Online Learning at Rowan

What You Can Expect

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About CPCE at Rowan

The College of Professional & Continuing Education (CPCE) was established to facilitate access to Rowan University’s high quality academic programs for individuals seeking education, training, and enrichment in a convenient and affordable setting. CPCE students are characterized as non-traditional because of their personal and professional lives and their preference for studying with flexible schedules and convenient and innovative instructional modes of delivery.

CPCE students are admitted according to the standards and requirements established by the Admission’s Office, the Graduate School, and the corresponding departments. CPCE does not have its own degrees, nor does it “own” a curriculum. It is simply a vehicle to offer existing Rowan courses and degree/certificate programs to a different population of students through alternative modes of instructional delivery such as accelerated, off-site, and online. Therefore, the respective academic unit will grant the same diploma and/or certificate to students pursuing a degree through CPCE as it would to a traditional student.   No matter where you study, you are a Rowan student.

While you are fully a part of Rowan University and adhere to the same academic policies as the traditional learner, as a CPCE student, it’s important to know that you will often follow different administrative processes that better meet your unique needs.  For this reason, we ask that you stay in touch with CPCE to make sure you follow the appropriate steps for your particular program and stay on the right track along the way toward your degree!

CPCE is on Rowan’s main campus at:
Education Hall, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ, 08028
Phone:  856-256-5435, Fax:  856-256-5638, Email:  cpceacademicservices@rowan.edu, Web:  www.rowan.edu/cpce

 

About Rowan Online
The Rowan Online Program is a Rowan University initiative administered by the College of Professional & Continuing Education (CPCE).  Individual courses, instructors, and related academic functions are administered and managed by the college that holds the degree or certificate program in which you are enrolled.

The Rowan Online Course Format
Online courses are offered as 8-week accelerated modules. This means that the amount of course content typically covered in a full 16 week semester is now covered in 8 weeks (except for some special offerings; please consult your course syllabus for details). For this reason, students should expect to devote more time per week to their online assignments.  While the pace is faster, the advantage is that you are usually able to complete your online program more quickly than a traditional program. Each week of a Rowan Online course will begin on a Tuesday at 8:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) and end on the following Monday prior to midnight (at 11:59 PM on Monday). This gives students the benefit of a full weekend to work on and complete assignments each week.

What Students Should Expect
The following is a list of what a student can expect to encounter in the Rowan Online program.

    • You are expected to become familiar with and follow Rowan University policies. 
    • All student communication is expected to be courteous, professional, and in conjunction with Rowan University's Code of Conduct posted in Rowan’s official Student Information Guide and available at www.rowanonline.com under the “Current Students” section.  Activity that denotes conduct unbecoming of a student will be reported to the Office of Student Affairs and handled appropriately.
    • Your course will become available to you approximately 4-5 days prior to the start of the module assuming that you have been registered and that you have completed the Technology Activation process through Rowan.
    • You should log in to your online course as soon as possible after registration.
    • All course dates and times will be based on Eastern Time (ET), USA.
    • All major assignments and their due dates will be outlined in the course syllabus which will be posted at the beginning of the current online module.
    • You may be required to complete coursework over holidays and holiday weekends. Also, due to the nature and timing of the online course, it is not possible to accommodate individual student vacations/business trips, etc. 

      • You will be expected to dedicate an average of 12 hours per week per course.

