Classroom and Learning Management System Course Access Policy

Classroom Course Access

The University of Michigan-Dearborn campus has based its classroom access policy on the following statements from Chapter 8.D.5. of the University of Michigan Faculty Handbook titled, "Authorized and Unauthorized Persons in the Classroom":

"Generally, persons not enrolled or otherwise officially authorized to attend a course should not be permitted to attend classes. Authorized individuals include prospective students who are visiting a class pursuant to a school or college admissions program."

Members of the faculty have some discretion in permitting guests into their classroom or laboratory. A guest is defined as anyone who is not officially enrolled in the particular course or laboratory and has received an explicit and time-limited invitation by the course instructor. Guests include faculty, staff, non-registered students, or community members. Faculty must be mindful of student privacy concerns and the need of the campus to comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Faculty can permit guests to attend up to two weeks of classes before submitting a one-time petition to their department chair to extend the access period for an additional two weeks of classes. Department chairs shall consider safety, resources, privacy, and fairness in their decisions. University of Michigan Dearborn students with a need to attend a course for longer than four weeks have the option to elect the course under the University auditing policy.

Learning Management System Course Access

Instructors of record and officially registered students will automatically receive access to the University of Michigan-Dearborn Learning Management System (LMS). Waitlisted students will also automatically receive LMS access, but in a view-only state. In addition to these automatic additions from the student information system, the University permits adding teaching assistants, supplemental instructors, and inviting outside and/or guest speakers to the LMS in accordance with FERPA and privacy considerations.

Whereas students with incomplete grades from a previous semester may be granted limited guest access to the physical classroom or laboratory as above under the Classroom Course Access policy (two weeks), they will be granted continued access to the LMS course materials in the closed course/section in which they were enrolled for the duration of the time in their incomplete contract. Faculty can obtain extended access to closed courses with assistance from the LMS support staff.

For courses similar to independent study and directed research, faculty shall only use the LMS generated dedicated course shells, which may not be combined with other shells.

Note that this access policy does not apply to classroom visits- virtual or otherwise- arranged between the instructor and the college, department, or peer evaluators for purposes such as mentoring, promotion, evaluation, instructional design, or embedded academic and technical support.