Academic Participation bCourses Assignment

Due to a federal mandate, we must demonstrate student participation in all courses. In order to comply with this requirement, we will create an ungraded assignment in each bCourses site. Students will also receive a bCourses announcement with information about the assignment. We hope that instructors will find this addition unobtrusive and straightforward.

We understand that in certain cases, instructors would prefer to opt out, so that an assignment is not created in their bCourses site. If you choose to opt out following the instructions below, your students will receive the same survey via email. If a course does not have a published bCourses site at the beginning of the term, it will also receive the survey via email.

Student View of the bCourses assignment:

Because the survey is only assigned to students, instructors, GSIs, and anyone not officially registered will not be able to view or access the survey within bCourses. For reference, the survey will appear as below in bCourses. Also see this preview of the actual assignment.

Gradebook View:

While the assignment does not factor into the final grade, it will appear as a column in the course gradebook with a value of 1 point visible to students and instructors.

If your course is set to use a manual grade posting policy by default, this assignment will follow that rule, and students will not see their grade for this assignment unless you post it.

To opt out of the bCourses assignment:

Instructors can opt out during the first three days of instruction. You will receive an email from courseparticipation@berkeley.edu with the exact timing.

Use the link in the email you received from courseparticipation@berkeley.edu, or navigate to surveys.berkeley.edu

1. Select the course you wish to opt out
2. Select “Manage Settings”
3. Toggle the “Opt in to this survey” setting from “Yes” to “No”
4. Select “Update”
5. Repeat for other desired courses, if necessary

To opt back in to the bCourses Assignment:

You can change your mind and opt back in before the deadline:

1. Select the course you wish to opt out
2. Select “Manage Settings”
3. Toggle the “Opt in to this survey” setting from “No” to “Yes”
4. Select “Yes, I’m Sure”
5. Select “Update”
6. Repeat for other desired courses, if necessary