      • You are expected to participate regularly in every posted discussion board in your respective courses.
      • Some work may be done outside the Blackboard system, such as reading assignments, typing a paper, and in some cases, completion of fieldwork.
      • At an absolute minimum, students must be logged into the Blackboard system for 4 total hours per week as mandatory proof of attendance. The time does not have to be in consecutive hours or in a single Blackboard login session.
      • All assignments are to be completed and submitted by the posted due date.
      • Special accommodations (such as those for religious observance) must be arranged with the instructor well in advance.
      • Except for special extensions, all written assignments are due prior to 12 AM (midnight) on the posted due date.
      • Some course activities, such as posting messages to a discussion board, may be due during the week.  You will always have up until 11:59 PM (ET) on the posted due date to complete mid-week activities.
      • Due to the pace of the course, late assignments will not be accepted. The only exception is in the event of a documented hardship.  Any due date flexibility is at the discretion of the course instructor and must be agreed upon between the instructor and the individual student well in advance of the due date.
      • You should have a dedicated computer with a recent version of Microsoft Office installed that meets the required minimum specifications available at www.rowanonline.com.
      • You should be comfortable using Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, before starting an online course.
      • All written assignments must be submitted as Microsoft Word Document File attachments or the file format specified. No other formats (including WordPerfect) will be supported.  
      • You are expected to communicate about course-related issues and/or with course instructors via one of the following methods:
      • Tools in Blackboard, like discussion boards and chat rooms;
        • Correspondence held outside of Blackboard, either using other software products (i.e. AOL Instant Messenger), or by email and voice communication, cannot be monitored and therefore cannot be taken into consideration for a student's participation grade.
      • Your official Rowan email;
        • Email is the preferred method of direct, private instructor correspondence. You are expected to use your official Rowan-issued Student Email account for all course-related communication, and you must check this on an almost daily basis. The University, faculty, and other administration will use Rowan email as the primary means to provide you with announcements and important information.  You may forward your Rowan email to your personal email account if you choose.   Further instructions are available at www.rowanonline.com.
        • Please note that student email is private and neither monitored nor accessible by Rowan University faculty members.
        • Instructors will provide a 1 business day turn-around for all email inquiries, unless otherwise noted.
      •  Phone.
        • There will be certain occasions when it may be appropriate to contact your instructor by phone.  Consult the course syllabus for contact information.
      • You are expected to acquire all materials by the start of the course (but no later than the 4th day of the 1st week of the course). This includes textbooks, publications, and software that are listed in the course syllabus as "required."
        • Required textbooks for all CPCE courses as well as information regarding how and where to purchase them are listed in the CPCE Section Tally: www.rowan.edu/cpcecoursesearch. Once in the Section Tally, textbook information can be viewed by clicking on the “Materials Required” link located under the “AddlInfo” column.  (If there is no link for “Materials Required” that means your texts are not yet posted but should be soon.)
        • Please note that some web links on the Section Tally redirect you to a web-secure (https://) page.  Some organizations (especially schools) block this on their network for security purposes.  If you are unable to reach this webpage while at your workplace, you may want to try to access it from home.
        • CPCE orders texts through the official Rowan Bookstore system; and, unless stated otherwise in the Section Tally, students may purchase their books in person or online through the Rowan Bookstore. (Please allow extra time for shipping if texts are ordered online.)
          • While students may choose to purchase materials from vendors other than those recommended, there will be no acceptable excuse for not having obtained the required materials by the indicated deadline.

          Rowan Online Policies

          ACADEMIC HONESTY
          The vitality of any academic program is rooted in its integrity. It is essential to Rowan University that the grades awarded to students reflect only their own individual efforts and achievements. Each segment of the academic community, e.g., faculty, students and administration, is responsible for the academic integrity of the University. Academic dishonesty, in any form, will not be tolerated. Students found to have committed an act of academic dishonesty may be subject to failure in the course, suspension from the University, or both.

          ATTENDANCE
          Student attendance is monitored within the Blackboard System. Faculty and administration can track student usage throughout the system including the amount of times a student logs into Blackboard and the duration of each login session. Students must be logged into the Blackboard system for a minimum of 4 Total Hours per week as mandatory proof of attendance. The time does not have to be in consecutive hours or in a single Blackboard Log-in Session.

          COURSEWORK

          • All assignments are to be completed and submitted by the posted due date. Assignments will NOT be accepted late. The only exception is in the event of a documented hardship. Documentation should be produced (by fax, email, or physically) to the instructor upon request.
          • Unless otherwise noted by the instructor to the class, all assignments are due by 11:59 PM Eastern (Midnight) of posted due date. 

          CPCE COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
          Any student who wants to file a complaint with regard to any portion of this course, its content, its instruction, or its technology is asked to take the following steps to ensure that the problem is handled in an appropriate, timely, and professional manner. 

