TheSaylorAcademy

StudentHandbook
RevisedandUpdatedMay2016

WelcometotheSaylorAcademycommunity!

Thishandbookisanoverviewofwhattoexpectinyourstudieswithusandwhat
weexpectfromourstudents,includingsomeimportantrulesthatallstudents
shouldknow.ItalsoservesasabriefintroductiontotheSaylorAcademy:our
history,ourmission,andourcommunity.

AsamemberoftheSaylorAcademycommunity,youagreetoabidebythe
contentsofthishandbookaswellasourprivacypolicyandtermsofuse.

Pleasenotethatthecontentsofthishandbookcouldberevisedatanytimeor
mightnotbecompletelyuptodatethingschange!Ifyouhaveanyquestions,
justask.

TheSaylorAcademyTeam

TheSaylorAcademy
Page1of9
 TABLEOFCONTENTS

AboutSaylorAcademy 3
StudyattheSaylorAcademy 3
AboutOurCourses 3
TechnicalRequirements 4
RegistrationandEnrollment 4
CourseMaterials 4
Accessibility 4
StudentRecordsandInformation 5
StudentRightsandResponsibilities 6
NonDiscriminationPolicy 6
CommunityCodeofConduct 6
AcademicCodeofConduct 7
StudentGrievances 8
GettingHelp 8
StayingintheLoop 8
ContactingSaylorAcademy 9

TheSaylorAcademy
Page2of9
 ABOUTSAYLORACADEMY
Wearea501(c)(3)nonprofitorganizationcomprisedofatalented
team
inWashington,D.C.,
aswellasacademicandotherconsultantsfromaroundtheworld.Ourcommunity alsoincludes
millionsofstudentsfromvirtuallyeveryplaceonEarth.

Since2008,wehaveworkedtocreatehighquality,tuitionfree,openonlinecourses.Weare
notliketheMOOCprovidersthatyoumayknow;ourcoursesareavailableatanytimeandon
anyschedule,andweusefreetoshareandfreetoreusematerialswheneverpossible.Our
coursesareavailablethroughMoodle,anopensourcelearningmanagementsystem.Although
wearenotanaccreditedinstitutionanddonotconferdegrees,wearemakinggreatstridesin
buildingcollegecreditopportunities
.

STUDYATTHESAYLORACADEMY
AboutourCourses

LearningattheSaylorAcademyis:

selfguidedwedonothavefacultyorteachingassistantstogradeyourworkorto
providecloseguidance,althoughsomeofourprofessorsdochoosetomakethemselves
availableinourdiscussionforums.Ourofficestaffcanprovidelimitedguidance,butfor
themostpart,yourlearningisuptoyou.

selfpaced(asynchronous)withveryfewexceptions,therearenostartandend
datestoourcourses.Youbeginwheneveryouareready,youworkatthepaceyou
choose,andyoutakeaslongasyouneed,fromafewdaystoafewweekstoafew
months.

open wheneverpossible,weusematerialsthatarefreetoreuseandremix,including
contentinthepublicdomainandlicensedviaCreativeCommons.Thelearningmaterials
thatwecreatearelicensedunderCCBY3.0andarefreetouseinalmostanywaywith
attributiontotheSaylorAcademy.

Ourcoursesaredesignedbyexperiencedprofessors,practitioners,andothereducatorswho
havematchedthesequenceoflearningtowelldefinedlearningoutcomes.

TheSaylorAcademy
Page3of9
TechnicalRequirements

Themostbasicrequirementsarethatyoubringcuriosity,motivation,andsometime.Thereare
sometechnologyrequirements,too:

Internetaccess
ourcoursesaredesignedtobetakenonline.Offlineaccessispossible
formanyofourmaterials,althoughthisislargelyuptothestudenttomanage.

Commonbrowserpluginsandutilities Whenpossible,westicktoplainhtml,butyou
willencounterjavascript,Flash,pdf,doc/docx,ppt,xls/xlsx,andsoforth.Mostmodern
webbrowsersandfreelyavailablesoftwarecandisplaythiscontent.

RegistrationandEnrollment

YoudonothavetoapplyforadmissiontotheSaylorAcademy.Thereisnosinglewaytobegin,
buthereisonewerecommend:

1. Registerforanaccountat
https://learn.saylor.org/login

2. Browseourcoursesat
https://learn.saylor.org/course

3. Fromacoursepage,click
Enrollmeinthiscourse
toaddacoursetoyourdashboard

4. ReadtheCourseIntroductionandSyllabus,andbeginlearningatUnit1everything
youneedisavailablewithinthecourse

Learnmoreaboutgettingstartedinour
helpcenter
.

CourseMaterials

Ourcoursesarecuratedcollectionsofmaterialsopenlyavailableonthewebwebpages,
videos,downloadabledocuments,quizzes,andsoforth.Whennecessary,wecreateourown
resources.Notethat,whilefreeforindividuallearning,ourcollectedmaterialshavevarying
termsofusedefinedbythecopyrightowners;moststudentswillnotbeaffectedbythis,but
wearealwayshappytoadvise!

