Instructional Continuity Resources

Tips for navigating a Canvas outage, we understand that keeping your students informed is your top priority. To ensure security and clarity, please follow these updated communication guidelines immediately.

1. Coordinate with Academic Leadership

Please coordinate with your school’s academic leadership when sending messages or making other changes related to your course. Consistent messaging is vital to avoid conflicting instructions and to ensure all students are treated equitably during this disruption.

2. Authorized Communication Channels

To maintain integrity and prevent security breaches, all communications with students must be sent through official university platforms. Please use:

- Rutgers Connect – official communication tool for faculty and staff
- ScarletMail/ScarletApps – only if this is already the established primary tool for your specific class

Do not use personal email, private messaging apps, or social media for any course-related activities unless it is already the established process for your specific class.

3. A Note on Security and Scams

Phishing attempts and scammers are already actively exploiting the confusion surrounding this outage. Using non-standard or personal channels inadvertently makes it easier for bad actors to impersonate faculty and staff. Your adherence to these protocols is our best defense against these opportunistic threats.

4. When to Contact Your Individual Schools and Units

Your school may offer additional services (Yuja, Panopto, ExamSoft, etc.) beyond those listed here. Please reach out to your school-based IT or course support. Rutgers IT Help Desk provides contact information for your school-based resources.

Email students in your course. Download the class roster with emails from REGIS; contact your department administrator for REGIS access. Rutgers Health instructors should reach out to your school-based registrar or your IT help desk.
- Entire Class – You can communicate with your entire class using an email tool called Rutgers Automated Mass-mailing System. (Create a RAMS class list to generate a class email list. Be sure to choose a moderated list.)
- Small Group or Individuals – If you need to communicate with a few students (5 or fewer) or individual students, you should use Rutgers Connect. Be sure to BCC your students to prevent unintended “Reply-Alls.”
Consider the following:
- If you are not already using ScarletMail with your students, reduce confusion and continue to use Rutgers Connect.
- After coordinating with our school’s academic leadership, message students on how you intend to finish the course, any alterations to assignments and assessments, and how you plan to collect work, etc.
- To manage email traffic, provide students with instructions for the subject line (e.g., Course Name, Course Number, Assignment; 610:577, Project Management, Final Project)
- Encourage your students to read and follow university-wide updates as well as future communications that you send.

Did you know?	Excel Tip:
Emails to anyone at Rutgers with the format netid@rutgers.edu will be delivered to their delivery address, regardless of whether they receive email in ScarletMail or Rutgers Connect.	In your roster spreadsheet, type =[click on the cell with the NetID]&”@rutgers.edu” to combine the NetID with the email domain. Copy and fill in the formula for all students. See step-by-step instructions on how to create email addresses from a Rutgers NetID or reach out to your help desk for assistance.

Did you know?

Excel Tip:

Emails to anyone at Rutgers with the format netid@rutgers.edu will be delivered to their delivery address, regardless of whether they receive email in ScarletMail or Rutgers Connect.

In your roster spreadsheet, type =[click on the cell with the NetID]&”@rutgers.edu” to combine the NetID with the email domain. Copy and fill in the formula for all students.

See step-by-step instructions on how to create email addresses from a Rutgers NetID or reach out to your help desk for assistance.

In your email, attach files for view-only links of readings or other resources your students might need in the short term.
Reading Lists are still available through Library Mobile. For assistance, please Ask a Librarian.
Create and share video communication using Kaltura‘s My Media from Rutgers University MediaSpace.
- If you have already shared Kaltura media in Canvas, you can share those videos using links from Mediaspace via email.
- Kaltura also lets you attach related documents to your videos.
Zoom recordings previously created via Canvas can be accessed directly through the Rutgers Zoom portal and shared via link.
- You can also create new cloud recordings in Zoom to distribute short- and long-term instructional content.
Consider creating a Box or Teams site to share resources with your students, if needed.
- The easiest option is to create a Box/OneDrive folder that can be accessed by anyone at the University with Can View Only access. For added security, you may want to share only with your specific students. This requires more setup, but it is more secure. Links should include an expiration date for access. See How to Create Shared Links for Box or Share Documents in OneDrive.
- For those using Connect Teams (Microsoft)
  - “Posts” can be used for announcements and questions.
  - “Channels” can be used to organize dialogs around specific topics.
  - “Tabs” can be a simple way to pin resources students may need.

Rutgers Zoom Web Portal can be used outside of Canvas. You can use your personal room or schedule meetings, which can be shared with students via email. Please review our Zoom resources and download the Zoom app.

Rutgers Webex Portal is also available for all students/faculty/staff. Please review our Webex resources and download the Webex app.

Connect also allows you to create a Microsoft Bookings Calendar for students to schedule one-on-one meetings for study support and guidance.

Student work can be collected outside of Canvas. Options include:

Submitting directly to you via email.

Using Turnitin via the website. You can create a Turnitin course to collect submitted work via a Turnitin assignment.

Creating a place for student submissions.

- OneDrive folder for students to upload files. Please be sure to use the Create a OneDrive File Request to limit students from seeing other students’ submissions.

- Box allows you to share a Box File Request link to collect files while maintaining security.

- Teams can also be used to create and collect assignments securely by creating a Teams Class site.

- Microsoft Forms can be used to create a Microsoft form with a file upload question type.

Note: Establish file naming convention and format (zip, pdf, etc.) for student work submission (Last_Name, First Initial, Assignment #, etc.)

Once you receive guidance from your academic leadership on how to continue the final exam period, you may consider the following options:

To the extent possible, maintain the exam’s general format. Do your best to keep the exam consistent with the modality students are studying for.

Create a form with Microsoft Forms to create quizzes with objective questions and/or essay questions.

If you are planning an oral exam. You can move students to breakout rooms to have discussions (Breakout rooms can be recorded locally by managing your breakout room).

Some third-party integrations (e.g., Akindi, McGraw-Hill, Hypothesis, VoiceThread, PlayPosit, etc.) are accessible outside Canvas by resetting your password. Typically, they are accessed using the email address associated with your Canvas account. Please note that this may be a different version of your Rutgers email address than you typically use. View Manage Your Email Addresses to see what other email addresses are associated with your NetID. Verify that all your students have access.

The Office of Disability Services is here to assist our students. OIT’s Digital Accessibility team has provided a list of Automated Resources that may be helpful to you and your students. For additional accessibility resources, please direct your student to Rutgers Access and Disability Resources.

5. Managing Course Adjustments After a Disruption

Following the recent Canvas outage, instructors should consult guidance from their academic unit leaders to determine the best course of action for their class. The resources below include actions you may need to take in response to the disruption, such as extending deadlines, modifying assessments, rescheduling exams, or providing student-specific accommodations. You will also find tips for maintaining course continuity, including downloading course content and exporting your gradebook.

REGIS: Grade Upload using Excel