          • All initial concerns or complains should be addressed directly to the course instructor. This complaint should be filed in an email to the instructor. It should be professional and completely describe the issue including any relevant times/dates and names. Under normal circumstances, the instructor should be given 2 business days to provide an initial response to the complaint.
          • If the student complaint cannot be resolved between the student and the instructor and the instructor does not escalate the complaint to a higher level (i.e. department chair, program supervisor, college dean), the student may appeal to the CPCE Academic Services department for assistance in resolving the matter. The best way to do this is send a detailed email (description of problem including dates, times, names, and course specifics) to the student’s designated CPCE Administrative Advisor or to CPCEAcademicServices@rowan.edu. The Academic Services team will facilitate the complaint process and direct the student to the appropriate administrative personnel.
          • The Rowan University Complaint Procedure Policy is outlined in the current Rowan University Student Handbook (available online at http://www.rowanonline.com under Current Students). However, it is recommended that online students begin with the CPCE Complaint Procedure outlined above as the Handbook procedure is designed for the traditional, on-campus student.

          REQUIRED MATERIALS
          Students are expected to acquire all materials, including textbooks, publications, and software, that are listed in this syllabus as "required" by the 4th day of the 1st week of the course. Required textbooks for all CPCE courses as well as information regarding how and where to purchase them are listed in the CPCE Section Tally (http://banner.rowan.edu/reports/reports.pl?task=Section_Tally_CPCE) and can be viewed by clicking on the “Materials Required” link located under the “AddInfo” Column. (If there is no link for “Materials Required” that means your texts are not yet posted but should be soon.)

          CPCE orders texts through the official Rowan Bookstore system and unless stated otherwise in the Tally, students may purchase their books in person or online through the Bookstore. (Please allow extra time for shipping if texts are ordered online.) While students may choose to purchase materials from vendors other than those recommended, there will be no acceptable excuse for not having obtained the required materials by the indicated deadline.

           

          Rowan Online Policies Continued

          STUDENT OBLIGATION
          Given the accelerated nature of most online or hybrid courses offered through the CPCE, students must be prepared to be committed to completing the course and outlined course work in the schedule provided. 

          • Students are expected to continue work over holidays and associated holiday weekends or breaks. It is acceptable for work to be due on a holiday.
          • Online and hybrid courses are scheduled according to the CPCE online calendar (www.rowan.edu/cpceschedules), which does not coincide with the Rowan University calendar. Traditional breaks (i.e. Spring Break or Winter Break), may not be included in the online calendar and therefore online courses may carry on during Rowan University scheduled breaks and holidays. To best understand the schedule and other requirements for this course and program, students should carefully review the online calendar as well as the appropriate detail sheet available at www.rowan.edu/cpce.
          • Students that make plans to go on travel while taking an online course must make arrangements to have access to the online course system. It is recommended that students bring a laptop (if available) and make arrangements for Internet access. Other options include using facilities local to your travel destination including those at a hotel, a library, an Internet café, etc.

          TECHNOLOGY

          • In order to successfully take part in this online course, students must have access to a typically configured personal computer and the Internet. The computer and related technology must meet the Rowan Online technology requirements (available at http://www.rowanonline.com).
          • Students should plan in advance for alternative computer and Internet access in the event of a personal computer failure.
          • Students are responsible for maintaining, protecting, and backing up all data and files related to their courses (outside of the Blackboard System).
          • All submissions (homework, reports, etc) must be completed using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) Software. No other document formats will be accepted unless specifically stated.

          TECHNICAL SUPPORT

          • For all technical support inquires, students must first contact the 24/7 tech support hotline by calling (toll-free) 1-866-223-0157 Students may also visit the Online Tech Support Center for self-service technical support or to submit a support request ticket. All initial inquires must go through the first response tech support team by one of these methods. Students must use their official Rowan Student Email account as a point of contact with all tech support inquires.
          • The Rowan Online first response team will escalate any technical support inquires that cannot be handled immediately to Rowan Online advanced technical team. The advanced technical team will then contact the student to follow up with questions and/or notify the student when the issue has been resolved.
          • A direct technical request from a student to his/her instructor or the advanced technical team will result in a response asking the student to use the technical support hotline to contact the first response team.

          WITHDRAWAL
          For the withdrawal policy and applicable dates specifically related to Rowan Online courses, visit the following URL - http://www.rowan.edu/provost/registrar/courseschedule.html - and click on CPCE Registration & Payment Plan for the appropriate semester.