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Information for Faculty

Last updated 8/30/22
 

What is Academic Activity? 

Campuses are required to confirm that those students receiving federal financial aid began attendance in each of their courses by confirming some sort of academically related activity.  These activities include, but are not limited to, any of the following activities: 

  • physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students; 
  • submitting an academic assignment; 
  • taking an exam, completing an interactive tutorial, or participating in computer-assisted instruction; 
  • attending a study group that is assigned by the school; 
  • participating in an online discussion about academic matters; 
  • initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course 

For distance education;  

  • student submission of an academic assignment, 
  • student submission of an exam, 
  • documented student participation in an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction, 
  • a posting by the student showing the student’s participation in an online study group that is assigned by the institution, 
  • a posting by the student in a discussion forum showing the student’s participation in an online discussion about academic matters, and an email from the student or other documentation showing that the student-initiated contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course 

Academic Activities do NOT include: 

  • living in institutional housing, 
  • participating in the school’s meal plan, 
  • logging into an online class without active participation, 
  • participating in academic counseling or advisement. 
  • course registration 

Why is Certification of Academic Activity Important

UC Merced will recalculate financial aid after the add/drop deadline for all undergraduate and graduate aid recipients based on their enrollment status in those classes which we can confirm that the student began attendance. If we are unable to document the student’s academic activity in a class, their aid will be adjusted to exclude the units for that class. Students will have an opportunity to appeal if they have supporting documentation from the instructor confirming their attendance.

How we will Track Student Academic Activity

CatCourse Data Extraction

We will extract student academic activity directly from CatCourses (e.g., assignment, quiz, test) and populate our Student Information System database (SIS) with the date and type of occurrence. These activities have to be native to the CatCourses system, meaning they are activities created in CatCourses that the student submits within CatCourses.
Tip: If you utilize CatCourses for an assignment, discussion board, quiz, or test on or before the 15th day of instruction, there is nothing more you will need to do.
 

Recording Academic Activity using the Tool

If you don't use CatCourses, you can record Academic Activity directly in our Academic Activity tool. This can be done in two ways, by individual student/activity or enmass for all students enrolled in a course.

By individual student:

  1. Log into AAT tool.
  2. Once you are logged in, select the course you want to add activity for by clicking on "view" next to the course on the far right of the screen.
  3. The list of students will appear. Locate the student you want to add activity for. Click on "view" to the far right of the student's record.
  4. Then at the top of the page click "Edit".
  5. You will now see a button "Record New Academic Activity", click that.
  6. Click in area below "Date" and enter the date of the activity, then click under "Required Activity" and select the activity type then click "Save" on the bottom right corner.

For all students enrolled in a course:

  1. Log into AAT tool.
  2. Once you are logged in, select the course you want to add activity for by clicking on "view" next to the course on the far right of the screen.
  3. The list of students will appear. Scroll to the bottom of the page, change the per page number of students being displayed to maximum. Click on "view" to the far right of the student's record.
  4. Then at the top of the page select "All Activity".
  5. You will see a button "Record New Academic Activity", click that.
  6. Click "Select All", then add the "Activity Date", then select the "Required Activity" type and click "Save" in the bottom right corner.

Faculty Initiated Drop

The Registrar’s Office is implementing functionality within CatCourses that will allow faculty the option of dropping students who have not attended and have no other academic activity. These drops must occur within the first 10-days of instruction. More information and instructions can be found here: https://registrar.ucmerced.edu/faculty-and-staff/faculty/faculty-drop. 
Tip: If you utilize this feature within CatCourses, it will free up seats and allow other students the opportunity to add your course. This drop is not automatic based on student activity; the instructor must take action to drop the student.
 

Provide Last Date of Activity

OIT created an optional last day of activity field in CatCourses for faculty to complete when submitting non-passing grades at the end of the term. This information with be passed over to Financial Aid to determine how much student aid, if any, needs to be repaid. The last day of academic activity can include submitted assignments, exams, discussions, or physically attending a class. More information can be found here: https://registrar.ucmerced.edu/LastDayAttendance.
Tip #3: Using this functionality in CatCourses will save you from receiving yet another email later on. If you do not provide Last Day of Attendance in CatCourses, Financial Aid will need to reach out to you to determine the last day of student participation for every non-passing grade.
 
Most functionality is being provided to faculty via CatCourses, consistent with the principle of utilizing systems that are already familiar to our students and faculty. However, for those faculty who do not use CatCourses, a new system was designed to capture student activity. For faculty who do not use CatCourses, they or a designated staff member from their School will need to log into our newly developed Academic Activity tool, select their class, and easily certify academic activity for their students by the add/drop deadline. 
 

Resources

Academic Activity Tool

Book a 15-minute Teams session for assistance

Request access to the Academic Activity tool for support staff by emailing aatsupport@ucmerced.edu