With the new semester about to begin, instructors will be preparing their online courses. Here is a helpful list of what to do for the new semester. Download the checklist.
Teaching Load. Ensure that you are assigned the course as part of your teaching load. Instructors have to be assigned to the course on the course management system; this is usually done by the Registrar’s Office, Department Chair, Dean, or Administrative Assistant. Adjunct instructors may be assigned a course after full-time instructors have been assigned their courses. As a result, adjunct instructors may not have access to the online course until only a few days before the beginning of the semester.
Course Access. Ensure that you can login to the LMS and that you have access to the specific course section. If you need to reset your password, you can contact your institution’s IT Department or the Help Desk.
Setup Your Technology. If you are teaching online, you will need a webcam and a microphone – for live video conferencing, office hours, and screen recording. You may also need screen-recording and video editing software. Many video conferencing platforms (such as Zoom and Google Meet) allow you to record your computer screen – for narrated PowerPoints and other demonstrations – and there are other specialty software such as Loom or Screen-Cast. Many LMS platforms and software such as PowerPoint have their own screen-recording tools. You may also need an Office 365 or Google Applications account, plus specialty software such as SPSS, an off-campus VPN or remote access, and more. Contact your institution’s IT Department for these technologies.
Combine Course Sections. If you are teaching a cross-listed course, you can request to have the two courses combined into a single online course section. Some institutions also allow instructors to combine several course sections into a single online course. This request usually goes to the Instructional Technology office, Online Learning office, or the Teaching & Learning Center.
Copy the Course. Almost all online courses have a course template or at least a previous version of the course from a previous semester. The course template contains all course materials and assessments, and it was probably developed by a lead instructor or a curriculum developer with the help of an instructional designer. The template is usually considered the “master copy” of the course, and it is used for all course sections. If your online course has a template, you may need to request that it be copied into your course shell. Otherwise, if you or another instructor previously taught the course, you can request for that version of the course to be copied into your online course.
In most cases, you should not be designing the online course as you are teaching it. However, this may happen if your institution does not have instructional designers or a formal process for developing online courses. It may also happen if you are teaching an online course for the first time or if you are making substantive changes to an existing online course. Usually, though, the course is developed and reviewed before it is launched to students.
Update Dates. When the template or previous course gets copied, it may come with the original due dates, or it may lack due dates. Check the Start Date, Due Date, and End Date for every Assignment, Discussion, Quiz, and Exam. Learning Modules, Announcements, and specific content items may also have release dates – check these as well.
Instructor Information and Office Hours. You may also need to add or update your own information, especially if the course was copied from a template or from another instructor. Even if you previously taught the course, consider updating your personal biographical information, image, introductory video, and office hours.
Course Information, Content, Assessments. You may also need to update course information, especially if the course has an in-person component for clinicals, service-learning, or student presentations, or if course policies have changed. Major changes to course content and assessments are implemented through a formal course revision process, but many instructors make small changes to instructional content or to an assessment before the start of the semester. For example, they may reword a question on an exam, use different versions of exams or exam questions, change an assignment or discussion, revise a grading rubric, replace a video, or rewrite information on a PowerPoint. Instructional content and assessments may also need to be updated if there is a different edition of the textbook. Other information to update may include student group assignments for online discussions and group projects.
Student Resources. Online courses usually contain links to student resources and campus services, including the Library, the Student Success Center, the Writing Center, Disability Services, Counseling, Advising, Financial Aid, and more. You’ll need to update the information in the course (and on the syllabus) if there is a different office location, phone number, website, email, or contact person.
Get a Copy of the Book. Ideally, you would have had access to the textbook well before the start of the semester so you could become familiar with the course content. But, if you did not, especially if you are teaching the course for the first time or are an adjunct instructor, get a copy of the book, either a physical copy or access to online eBook. Even if you have previously taught the course, you may need the most recent edition.
Add External Learning Platforms. You may need to renew your course access code for an external online learning platform provided by Pearson, Elsevier, McGraw-Hill, and others. (This code would also need to be updated on the course syllabus, course information module, announcements, and elsewhere.) You may also need to add (or request) a link for this platform to the new online course.
Edit or Delete Announcements. If you copied a previous course, it probably came with all of the announcements from the previous semester as well. Announcements that were unique for the previous semester will need to be deleted; this may include a message in response to frequent questions, or a rescheduled course meeting, or an emergency such as a power outage, or a link to a non-recurring virtual conference session. More generalized announcements that provide an overview about a new module or instructions for an assignment can be rescheduled for later in the semester.
Post a Welcome Announcement. One of the most important announcements is the “welcome message” at the beginning of the semester. This is the first thing students see when they enter the course. You’ll probably have to update the instructor information, attached syllabus, and other course information.
Send an Introductory Email. The Welcome Announcement often gets duplicated as an Introductory Email to the class. Or, instructors write a more personalized email about themselves, and they include more basic information about when the class begins, how to login to the LMS, how to purchase the textbook, and more.
Update and Post the Syllabus and Class Schedule. Any changes to instructor information, textbooks, course policies, student resources, course content, assessments, reading materials, and due dates will need to be reflected on the syllabus and class schedule as well. Instructors often post these documents in the Course Introduction module, email them to students, and post them in the Welcome Announcement.
Setup Virtual Conference Sessions. You’ll need to schedule virtual sessions for live classes and office hours and share these links with students.
Update Your Calendar. It’s nice for you and others to know when you are busy (in class, in an office hour, at a committee meeting), so consider adding this information into your work calendar. Consider also blocking off specific times in your schedule for grading and scholarship.
Reserve Labs, Schedule Classroom Visits, Field Trips. If the class will meet in a computer lab, science lab, the Library, clinical skills lab, or other campus space, make sure to reserve the space early. In-person meetings for online classes and meetings that will last beyond the normal class time should be scheduled before the start of the semester so students know about the meeting requirement while they can still make arrangements or withdraw from the course. Try to schedule class visits with Librarians and guest speakers several weeks before the meeting day as well.
Publish or Activate the Online Course. Many institutions require that online courses become available to students a few days before the beginning of the semester or on the first day of class. Each instructor will need to publish or activate the online course manually (or schedule it ahead of time) so it becomes available to students.
Sign the Teaching Contract or Course Load. Many institutions ask instructors to sign the course load agreement after the Add-Drop Period, which is usually in the middle of the second week. Make sure to sign your teaching contract and course load agreement so you can get paid!
Others? What other semester-start activities do you do? Post a comment below, or send me an email.
Lirim Neziroski, Ph.D., MBA is a higher education administrator, education consultant, and previous faculty member with expertise in higher ed leadership, instructional technology, curriculum development, academic assessment, online programs, and strategic planning. Contact Lirim for consulting, research, writing, and public speaking services.
Lirim Neziroski 
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