SacCT: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS for FACULTY

New Users

• How do I login to SacCT?

Getting Started

• How can I setup a course in SacCT?
• I need to move a course from WebCT to SacCT, how can I do this?
• I logged into SacCT for the first time, what are these courses labeled Unavailable for?
• How do I add students to my course?
• How can I enroll a TA or co-instructor to my course?

Course Content Management

• I activated my course in SacCT, but none of my content is there. How can I get all my content copied into my course?
• Why are there duplicate links on my Course Menu? (i.e. Course Content and Content, etc.)
• How do I add files, folders, and other content to my course?
• How can I edit settings, move, copy or delete a file or folder I have already added to my course?
• I added a document to my course and I need to make some changes. Can I edit the document from my course?
• How do I change my course homepage?
• How can I view my course as a student?

Assignments

• How can I create an online assignment for students to turn in through my SacCT course?
• How do I grade assignments students have submitted via SacCT?

Grade Center

• Where can I locate the grade book to add student grades?
• I have several assignments students submit in class. How can I add these assignments to my grade center?
• How can students view their Grades?
• My Grade Center is a mess. How can I organize all the columns?

Mail and Notifications

• Can I forward my SacCT messages/mail to my email account (saclink, gmail, yahoo, etc.)
• Where are the new item indicators for mail and other tools?

Tests, Surveys and Pools

• Where can I find my exams/quizzes in SacCT?
• How can I edit the settings for my exam?
• How can I edit questions in an exam?
• A student enrolled in my course will need more time to take exams. How do I setup my exams to provide more time?
• How can I reopen a test for a student?

Training Resources

• Where can I find information about ongoing issues?
• Where can I find guides or other resources?
• Are workshops offered for SacCT? How can I enroll into a workshop?

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Answers

New Users

How do I login to SacCT?

You may login through the SacCT website (http://www.csus.edu/sacct/) . Click the SacCT Login button and enter your saclink username and password. You may also access SacCT courses from the MySacState Portal (https://my.csus.edu/). Upon logging in with your Saclink username and password, locate the box labeled SacCT (Blackboard) which will list your course list.

Getting Started

How can I setup a course in SacCT?

Use the Self Service online tool (http://selfservice.csus.edu/) to activate your courses and enroll students every semester. Please refer to the Self-Service Tutorial for details and steps.
 

I need to move a course from WebCT to SacCT, how can I do this?

In order to move/migrate a course from an academic term prior to Fall 2011 or departmental courses (training courses, other dept. use courses) please complete and submit the SacCT Special Course Request Form.
 

I logged into SacCT for the first time, what are these courses labeled Unavailable for?

Courses labeled as Unavailable are courses that were migrated over from WebCT into SacCT for all instructors (for terms Fall 2011 and forward).  They are unavailable, not active and not visible to students. You can use these courses to copy content from a previous semester into a newly activated course.
 

How do I add students to my course?

After an instructor activates his/her SacCT courses in Self Service, instructors will see the Select Course(s) for Enrollment section where they can select the courses to which they wish to enroll students.   Please refer to the Self-Service Tutorial for more details.
 

How can I enroll a TA or co-instructor to my course?

A user such as a TA or co-instructor can be enrolled into a SacCT course by following these steps:

1. In your course locate the Control Panel menu, on left
2. Select Users and Groups section
3. Click Users
4. On the Users page, click Find Users to Enroll
5. In the Username field type in the user’s saclink ID (do not click browse)
6. Select a Role from the drop down menu
7. Click Submit

Course Content Management

I activated my course in SacCT, but none of my content is there. How can I get all my content copied into my course?

The Course Copy function from a SacCT course can be used to copy content into a new course shell.  Please refer to Part B of the Self Service 9.1 Tutorial for details.
 

Why are there duplicate links on my Course Menu? (i.e. Course Content and Content, etc.)

The Course Menu for a course that has been migrated from WebCT into SacCT will contain the standard new course navigation links (Home Page, Information, Content, Discussions, Groups, Tools, and Help) and the converted navigation links (all course menu links from your course as they were on WebCT). Thus, you may see duplication of some menu links.

Review your course menu links and remove and/or hide any links you will not be using. For example, you may not need the duplicate Content link from the new course navigation, since your Course Content link will contain your main content. Please verify each area by opening menu links before deleting.
 

How do I add files, folders, and other content to my course?

Folders, documents, links and other materials are added to a content area in a course. Most courses will have a general content area labeled Content or Course Content where course materials can be added. Use the Action Bar at top of content area to select the type of content you would like to add.  Please refer to the SacCT Quick Start handout for details about adding content.
 

How can I edit settings, move, copy or delete a file or folder I have already added to my course?

