Academic Courses

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Definition of Courses:

Face to Face Courses

Wilmington College defines a Face-to-Face course as one which meets in a physical space on a regular weekly schedule.All students enrolled in a Face-to-Face course are expected to physically attend and participate in all class sessions.

Hybrid Flex Courses

In a HybridFlex course, you will have a scheduled day (s)each week where you will be required to meet in your scheduled classroom.

You will also have assignments and other participation activities that must be completed and submitted electronically each week through the prescribed manner in Blackboard. Pay close attention to the course syllabus and communication from your instructor so you will know when you are scheduled to attend the physical classroom. Participation in the scheduled live class sessions and all weekly course requirements must be completed and submitted electronically in the prescribed manner to the course instructor within the instructor’s assigned deadlines for assignments and participation that week.

Hybrid Traditional Courses

In a Hybrid Traditional course, you will have scheduled day(s) where you will be required to meet in your scheduled classroom and other day (s)you will participate at the scheduled class time by attending the class live online synchronously via Zoom(or other synchronous platforms specified in your course syllabus). The lecture days will consist of lectures, presentations, discussions, an overview of assignments for the week, etc. as determined by your instructor. You will have assignments that must be completed each week. Pay close attention to the syllabus so you will know when you are scheduled o be in the physical classroom and days you will be scheduled to participate in the class via Zoom (or another platform) noted in your syllabus. Participation in the scheduled live classroom and corresponding synchronous sessions is required. Weekly course requirements must be completed and submitted electronically in the prescribed manner to the course instructor within the instructor’s assigned deadlines for assignments and participation that week.

Online (Asynchronous) Courses

An Online course is taught asynchronously. You will always meet in a virtual contact space through the Blackboard Learning Management System. Each class week will have participation and engagement requirements that must be completed during that week as determined by your instructor. Wilmington College defines an online course weeks one which commences at 6:00 A.M. each Monday and ends at 10:00 P.M. the following Sunday. All weekly course requirements must be completed and submitted electronically in the prescribed manner to the course instructor within the instructor’s assigned deadlines for assignments and participation that week.

Online Synchronous Courses

An Online Synchronous course will require that you attend the live online synchronous sessions during the scheduled meeting times indicated in your course schedule and in the course syllabus. You will also meet in a virtual contact space through the Blackboard Learning Management System. Each class week will have participation and engagement requirements that must be completed during that week as determined by your instructor. Wilmington College defines an online course week as one which commences at 6:00A.M. each Monday and ends at 10:00 P.M. the following Sunday. Participation in the scheduled live synchronous sessions and all weekly course requirements must be completed and submitted electronically in the prescribed manner to the course instructor within the instructor’s assigned deadlines for assignments and participation that week.

Minimum Technology Requirements for Students

Access to a computer with the following specifications are the minimum technology requirements In order to be able to perform successfully in a hybrid or online learning environment, as well in many courses offered face to face. Some academic programs may require additional software.

Device Types

  • Laptops, desktops running Microsoft Windows or Apple macOS are recommended as your primary device
  • Tablets running Windows may be acceptable if it meets requirements below
  • Google Chromebook devices are not recommended as your primary device
  • Devices running Android,Apple iOS(iPhone/iPad) or other operating systems are not recommended as your primary device

Operating system

  • Windows OS: Windows 10 or 11
  • macOS: One of the three most recent versions of macOS

Computer and Processor

  • Windows OS: 1.6 GHz or faster, 2-core or greater. 2 GHz or greater recommended for video calls
  • macOS: Intel processor or Apple M-series of processors (M1, M2…)

Memory

  • WindowsOS:4GBRAM or greater
  • macOS:4GBRAM or greater

Hard disk

  • WindowsOS:10GB of available disk space or greater
  • macOS:10GB of available disk space or greater

Display

  • Windows OS: 1280x768screen resolution or greater

  •  macOS:1280x800 screen resolution or greater

Network Connectivity

  • Wi-Fi capable

Browser

  • The current version of Microsoft Edge, Safari, or Chrome.

Video calls

  • Built in or USB Camera, speakers/headphones, and microphone.

If you do not have consistent access to a device with these specifications, please be sure to have that in place by the beginning of the semester. If you have questions regarding these minimum technology requirement specifications, please contact helpdesk@wilmington.edu

Considering the possibility of future interruptions to our face-to- face learning together, continuing, and new students should also check on the status of internet at home and be prepared to address any deficiencies.

Course Credits are Expressed in Semester Hours of Credit

Courses are generally numbered to correspond to the class level for which they are intended. Courses numbered below 100 are intended for freshmen.They do not count toward graduation, although they are included in the course load for the semester. 100-level courses are intended for freshmen, 200-level courses are intended for sophomores, 300-level courses are intended for juniors, and 400-level courses are intended for seniors. The 100- and 200- level courses are considered lower division, while the 300- and 400-level courses are considered upper division. Lower-level transfer elective credit is numbered 195, and upper-level transfer elective credit is numbered 395. Graduate courses are numbered 500 to 699.

Class Attendance

Each member of the Wilmington College faculty will provide all students enrolled in his/her courses with a written statement on attendance policy for each particular course in the course syllabus. This statement will specify what role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive absences as the professor defines that term. The College accepts these four categories of excused absences:

  1. Activities in which the student serves as an official representative of the College (e.g., musical performances, athletic contests, field trips).
  2. Personal illness, with documentation by the College nurse or a physician, if possible. In relation to students experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms or illness, students should be provided an excused absence and should no the penalized for electing not to attend physical classes in these instances.
  3. Family or personal emergencies.
  4. When severe weather makes travel to campus dangerous.*

*For branch campuses, students are expected to travel to campus unless the branch campus is specifically closed due to weather.

