Important Changes to WebCT

Starting this month, there are a number of important changes in Rensselaer's WebCT environment, designed to make it easier for students and instructors to access WebCT course sites.

• WebCT Course Sites Are Now Archived - In the early days of RPI WebCT (1997-2000), course sites were set up and left on the server as long as a course was active for one semester. As the use of WebCT by RPI instructors has dramatically increased over the last year, it has become necessary to manage users and courses more efficiently so as to maintain a high level of system performance and user response time. Thus, at the end of a semester, all WebCT course sites for that semester will be archived and no longer accessible; however, instructors can have a course site restored from an archive upon request. In addition, instructors are advised to make backups of their courses during the semester. At the end of a semester, instructors should back up important course files and student data to their own PC.

  To obtain a course site for the Spring 2001 semester, you must complete a course request form. If you want your Spring 2001 semester course site to start with a copy of a previous WebCT course site, then you need to specify this in the course request form. Initially, the new site will contain no student data.

• New Format for WebCT User Accounts - WebCT user account management has been streamlined so as to enable instructors to manage shared designer, grader, student, and guest accounts without having to contact webct-support. Some specifics about the ID formats appear below.
  • All instructor designer global IDs will be in the format RCSuserID_des (e.g. belld2_des)
    

  • All instructor student global IDs will be their RCS userID (e.g. belld2)

  • All student global IDs will be the same as their RCS IDs

  • All WebCT courses will have generic IDs for shared designers, graders, and guest accounts

  • Generic designer account IDs will be of the form course_ID_des1, course_ID_des2, ... (e.g. MGMT1234_des1)

  • Generic grader account IDs will be of the form course_ID_grad1, course_ID_grad2, ...(e.g. MGMT1234_grad1)

  • Generic guest account IDs will be of the form course_ID_guest1, course_ID_guest2, ... (e.g. MGMT1234_guest1)

  • Each new course site will automatically receive one generic designer, one generic grader, and one generic guest account. If you require additional generic accounts, ask for them in the course request form or on an ad hoc basis.

• New Student Account Utility - Students can use their RCS userID and password to link to a new RPI WebCT student account utility where they can:
  • Find out if they have an existing WebCT global ID

  • Create their own WebCT global ID (based on their RCS userID)

  • Change their WebCT password

• Adding/Deleting Students - As in the Fall 2000 semester, most students will be automatically loaded into courses based on Banner registration information and the CRN information supplied in the course request form. In the event that a valid student does not get automatically added to the course, instructors and shared designers have the ability to add the student to the course once the student has acquired a WebCT global ID.

  As students will not be automatically purged from a course, it is now the responsibility of instructors and shared designers to delete students who are not officially enrolled in the course.

• Student Login Instructions/Help

  A one-page handout of student login instructions and a student login help page are both available at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/stulogininfo.htm.

  Instructors can find help for student login problems at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/stuloginproblems.htm.

• WebCT Support for Students and Instructors - If students are having a problem with WebCT, they should contact the Help Desk by phoning ext. 7777 or by directing e-mail to consult@rpi.edu.

  Instructors or TAs who need help with WebCT should direct e-mail to webct-support@rpi.edu.

• A new WebCT information site is located at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/acs/webct/webctinfo.html. This is the starting point for all general RPI WebCT information: WebCT servers, a WebCT overview, training and support information

• New RPI WebCT Home Page - This new page, which contains links to Course Listing, my WebCT, WebCT Information, and Login Problems (the student account utility), is located at http://webct.rpi.edu.

• New WebCT RPInfo Links- The RPInfo page now has two WebCT links: One to the new WebCT Information site (under Faculty/Staff Resources), and one to the WebCT Course 2001 homepage (under Academic Resources).

• New Login Error Page - Distance education (PDE) students are directed to Evelyn Smith for assistance; other users are directed to the student login help page.

Go to the table of contents.

Go to the Kiosk homepage.