When you add a folder or file to a course, a new link with its corresponding icon and text name is created. At the right of the link name, you will have access to an Action Link (grey arrow). Upon clicking the action link, a menu will display the Edit, Move, Copy, and Delete options.

• Edit - make changes to the link name, color, select a different file, add a description and control visibility of link.
• Move - use this option to move folders, files, items, and other content to another folder or another course. Please note:  You cannot move course tools such as assignments and discussions to another course.
• Copy – use this option to copy folder, files, items, web links, into another folder or another course.
• Delete – use to remove links to files, folders, items, web links, from a content area. Please note:  When you delete a link to a file, only the link is removed, because the file is still available from the Files area of your course.
  

I added a document to my course and I need to make some changes. Can I edit the document from my course?

No.  Files such as word documents, power point presentations, PDF’s, etc must be edited outside of SacCT in their native format (i.e. a word document from a word processor, etc.). Once you have made your changes, save the document and upload it to your course again.
 

How do I change my course homepage?

To change the home page of a course follow these steps:

1. From the Control Panel menu, select Customization
2. Click the Teaching Style option
3. Locate the section labeled Select Course Entry Point
4. Choose the page you would like to use from the Entry Point drop down menu
5. Click Submit

Please Note: In order for an option to be available from the Entry Point drop down menu, it has to be visible on your course menu, and in the case of content items, they must contain some content.
 

How can I view my course as a student?

Turning Edit Mode off in your SacCT course will give you a read only version of your course so that you can review content and test availability of links. In order to test some of the functions as a student, such as submitting an assignment, viewing grades, taking an exam, you can login to your course with a Test Student Account. Please refer to the Adding a Test Student for steps on adding a test student account to your course(s).

Assignments

How can I create an online assignment for students to turn in through my SacCT course?

To create an Assignment in SacCT follow these steps:

1. From course menu, click the Add icon and select Content Area, name it Assignments
2. Open your new Assignments content area
3. From the top action bar, locate the Assessments option and select Assignment. The Create Assignment window will display
4. Enter your Assignment settings: name, question and/or instructions, attach any relevant files, enter the points possible
5. Add the date availability for the assignment (start and end dates and times)
6. Enter a Due Date to allow the system to mark any Late assignments
7. For Recipients , select All Students individually
8. Click Submit to Save

How do I grade assignments students have submitted via SacCT?

You can view and grade submitted assignments from the Grade Center, Assignments section. This grade center view will show you columns associated with assignments you have created in SacCT.

1. From Control Panel, locate and click the Grade Center Option
2. Click the Assignments option, this will only open columns linked to an assignment
3. Locate the Column for the assignment you want to grade,
4. Click the grey drop down arrow on the right of column name
5. Select Grade Attempts, the first student’s submission will display
6. Review, enter a Grade, add Feedback to User and Save.

Clicking Save and Next after entering a student’s grade will save the score in your grade center and take you to the next available student submission.

Grade Center

Where can I locate the grade book to add student grades?

From the Control Panel menu , click the Grade Center option.  You can select one of the views available for the Grade Center:  Needs Grading, Full Grade Center, Assignments, and Tests. To view all available columns for any type of assignment, test, discussion, etc, open the Full Grade Center. To only view columns associated with an assignment or test click the Assignments or the Tests view.

To enter grades, simply locate the column, click on a cell and type in a value and hit the enter key on your keyboard to move to the next cell.

I have several assignments students submit in class. How can I add these assignments to my grade center?

You can add any number of manual columns to the Grade Center.

1. Open the Full Grade Center
2. Locate and click the Create Column option at top
3. Enter a Column Name and Grade Center Name
4. Select a Primary Display option (i.e. Score for columns with a numeric point value)
5. Enter the Points Possible
6. Add a Due Date (optional, serves as a label)
7. Under the Options section, choose whether you want to make column visible to students, etc.
8. Click Submit to save 

How can students view their Grades?

Students can view their grades from the My Grades tool on the course menu.  To make the My Grades tool available to students follow these steps:

1. From the Course Menu, click the Add icon
2. Click the Tool Link option
3. In the Name field type in My Grades
4. From the Type drop down menu, locate and select My Grades
5. Click the checkbox next to Available to Users to make the link visible to students
6. Click Submit
   

My Grade Center is a mess. How can I organize all the columns? You can organize the Grade Center by reorganizing columns, hiding and/or deleting columns you will not be using.

1. Open the Full Grade Center
2. Click the Manage option at top of grade center
3. Select Column Organization

The Column Organization page will display all columns (visible and hidden). Use the drag and drop option to re-organize columns, select columns to hide, etc.

Mail and Notifications

Can I forward my SacCT messages/mail to my email account (saclink, gmail, yahoo, etc.)