Accessibility

SaylorAcademystrivestoprovidecoursesandassociatedlearningresourcesthatareaccessible
toalllearners.

Forexample,ourmaterialsfavorHTMLandotherformatsthatcanreadilybeusedbyscreen

TheSaylorAcademy
Page4of9
readingsoftwareandourlearningmanagementsystem,Moodle,incorporatesestablished
practicesandstandardsforaccessibility.

Itisimportanttonotethat,becauseweareopentoallvisitorsontheWebandrelyoncurated
content,wedonotalwayshavethenecessaryrightstoprovidealternateversionsofsome
materials(e.g.transcriptsforvideosforwhichthecopyrightholderreservesallrights).

Pleasecontactourteamwithyourquestions,suggestions,andrequestsregardingaccessibility.

STUDENTRECORDSANDINFORMATION
AsaregistereduseroftheSaylorAcademysite,youwillbeabletogenerateandhaveaccessto
recordsofyourlearningactivity.Recordsandinformationavailabletologgedinstudentswhen
viewingacourseincludeprogresstracking,accesstoassessmentandexamactivitiesand
grades,andcoursecompletioncertificates.Furtherrecordsareavailableinyouruser
DashboardandMyCourseReportpage,includingacompiledlistingofallindividualcourse
completions.Throughourcertificateissuingpartner, Accredible
,youwillalsohaveaccessto
yourdigitaltranscriptandindividualdigitalcertificatesofcompletion,whichoffertheabilityto
print,share,andaddevidenceofyourlearning.

Reviewour
privacypolicy
and
termsofuse
formoredetailsonwhatinformationwe
automaticallygatherandhowweuseit.

http://www.saylor.org/privacypolicy
http://www.saylor.org/termsofuse

WhenyousignupforyourSaylorAcademyaccountorforouremailnewslist,weaskfor
additionalinformationaboutyou,muchofwhichyouareabletooptoutofsharing.These
detailsarevaluabletousinprovidingthebestservicespossibleforourstudentsweusethis
informationtosetprioritiesandidentifyareasforimprovementinourofferings.

Ingeneral,youshouldmaintainonlyoneaccount(i.e.oneemailaddress)withSaylorAcademy.
Creatingmultipleaccountstobypasswaitingperiodsorotherrestrictionsisnotallowed(see
AcademicCodeofConductbelow).

TheSaylorAcademy
Page5of9
 STUDENTRIGHTSANDRESPONSIBILITIES
Wewholeheartedlyinviteyouintoourlearningcommunity.Weaskonlythatyouupholdour
communitystandardsandthatyouholdustohighstandardsinreturn.Yourcontinueduseof
theSaylorAcademyrepresentsacommitmentonyourparttodoso.

AsaSaylorAcademystudent,theseareamongyourrights:

Freedomtopursueyoureducationalgoals
Accesstofair,unbiased,andclearassessment
Freedomofinquiryandexpression,subjecttocommunitystandards
ExpectationofgoodfaithindealingswiththeSaylorAcademy
Fairandtimelyredressofissues

AllmembersoftheSaylorAcademycommunitystudents,faculty,andstaffareresponsible
forupholdingthestandardsoutlinedbelow.Thesepoliciesdonotnecessarilysupercedeour
privacypolicyandtermsofuse,whichyoucanaccessfromthefooterofourwebsite.

NonDiscriminationPolicy
TheSaylorAcademyiscommittedtoequalityofopportunity.Consistentwiththisprincipleand
applicablelaws,wedonotengageindiscriminationagainstanypersononthebasisofrace,
color,sex,religion,nationalorigin,age,geneticinformation,sexualorientationincluding
genderidentityorgenderexpression,and/orveteranstatusandwillcomplywithallfederaland
statenondiscrimination,equalopportunityandaffirmativeactionlaws,orders,and
regulations.Thisnondiscriminationpolicyappliestooureducationalprogramsandactivitiesas
wellasemploymenttermsandconditions.

CommunityCodeofConduct
Wevaluefreedomofexpressionanddiversityofopinionaswellascivilityandrespectfor
others.Wedonottolerateanyoffensiveorthreateningbehavior,profanity,oractsof
harassmentorembarrassmentattheexpenseofothersinanycommunicationsurroundingor
usingourmaterials.Inshort,expressyourselfpositivelyandbegoodtooneanother!

Consequencesfornotfollowingthecommunitycodeofconductmayincluderemovalof
materialspostedtooursite,issuingofwarningsand/ordeletionofanaccount,anddenialof
certificatesandcredentials.Pleaserefertoour
TermsofUse
aswellasour
discussionforums
guidelines.

TheSaylorAcademy
Page6of9
AcademicCodeofConduct
Weupholdhighstandardsofacademicintegrity,includinghonestrepresentationofyourwork.
Falsifyingdocuments,misrepresentingyourselforyourwork,orotherwiseignoringstated
policiesandinstructionsisnotallowed.

