Project Glossary

A past term course including content for instruction and all student records have been submitted (i.e. no Incompletes or extensions at this time).

The platform on which SUNY Empire's courses will be hosted beginning Fall 2022. 

Different levels of access and permissions given to instructors, adjuncts, students, and professionals based on their function and responsibilities within the university, as well as their division or course. Some examples include: 

• Student: Allows for basic navigation of enrolled courses and the ability to post to discussions, submit assignments, and complete quizzes.  
• Instructor: Allows users to develop new content and configure all settings within enrolled courses. This role is available to line faculty in Undergraduate Studies as well as instructors teaching School of Graduate Studies, School of Labor, International Education, EDPL, JITs, TIS, Virtual Study Group, and Independent Study courses.  
• Adjunct: Allows adjunct instructors of fully online courses in School of Nursing and Allied Health and courses in School of Undergraduate Studies to use Empire Online-approved adjunct-ready online content and to personalize sections (e.g., set due dates, post announcements). 

Self-paced training courses designed by Empire Online available on Brightspace. Users need to self-enroll using Brightspace’s Discover feature (knowledge is available for instructors and students). Available trainings include: 

• An Introduction to Brightspace for Adjuncts: Provides an overview of Brightspace navigation and functions to facilitate fully online undergraduate and School of Nursing and Allied Heath courses for adjunct instructors. 
• An Introduction to Brightspace for Students: Provides an overview of Brightspace navigation and functions for students new to the learning management system. 

Process of copying Empire Online-approved content managed by academic coordinators to all fully online School of Undergraduate Studies and School of Nursing and Allied Health course sections. This happens 4-5 weeks prior to Preview Week. Note: For technical reasons, a blank placeholder with instructor enrollments will appear prior to the Bulk Copy – there is no reason to submit an Incident Ticket; this is part of the process. 

A past term course once all student records have been completed (i.e., all final grades have been submitted, no incompletes or extensions) that contains all content from instruction (e.g., discussions, assignments, announcements, guidance/instructions, intelligent agents) and student work submitted (e.g., recordings of class meetings, copies of content posted to third-party tools/sites). A time capsule for the course once instruction has been completed for the current term.

Requests submitted by instructors for non-master undergraduate courses (e.g., Independent Studies, Virtual Study Groups, Residencies, Just in Time Studies (JITS), Totally Individualized Studies (TIS)), all Educational Planning (EDPL), and School of Graduate Studies and School of Labor courses that need sections available to users on Brightspace. Fully online School of Undergraduate Studies and School of Nursing and Allied Health courses do not require a course request; those sections are created during the bulk copy process.

Please note: Course creation and enrollments can take 1-3 business days to complete. Instructors requesting another's content may take additional time to complete the approval process.

The company that supports and provides access to Brightspace.

A coordinated integration of a Learning Management System (LMS), related tools, and architecture comprises a DLE. The LMS is the hub of any Digital Learning Environment (DLE).

A team of instructional designers, instructional technologists, and multimedia specialists who provide university-wide services for online and blended courses at SUNY Empire. Course support services include online course revisions and developments of new courses, educational technology support and training, and multimedia development for courses. 

Content developed for School of Graduate Studies, School of Labor, International Education, and Undergraduate Educational Planning (EDPL) courses, Just in Time Studies (JITS), Totally Individualized Studies (TIS), Virtual Study Group (VSG), and Independent Study courses. These courses and primaries can be selected when requesting new sections to be copied each term.

Sections of online courses that are individually developed and typically taught by a single faculty member. Like masters, faculty pour sections must go through the instructional design process and adhere to design, accessibility, copyright, and other applicable standards. For more information, see Preparing your Digital Classroom | SUNY Empire.

A version of an online course developed and administered in such a way that the course template can be readily taught by different kinds of instructors, including adjuncts. Most of our online undergraduate sections are taught using this content. These sections will likely continue to constitute approximately 95% of our online undergraduate credits. Academic Coordinators (AC) are responsible for master courses (with specific responsibilities articulated in the AC position description). For more information, see Preparing your Digital Classroom | SUNY Empire.

The platform on which courses are delivered.

An online library for storing, managing, and sharing your learning resources (learning objects). 

An electronic method of authenticating your identity when logging on to a server. You must enter at least two pieces of information to access account information and verify your identity.

A version of Brightspace that is unique to Empire State University. Users will begin to access their SUNY Empire courses in this environment beginning in Fall 2024. This environment will contain widgets and third-party tools that will be unique to SUNY Empire. Users participating in courses through another SUNY-institution need to log in and access those courses through the multi-instance or a method provided by the other institution.

Non-credit bearing courses created upon request of an employee or department that are available via Brightspace’s Discover tool and designed for users or a select group of users to self-enroll. These shells are designed for fostering community, training, and/or academic support. These courses will not appear on a transcript. Examples include the first-term student community forum or the Turnitin Faculty Portal. 
 

A non-term specific course that can be "poured" or copied from one section into another.

A template of a course that can be "poured" or copied from one course into another.

D2L’s mobile application that lets users access Brightspace courses. For more information, see the university’s Knowledgebase article about the app.  

When an individual can authenticate their identity (e.g. by logging in from an authorized email, phone number, or app) and change/update their SUNY Empire password for single sign-on (SSO). 

When users can log in with a single username and password to several software systems.

A collaborative version of Brightspace, that SUNY Empire shared with other SUNY institutions from Fall 2022 through Summer 2024, where users can toggle between campuses and courses through a single login.

Services or instruments provided by a university-contracted vendor that integrates with Brightspace (e.g., Turnitin, VoiceThread, Cengage). Please note: If you teach for other SUNY campuses, you may see different tools.

An instructor-led course consisting of a combination of asynchronous activities and scheduled virtual synchronous meetings. Information regarding days and times of scheduled synchronous meetings is shared in advance of the first day of classes and is included in the term guide. For more information, see Ways to Study | Degrees and Programs | SUNY Empire.