remote students, and helps your on-site students experience the classroom from the remote student perspective. Visits to remote campuses must follow the Shared Course Initiative Travel policies. You can download a copy of the travel policies here.
Campus Visits and Outreach Events
Campus visits should also be considered an opportunity to do outreach at the remote campus. If you’d like to schedule a talk or cultural event on the remote campus during your campus visit, reach out to your campus administrator well ahead of your trip. For instance: an instructor held a film screening event and talk on the Cornell campus, to which she invited students and faculty from several relevant departments and student organizations.
Reimbursement for Travel Expenses
When making plans for traveling to Columbia, Cornell, or Yale, please follow the SCI Travel Policies. For other reimbursements, consult your CLS/LRC administrator in advance of incurring the expenses (promotional materials for an on-campus event, for example).