Youarepermittedtousenotesandcourse(orrelated)resourceswhiletakingassessmentsor
regularcertificateexams.Consider,however,whatwillbestserveyourownlearninggoals
somethingsoughttobeknownbyheart.Youarestillexpectedtocompleteexams
individually.

Proctoredexams(typicallyassociatedwithcollegecreditopportunities)areclosedbook;that
is,youmaynotuseyournotesorotherresourceswhiletakingtheexam,exceptwherespecific
resourcessuchasformulasheetsareindicatedinanexamsinstructions.Specificexamdetails
canbefoundinthecoursesyllabusandinourhelpcenter.

Pleaserespecttheintegrityofallourexamsbynotsharingorpublishingexamquestionsand
answers,e.g.inthediscussionforumsoronotherwebsites.

Worksubmittedasyourownmustbeyourowncreation.Consequencesfornotfollowingthe
academiccodeofconductmayincluderemovalofmaterialspostedtooursite,issuingof
warningsand/orsuspensionordeletionofanaccount,anddenialofcertificatesand
credentials.

Aquicknoteonplagiarism:mostbasically,plagiarismistheuseofothersexpressionandideas
withoutpropercredit.Becausecontentiseasilycopiedandsharedontheweb,plagiarism
remainsoneofthemostcommon,ifoftenaccidental,academicerrors.Yourchancestocommit
plagiarismatSaylorAcademyarefew,butdobemindfulandfollowthestandardsoutlinedin
thisAcademicCodeofConduct.

Anoteaboutexamretakesandmultipleaccountcreation: Youwillbeallowedtotakea
SaylorAcademycoursefinalexamasmanytimesasneededinorderforyoutopassit.
However,allfinalexamsdohaveamandatorywaitingperiodoftwoweeksbetweenattempts.
Thiswaitingperiodismeanttoencourageyoutotakesometimetostudyafteranunsuccessful
attemptandalsoservestoprotecttheintegrityoftheexamaswellasthevalueofcourse
certificates.Whileweunderstandthatitmaybetemptingtocreateaseparateuseraccountin
ordertobypasstheseexamwaitingperiods,doingsodoesconstituteaviolationofour
AcademicCodeofConductandthereforemayresultinaccountsuspension/deletionanddenial
orrevocationofcertificatesandcredentials.
Ifyouhavealegitimatereasonforneedingto
accessanexambeforethestandardwaitingperiodhasended,pleasecontactus,as

TheSaylorAcademy
Page7of9
exceptionscanbemadeonacasebycasebasis.

StudentGrievances
Ifyoususpectthatthereisanerrorinyourgradecalculation,pleasecontactusdirectly.
Sometimesourstaffareabletomakearapiddeterminationandsometimeswesendtheerror
reportstooneofourconsultingfaculty,whichcantakesomewhatlonger.Ineitherevent,ifwe
findthatweareinerror,wewilladjustyourgradeaccordingly.

Ifyoubelievethatamemberofthecommunityisnotupholdingthecommunityoracademic
codesofconduct,pleasetellus.Wewilltakeeveryreasonableactiontoaddressthe
misconduct.

GETTINGHELP
Thefirst,bestplacetolookforhelpwhenyourunintoproblemsisour
HelpCenter,whichyou
canreachfromthe Resources menuatthetopofourwebpage.Inthehelpcenter,youwillfind
awealthofinformationfornewandreturningstudents,includinginformationongetting
started,troubleshooting,exams,certificates,etc.

Youcanalsousethe
Help
buttonlocatedtothelowerleftofyourscreenonmostSaylor
Academywebpages.

Our
discussionforums areagoodresourceforconnectingwithotherstudentsandwithstaff.
Moredetailsareinthenextsection.

Ifyouquestionisnotansweredinourhelpcenter,pleasegetintouchwithusdirectly(see
ContactingSaylorAcademybelow).

STAYINGINTHELOOP
Discussionforums
https://discourse.saylor.org/

Intheforumsyoucanengagewithotherstudentsoneithercourserelatedormoregeneral
topics.Toencouragefreeexchange,ourdiscussionforumsuseaseparateaccountandlogin

TheSaylorAcademy
Page8of9
thatallowyoutouseanicknameratherthanyourfullname.Agoodplacetobeginisby
introducingyourself:
https://discourse.saylor.org/t/introductions/23/12

TheSaylorAcademyBlog
http://www.saylor.org/blog
Newsandupdates;subscribebyemailandRSS.

CommunityResources
http://www.saylor.org/community
Findandfollowusonsocialmedia,stayuptodatethroughvirtualofficehours,joinouremail
list,andmore.

CONTACTINGSAYLORACADEMY
ThebestwaytogetintouchwithSaylorAcademystaffisat
saylor.org/contact
orbysendingan
emailtocontact@saylor.org

Fromthehelpcenter,usethe
Submitarequest
linktosendusamessage.

Ourmailingaddressis:

SaylorAcademy
1875ConnecticutAveNW
10thFloor
Washington,DC20009

Is there anything else we should include in this student handbook?

Is there something we can make more clear?

Let us knowso that this handbook can become a truly valuable resource for
every student!

TheSaylorAcademy
Page9of9