Wilmington College recognizes that reasonable attendance requirements will vary somewhat between disciplines, professors and even an individual's courses. The purpose of this policy is to ensure all concerned are clear about expectations in a given course. Faculty members are expected to accept the College's basic definition of excused absences in their individual policies and monitor attendance, but faculty members may also choose to accept other absences as excused (entirely at the discretion of each faculty member). Students are expected to be responsible for informing faculty members about excused absences (including documentation, if required) and for arranging to make up all work missed because of absences. An excused absence in no way removes this responsibility or obligates the professor to provide a student with special assignments or opportunities.

Good communication between students and faculty members is essential in cases of excused absences. Students are responsible for initiating this communication and in as timely a manner as possible. Students who will have to miss class to represent the College should provide schedules of these absences to the faculty member as soon in the semester as they are known. In all cases, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss excused absences with affected faculty members and to provide documentation of the excused nature of the absence, if the faculty member requires it.

Students should notify the Office of Academic Affairs if they are unable to attend classes due to surgery, extended illness, etc. Extended absences without notification can result in immediate administrative withdrawal from the College.In addition, during any term, a pattern of non-engagement or four or more academic alert notices in multiple classes can also result in immediate administrative withdrawal or suspension. Non-engagement is defined as missing classes, refusal to adhere to College policies, non- attendance, non-responsiveness to attempts to communicate, or a combination of these factors.

Attendance Policy for Hybrid Flex Courses

All students enrolled in hybrid flex courses must participate in required classroom sessions, as well as log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete or submit any assignment(s) or other academic related activities, to be determined by the instructor.

Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of hybrid flex courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non-participation may be defined as but limited to:

  1. Not attending required physical class sessions.
  2. Not following the instructor’s participation guidelines as stated in the syllabus.
  3. Not submitting required assignments.
  4. Not contributing meaningful discussion in required chat rooms, discussion boards, or other online forums.
  5. Not participating in scheduled academic activities; or
  6. Failure to communicate with the instructor as required.

Failure to attend as defined above constitutes an absence.

It should be noted that simply logging into the course does not constitute participation. Students must demonstrate that they are academically engaged and participating in the course by submitting required assignments, attending scheduled classroom sessions, attending synchronous online sessions, and contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.

Faculty will specify what role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive absences as the professor defines in the syllabus.

Attendance Policy for Hybrid Traditional Courses

Students enrolled in hybrid traditional courses must participate in scheduled classroom and corresponding online synchronous sessions as well as log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete any assignment(s) or other academic related activities, to be determined by the instructor.

Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of hybrid traditional courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non-participation may be defined as but is not limited to

  1. Not attending scheduled physical classroom sessions and online synchronous sessions.
  2. Not following the instructor’s participation guidelines as stated in the syllabus.
  3. Not submitting required assignments.
  4. Not contributing meaningful discussion in required chat rooms, discussion boards, or other online forums.
  5. Not participating in scheduled activities; or
  6. Failure to communicate with the instructor on academic related matters as required.

Failure to attend as defined above constitutes an absence

It should be noted that simply logging into the course does not constitute participation. Students must demonstrate that they are actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, attending scheduled physical classroom, and corresponding synchronous sessions, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.

Faculty will specify what role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive absences as the professor defines in the syllabus.

Attendance Policy for Online (Asynchronous) Courses

Wilmington College defines an online course week as one which commences at 6:00 A.M. each Monday and ends at 10:00 P.M. the following Sunday. All students enrolled in Online (asynchronous) courses must log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete any assignment(s) or other academic related activities, to be determined by the instructor.

Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of online courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non- participation may be defined as but limited to

  1. Not following the instructor’s participation guidelines as stated in the syllabus.
  2. Not submitting required assignments.
  3. Not contributing meaningful discussion in required chat rooms, discussion boards, or other online forums.
  4. Not participating in scheduled activities; or
  5. Failure to communicate with the instructor on academic related matters as required.

Failure to attend as defined above constitutes an absence.

It should be noted that simply logging into the course does not constitute participation. Students must demonstrate that they are actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.

Faculty will specify what role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive absences as the professor defines in the syllabus.

Attendance Policy for Online Synchronous Courses

Wilmington College defines an online course week as one which commences at 6:00 A.M. each Monday and ends at 10:00 P.M. the following Sunday. Students enrolled in Online Synchronous courses must participate in scheduled online synchronous sessions as well as log in to the course(s) on Blackboard and complete any assignment(s) or other academic activities, to be determined by the instructor.

Attendance is required for all class weeks. In the case of online courses, “absences” shall be defined as “non-participation.” Non- participation may be defined as but limited to

  1. Not attending scheduled online synchronous sessions.
  2. Not following the instructor’s participation guidelines as stated in the syllabus.
  3. Not submitting required assignments.
  4. Not contributing meaningful discussion in required chat rooms, discussion boards, or other online forums.
  5. Not participating in scheduled activities; or
  6. Failure to communicate with the instructor on academic related matters as required.

Failure to attend as defined above constitutes an absence.

It should be noted that simply logging into the course does not constitute participation. Students must demonstrate that they are actively participating in the course by submitting required assignments, attending scheduled synchronous sessions, contributing to discussion forums, etc. as outlined above.

Faculty will specify what role, if any, class attendance plays in grading and the specific penalties for excessive absences as the professor defines in the syllabus.