UW Flexible Option Student Responsibilities

The UW Flexible Option is an online, rigorous, self-paced, competency-based education program. This program expects students to be motivated, determined, independent, and proactive to maintain successful academic progress in their program. Responsible students take ownership of their actions by exhibiting the following behaviors while enrolled in the program.

Students are expected to:

Demonstrate academic integrity and honesty.	Own their learning and academic progress, and monitor all requirements for graduation (seeking assistance from their Academic Success Coach when needed).
Complete assessments in a timely manner with attention to quality of work.	Utilize a computer and reliable internet to complete assessments and be familiar with technology requirements of their online program.
Communicate in a professional and respectful manner with the campus community.	Act in a civil manner that respects the campus learning/social environment and complies with college policies outlined in your campus student handbook.
Learn their academic program requirements and the UW Flexible Option structure (including grading policies, procedures, deadlines, resources, etc.)	Seek assistance when needed by utilizing Academic Success Coach, faculty, and campus resources.
Identify, develop, and implement an academic plan of study with their Academic Success Coach to achieve their educational goals	Respect diverse ideas and opinions, and demonstrate respect for individuals.

Success Coaches expect students to:

Communicate regularly with your Success Coach – be proactive, request guidance. Regularly check and use your student campus email account.	Submit assessments early to receive feedback from faculty and, if needed, resubmit for a second attempt before the end of the subscription period.
Work directly with other Flex and campus departments and resources to support your success.	Plan and anticipate problems, and work with your Success Coach for solutions.
Schedule and attend phone academic success coaching appointments on time, prepared with questions and topics to discuss.	Review and utilize faculty feedback on all assessments, asking clarifying questions to faculty if needed.
Complete new student orientation activities.	Comply with important deadlines.
Track your own progress toward graduation through working with your Success Coach and by using your academic plan of study.	Engage by staying active in Canvas (your learning management system) – read orientation guides and other materials, and ask questions.

A successful UW Flexible Option student will:

Be self-directed: Student can work independently without the direction of faculty or coach.	Communicate: Student uses effective and proactive communication skills.
Keep a positive attitude: Student has a positive attitude towards achieving their academic goals and works with faculty and SC’s constructively.	Be motivated: Student knows why they want to go back to school and has a strong motivation to complete their degree.
Be thoughtful: Student is willing to reflect on challenges and setbacks and learn from them.	Think independently & critically: Student knows how to think critically and independently
Take ownership: Student takes ownership of their coursework and knows it’s on them to complete the program.	Recognize that online education is not “easy”: Student knows that earning a degree is not easy but is willing to work on it anyway
Manage time effectively: Student maximizes their time to complete assessments and manages responsibilities to make school a priority.	Set realistic expectations: Student sets realistic expectations with the assistance of their SC

Student Rights and Responsibilities:

UW Milwaukee – https://uwm.edu/studenthandbook/student-rights-responsibilities/

UW Parkside – https://www.uwp.edu/live/offices/studentaffairs/handbook.cfm

Throughout your academic career, you’ll be encouraged to think critically, engage in constructive dialogue, and share your viewpoints respectfully.

The following video discusses the Universities of Wisconsin commitment to academic freedom and freedom of expression. The Universities of Wisconsin stands by the First Amendment’s right to free speech, encouraging every student to express their thoughts and challenge ideas freely. At the same time, there are clear boundaries to ensure that all discourse remains safe and does not incite violence, harassment, or threats.

This free exchange of ideas is essential to the Universities mission to create, debate, and disseminate knowledge and promote democracy and citizenship. An environment of civil discourse will be a valuable part of your educational experience, helping you to develop the skills to analyze and solve problems effectively.

Working with faculty in the UW Flexible Option looks slightly different than what you may be used to in more traditional forms of higher education. Ultimately, your faculty are available to you as a resource and are there to support you and ensure you have a rich learning experience. Though, since UW Flexible Option programs are competency-based and self-paced, it encourages and rewards students who are self-reliant and able to first try to solve problems on their own before asking for help.

Here are a few questions that come up frequently, and how you can address them.

Q:  How long will it take for my instructor to respond to my work?

A:  Faculty respond in 3 to 5 business days from when you submitted your work. While you do not always need to wait for feedback on one assessment before you begin work on the next, some assessments will indicate in their instructions that you must wait. Follow the directions for assessments carefully. If you do not hear back from faculty on submitted assessments, please wait for five business days to elapse before asking for an update.

A best practice is to stagger your assessments so that as you wait for your faculty feedback in one course, you can be working on an assessment in another course. You should also strive to turn in your final assessment more than 5 days before the end of the subscription period, to ensure you have enough time to receive instructor feedback and resubmit if necessary. Building in that extra time at the end of your subscription period can save you money and time in the long run for not having to retake the course if you do not pass the final assessment on your first attempt.

Q: What happens if I try to turn in all my course assessments at once?

Students who submit multiple assessments on the same day can expect to receive feedback on the first submission within three to five business days, as noted in the above policy. Remaining work may be evaluated in order of submission with an adjusted timeline.  Each additional assessment turned in on the same day may extend the grading turnaround time by another five business days. For example, if a student submits both Assessment 1 and Assessment 2 on May 2, Assessment 1 would be evaluated in the first five business days and Assessment 2 would be evaluated within ten business days.  

Students benefit from having time to use feedback on assessments before submitting the next assessment.  For this reason, we encourage students to proactively manage their time to incorporate feedback between assessments.  This helps the student to align their work with expectations and builds in time for revisions, if needed. 

You should plan to use the time management calculator, and the suggested pacing plans in your course syllabi, to make a sustainable plan for success in your subscription period.

Q:  What can I do if I am stuck on something as I work on my assignment?   

A:  First, review the learning resources that you have available to you in the course. Did you miss anything important? Sometimes the information you need you may have just missed on your first read through. Next, work with the tutoring center or library staff. These are great resources to help you be successful. You can also attend the instructor’s office hours, which are times set aside specifically to work on questions with your instructor.

After you have taken all of these steps, you can contact your instructor via the Inbox tool in Canvas, or in any other way that they invite you to be in contact.

Q:  What if I don’t understand an assignment?  

A:  First, review the resources that you have available to you. Did you miss anything important? Sometimes the information you need you may have just missed on your first read through. If you still need to clarify something about the assignment, contact your instructor. Each instructor has posted information about how to contact them.  You can also visit your instructor during posted office hours.  

Q:  Something seems to be broken in the course. What do I do?

A:  Share the issue with your instructor – perhaps it is a broken link or a resource not loading correctly. These things happen in any digital environment. Each instructor has posted information about how to contact them. Sharing screenshots of the problem can help your instructor diagnose and correct the problem.