Sakai Procedures revised

Instructors who use Sakai at Durham Tech must follow the procedures described on this page. Please read carefully!

Course Site Creation

How and when are Sakai sites created?

For all credit classes (CU), Sakai sites are created automatically, starting a few months before the semester begins.

For non-credit classes (CE) with delivery method of online, hybrid, or blended, Sakai sites are created automatically, within 24 hours after the course section is created in Colleague.

• EXCEPTION: For the following types of non-credit classes, Sakai sites are NOT created automatically –- a request is required:

Type of non-credit class	Academic level	How to request a Sakai site
Non-credit classes with traditional delivery method	CE	Program director/chair submits Section Request Form and selects option to request a Sakai site
Corporate Education and Customized Training Program classes - all delivery methods	CE	Program director contacts scheduler for their area to request a Sakai site
College and Career Readiness classes - all delivery methods	BSP	Program director or instructor contacts scheduler for their area to request a Sakai site
English as a Second Language (ESP) classes - all delivery methods	BSP	Program director contacts scheduler for their area to request a Sakai site

• Note: Sakai sites will be created within 24 hours after requests are processed by the scheduler.

As an instructor, how do I get access to the Sakai sites for my classes?

To see and access your classes on Sakai, two criteria must be met:

1. You must have satisfactorily completed the Intro to Sakai online workshop.
   • See Sakai Training for details.
   • The training requirement can be waived for instructors with previous Sakai experience.
2. You must be assigned to the classes you are teaching on the official class schedule in Colleague.
   • Your program director/chair provides information to your area's administrative assistant about the specific classes you are teaching.
   • The administrative assistant assigns you to your classes on the official class schedule in Colleague.

Once these criteria are met, your classes will become visible to you in Sakai within 24 hours.

How do I import (copy) content from my Sakai course into another Sakai course?

For detailed instructions see Importing (copying) course content from one Sakai site to another (PDF)

I want to combine multiple sections into a single site on Sakai. Can I do that?

Yes. You must submit the Sakai Combined Sections form to tell us which sections you want combined.

IMPORTANT:

• You must submit the Sakai Combined Sections form at least 2 business days BEFORE the official start date of the class.
• The sections to combine must have similar start and end dates. (You cannot combine a Mini-Session 1 section with a Mini 2 or full-session section.)
• It takes 1 to 2 days for Durham Tech's support staff to combine sections.
• We will send you an email when the sites have been combined. Meanwhile, it is very important to limit your work on Sakai to the site for the lowest section number.
  • For example, if you've requested to combine sections 101 and 102, work only in the 101 site. Site(s) for the higher-numbered section(s) will be deleted when the sites are combined.
• For tips, review the handout on Working with Multiple Sections in a Combined Sakai Site (PDF)

If you have questions, contact sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu.

How can I customize which courses appear on the navigation bar at the top of Sakai?

When you log in to Sakai, the navigation bar along the top provides links to sites to which you have recently been added. The sites in the navigation bar are your "favorite" sites. A limit of 15 favorite sites can be displayed on the navigation bar.

To change which sites are "favorites" and appear on the navigation bar:

• Click Sites (upper right). The Sites Drawer opens, which displays all of your sites.
• Click the star icon beside any site to "favorite" it (star fills in and turns yellow) or to "unfavorite" it (star turns gray, with no fill).
• You can click on the "Organize Favorites" tab to change the order in which favorites appear. Simply drag and drop to change the order.
• When finished, click the X in the upper right of the Sites Drawer to close it, and then click the Reload link to see your changes.

When a section is cancelled, what happens to the Sakai site for the class?

• When a section is marked "cancelled" or "hold for cancellation" in Colleague, the instructor and all students are removed from the Sakai site within 24 hours.
• The Sakai site and its content are not deleted; however, the instructor can no longer access the site.
• If the instructor needs to access the content again (for example, to transfer it to another class), contact sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu for assistance.

How can supervisors access Sakai sites for classes they supervise?

Supervisors can access classes they supervise using a tool called Delegated Access in Sakai.

Through Delegated Access, supervisors can post announcements, email students, view the gradebook, and do most anything an instructor can (including adding/editing/deleting content), with some limitations.

See Delegated Access for details.

Can I request to have others added to my Sakai site?

To protect student privacy, course site access is limited to those with a legitimate educational need: students officially registered for the course, instructor(s) teaching the course, appropriate instructional supervisors, and appropriate support staff.

To facilitate sharing of content, an instructor may be added to another instructor’s course site upon request. This requires approval from the program director/chair or from the instructor whose course is being shared and may be requested by emailing sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu . At times, individuals from entities outside of Durham Tech may need access to Sakai sites. This could include auditors, accreditation reviewers, or interns/volunteers working with a class in a College-sanctioned role. Contact Human Resources to request a "non-employee" account, which provides access to College systems. Once the account has been created, the program director/chair can email sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu to request access to specific Sakai sites.

On occasion, a need may arise for a non-employee to access a Sakai site that does not contain student data – for example, when collaborating with colleagues from other institutions on content creation. Contact sakaihelp@durhamtech.edu to discuss options for creating a local guest account.

Student Access

When will students be added to Sakai sites?

Students are added to Sakai sites daily from the start of registration. Each morning and evening, a process runs that automatically adds students to your Sakai courses. This process also automatically sets to inactive students who drop.

Where can I see a list of currently active students in my course?

The Roster tool (on the main menu in your course site) allows you to view a list of students that matches the roster in Colleague. The Roster tool lists the student Name, User ID, and Role. To see a list of students' email addresses, click Export at the top of the Roster area to download a spreadsheet that includes student email addresses.

How do I make my Sakai site visible to students?

When you are ready for students to access your course, click the Publish Now along the top of your course site. By default, all courses are marked unpublished (as shown below) until the instructor makes them available to students.

Where do my students get instructions for logging in to Sakai?

From YOU! While we are in transition, it's especially important for you to tell your students that you are using Sakai and to give them instructions for accessing Sakai. Please give your students a copy of the appropriate Sakai Student Login Handout, so they will know how to log in and who to contact for help:

• For credit courses: Sakai Student Login Handout for Credit Students (PDF)
• For non-credit courses: Sakai Student Login Handout for Non-Credit Students (PDF)

The Sakai Help for Students site is a great place to refer your students if they are having trouble or need more info on using Sakai. (There is a link to "Help for Students" on the main Sakai login page.)

What do I do if a student drops?

Nothing! When a student or instructor submits a withdrawal form, after the withdrawal is processed by Student Records, that evening (or the next morning, if the drop was processed after 3:50 pm) the student will become inactive (no longer visible) in the Sakai course site. If the student needs to be reactivated, that change must happen in Colleague first, then the student will automatically become active in Sakai the next morning. No data is lost in Sakai if a student is dropped and then re-added.

Sakai Procedures Video

View the Sakai Procedures video to see and hear an overview of important Sakai procedures.