Email sent using the built in Messages tool in SacCT cannot be forwarded to a user’s private email.  Another email tool in SacCT, Send Email, allows you to send an email from your course to course users, which they receive in their Saclink Email.
 

Where are the new item indicators for mail and other tools?

In SacCT, information about new content, messages, announcements and calendar events can be viewed from Modules added to the My SacCT page or an individual course’s homepage.  For example, the My Messages module displays a list of courses with available messages; the number of new messages will display in parenthesis next to the course name. Clicking on the course name will take the user to that course’s inbox.  Use the Add Module option at top of My SacCT page or the Add Course Module option at top right of a course homepage to search and add a module.

Tests, Surveys and Pools

Where can I find my exams/quizzes in SacCT?

All Tests in a course can be found in the Tests, Surveys and Pools page. This is also the location where you can Build or Import a test.

1. From your Control Panel, click Course Tools
2. Click Tests, Surveys, and Pools
3. Click Tests

The Deployed column next to the test name will indicate whether a test has been added to a Content Area or folder in the course.

How can I edit the settings for my exam?

To edit the exam settings follow these steps:

1. Find the exam in the course (for example, some instructors will place all exams within a Content Area titled Assessments, others will place exams in a folder on general Course Content page).
2. Click the Action Link (grey drop down) at right of exam name
3. Select  Edit the Test Options
4. The Test Options page will display
5. Make changes to settings and click Submit to save  

For more information about tests, please refer to the handout Online Tests for SacCT

How can I edit questions in an exam?

To edit the exam questions follow these steps:

1. Find the exam in the course (for example, some instructors will place all exams within a Content Area titled Assessments, others will place exams in a folder on general Course Content page).
2. Click the Action Link (grey drop down) at right of exam name
3. Select  Edit the Test
4. The Test Canvas page will display the exam questions
5. Click the Action Link at right of question and select Edit
6. The Question settings will display
7. Make changes and click Submit to save 

For more information about tests, please refer to the handout Online Tests for SacCT

A student enrolled in my course will need more time to take exams. How do I setup my exams to provide more time?

To setup an exam with extended time for a student(s) you will need to create a copy of your original exam, change the exam settings to provide an extended duration and make the extended version of the exam available to the specific student(s). Please refer to the handout Creating Extended-Time Tests for detailed steps and instructions.
 

How can I reopen a test for a student?

You need to delete/hide the previous test attempt (if needed), set the Adaptive Release for the test and edit the test options.

If the student already took the test, you can delete or hide the previous attempt by following these steps:

1. Go to the Full Grade Center.
2. Scroll to the right to find the test column you want to edit.
3. Click the Action Link (grey drop down-arrow) at right of the cell for this student for this column.
4. Select View Grade Details.
5. If you want to permanently delete the student's attempt, click Clear Attempt.
6. If you want to keep the student's previous attempt, but hide it, click Ignore Attempt. The system will keep that attempt, but not include it in the scores for the student.

To set or edit the Adaptive Release options follow these steps:

1. Find the test in the course (for example, some instructors will place all exams within a Content Area titled Assessments, others will place exams in a folder on general Course Content page).
2. Click the Action Link (grey drop down-arrow) at right of the exam name.
3. Select Adaptive Release.
4. Remove the checks next to the 'Display After' and 'Display until' dates and times - you will set the dates in the Test Options section later.
5. In the Membership area, click Browse.
6. Click Go in the Course Membership screen to display your students' names.
7. Scroll down to the lower right corner and click Show All.
8. Find the student(s) from the list and click the box to the left of the name(s) to place check(s) in that box.
9. Click Submit in the lower right corner to save the membership selected.
10. In the Adaptive Release screen click Submit.

To Edit the Test Options follow these steps:

1. Find the test in the course (for example, some instructors will place all exams within a Content Area titled Assessments, others will place exams in a folder on general Course Content page).
2. Click the Action Link (grey drop down-arrow) at right of the exam name.
3. Select Edit the Test Options.
4. Make changes to the 'Display After' and 'Display until' dates and times.
5. Click Submit to save.

For more information about tests, please refer to the handout Online Tests for SacCT

Training Resources

Where can I find information about ongoing issues?

Visit the SacCT: System Issues & Resolutions webpage for a list of current issues and workarounds.
 

Where can I find guides or other resources?

Faculty and students can find SacCT resources from the SacCT Support website. Here you will find a section for Faculty Resources and Student Resources which contains links to handouts, guides and tutorials.
 

Are workshops offered for SacCT? How can I enroll into a workshop?

Workshops for SacCT and other academic software are offered every semester. Please visit the Training Website to see the Workshop Schedule and Register for a workshop.
 

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