Information for Faculty and Staff: Update to the process for manually adding users to a D2L course 

Updated: 3/1/2023 

Video playlist of this info (9:45) 

Overview:  

In order to come into compliance with FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act), we are making a change to the D2L “Classlist” tool, which currently contains an “Add Participants” button (see image below).  

As of October 17th, 2022, this button will be removed for Instructor D2L accounts: 

We recognize that the removal of this button may be disruptive to the workflow for some faculty. Therefore, we’ve tried our best to put alternatives in place, in anticipation of some of the needs instructors may have. Read on for more information. 

How has this button been used in the past? 

Previous uses of this button include: 

1. Adding a Dean to a course in order to perform a course review 
2. Adding other instructors to a course in order to share course materials 
3. Adding other instructors to a course to facilitate a student cohort 
4. Adding a student to a course who has registered and is waiting for D2L access 
5. Adding a student to a course if they have been dropped for non-payment and are waiting for re-enrollment 
6. Adding a PASS Leader, Librarian, or ASL interpreter to a course 
7. Changing a student’s enrollment status to “StudentWIncomplete” to allow the student to work on the course outside of the course’s End Date 

What does FERPA allow for adding users to D2L? 

• FERPA requires that the student “Classlist” be visible only to D2L users who are registered for the course, or who are the official Instructor of Record. However, FERPA does allow for “legitimate educational interest” when it comes to adding users to the course.  
• Because many of the needs listed above qualify as “legitimate educational interest,” we have created a simple process for requesting additional users. 

What’s the new process for requesting additional user to a D2L course? 

1. Submit an IT request (StarID login required) 
2. Include in the ticket the full name of the course, the semester, and the full name of the person you wish to add - OR - the name of the person whose enrollment status needs to change. 
3. If the user is a student, include the student’s StarID or Tech ID if possible, to ensure that the correct name is added.  
4. Include a description of why the user needs to be added to the course, or why the enrollment status needs to change.  
5. Review the New Workflows/Faculty FAQ’s below for more details on specific use cases. 

New Workflows/FAQ’s:  

If I have agreed to re-enroll a student who was dropped from the course roster, what are the steps? 

1. Submit an Instructor Permission e-Form (using Chrome or Firefox) and tell the student to watch their email to accept the registration action. 
2. Inform the student that D2L access will be provided within 15 minutes of the re-enrollment. 
3. Watch your own email for verification of the student’s re-enrollment. This email will come within 1 business day after the student accepts. 

How can I view the course progress of a withdrawn student, or a student whom I have dropped from the course for non-attendance?

Example: This process may be necessary if you submitted an LDA or Non-attendance for a student, and you would like to re-review their course progress. 

1. Navigate to Communications > Classlist
2. Select the "Enrollment Statistics" button
3. Scroll down the page to the section titled "Withdrawals"
4. Find the student's name, select the down-arrow to the right of their name and select "View Grades"
5. If this does not show you what you need, contact the IT Helpdesk for more support

How can I easily share my course content with a colleague? 

1. “Export” your D2L Content into a Zip file, and share the Zip file. Anyone with the Zip file can “Import” the file into their own course.  
   -AND/OR- 

2. Create a D2L Development Course (“DEV” course) 

   1. For DEV courses made after mid-January 2023 - you will be enrolled as a "Facilitator," which gives you access to the Add Participants button.

   2. For DEV courses made prior to mid-January 2023 - submit an IT request to add your colleague to the course (include their full name in the ticket.) 

What if I have a legitimate need to add another instructor to an active course? 

1. Submit an IT request  – include the name & number of the course, the name of the instructor, and description of the “educational need.” This may include co-teaching, or faculty training & development needs. 
2. When your request has been approved by the Dean, the instructor will be added by the D2L Administrator.  
   -AND/OR- 
3. Submit written permission from the Dean, including the name of the course and the name of the instructor, via an email to kris.king@normandale.edu. 

What if I have a legitimate need to add a PASS Leader, Librarian, ASL interpreter, (etc.) to an active course? 

1. Submit an IT request – include the name & number of the course, the name of the instructor, and description of the “educational need.” 
2. Your request will be fulfilled by the D2L Administrator, who will let you know if there are any questions. 

How can I allow a student with an Incomplete to keep working in D2L? 

1. Submit an IT request for a student’s D2L access to be extended beyond the D2L course End Date.  
   1. The NEW default End Date for the student will be the last day of the following Fall or Spring semester. 
   2. If you need the End Date to be sooner, include that info in the request.
2. Keep in mind that students with Incompletes should be enrolled only in the courses in which they were originally enrolled. If you have concerns about the student’s ability to finish an Incomplete in their original course, please refer to your Academic Dean for further guidance. 

How can I add my Dean to my course? 

1. Submit an IT request – be sure to include the name of the course, section number, and name of your Dean. 

How can I add an Instructional Designer / Technologist to my D2L course? 

1. Currently our Instructional Designers have the ability to enter your course (with your verbal or written) permission – you no longer need to provide them access.   

What about using Microsoft Teams with students? 

1. If you use Microsoft Teams that you manually populate from your class roster, you will need to follow FERPA guidelines as you are creating a roster for your Team. 

How will the change affect non-credit-bearing D2L shells that are used for organizing, such as student groups, student training pages, or department pages? 

1. We have created a new D2L Classlist role called “Facilitator,” which can be assigned to the organizer of a D2L page used for hosting non-credit-bearing resources. 
2. This Facilitator role will have access to the Add Participants button, and will be able to add any D2L user to this page. 
3. Facilitators can enroll a user in one of two roles: "Student" or "Facilitator."  
4. An IT request will initially need to be submitted in order to change someone's role to "Facilitator", and from then on, that person would be able to access the Add Participants button. 

Whom should I ask if I have additional questions about FERPA and D2L, or the IT requests? 

• You can refer to the Registrar’s office or your Academic Dean if you have questions about this policy. 
• You can contact the ITS Service Desk with technical questions.