New Faculty Orientation
(Required Training Series)
Welcome to Lawson State Community College! We are excited that you have joined our team!
You are about to embark on a 5-step training series conducted by CTEL, that, once complete, will formally acclimate you to the inner workings of Lawson State and highlight your duties and responsibilities as an instructor. Please DO NOT begin this training unless Human Resources has officially welcomed you to college and issued you an official Employee ID number. This online faculty training series (for new faculty) is required for all full and part-time faculty members at Lawson State Community College. You will have a total of six weeks to complete this entire training series, but Steps 1, 2 and 3 MUST be completed during your first week of employment, so begin the training today.
Contact CTEL immediately if anything impedes your ability to begin this training the very first week of your employment.
Remember, Steps 1, 2 and 3 should be completed your first week of employment, including your Step 3 quiz. You will have an additional 5 weeks to complete all other sections of this training series.
Quick Links to Training Modules:
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5
Step 1 (Week 1): Activating your LSCC Accounts--Email, Blackboard and MyLawson
Complete this step during your first week of employment at Lawson State. You will need your Employee ID (secured from the Human Resource Office) to activate your Lawson State Email, Blackboard (a required course management system designed to support all LSCC courses) and your MyLawson account (a centralized zone to support all courses, record daily attendance, input grades, secure your payroll information and more).. You will learn more about each of these tools throughout your training. To activate one or more of these accounts (depending on your employment status), click on the "Activate My Account" button and answer the series of questions posed. Only faculty (under a contract) will be authorized to activate these accounts. User Names and Password information will be sent to you via the personal (private) email account you provide us (through the activation) process. No other means of activation, besides this one, is accepted at the college.
Cougar Alert is a mass notification system comprised of email, voice and text messaging that is designed to send emergency messages to thousands of individuals in minutes. It supplements existing means of emergency communication, including outdoor warning sirens and severe weather alert radios. LSCC students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to provide a primary mobile phone number for receipt of text messages, and up to three other phone numbers (mobile or other) for receipt of voice messages. Emergency messages (i.e., school closings due to severe weather, danger on campus, etc...) will be sent via a system provided by the Blackboard Connect. Cougar Alert will be used in tandem with other campus communication tools.
How to Register Today (Online) for Free
Lawson State Community College has implemented a new “Cougar Alert” System provided by e2Campus. To update your account, please do the following:
STEP 1: Navigate to https://lawsonstate.omnilert.net/subscriber.php
STEP 2: Login with the following Credentials
Username: Your Seven Digit Employee OR Student ID#
Password: abc12345* (This is the default for all users)
STEP 3: Click on “Account” and Change your Password
STEP 4: Click on “Services”
Fill out Your SMS (cell phone information if you wish to receive text message alerts), add any additional Email accounts, and Voice Contact Information
STEP 5: To fully verify SMS (Text Messaging) do the following
a. Send a text to 79516
b. The body of that text should read: CougarAlert (NO spaces in CougarAlert)
c. You will receive a confirmation text indicating your enrollment
How to Locate Your ID Number?: Students: you can secure your LSCC Student ID from your schedule (at the top), or through your Employee Suite (also called the Faculty Suite), if you are an employee.
Step 3 (Week 1): Log in Your MyLawson Account. Then, Learn How to Record Attendance in MyLawson and Reporting No Shows in Banner (via MyLawson)
To login
MyLawson, CLICK HERE and follow the directions for faculty LOGIN.
Then, complete Step 3 during your first week of employment. You will need access to Blackboard Ultra to review your student activity in the gradebook to make a determination about who has attended your classes. Attendance for online and virtual classes is determined by the work completed by the student. Attendance for ground courses is based on whether or not the student attended the class. Contact us immediately if you have not received your Blackboard login information, and it has been longer than 48 hours since the request has been made. Accurate recording and reporting (submitting) of attendance is tied to Federal mandates; thus, it is vital that all faculty record attendance and submit it accurately. At Lawson State, attendance MUST be submitted by midnight every Friday, no exceptions. Errors of any kind should be reported to the Registrar's Office. Call 929-3409 to report recording errors.
Attached, please locate and download your ACCS Faculty User Guide. Go to page 25 for directions for entering attendance.
When is Attendance Due Each Week?
Attendance should be reported the first two weeks of any new term (Regular or Mini-terms). It is due on the Friday of the first week of classes and the Friday the second week of class, regardless of term. Recording of attendance takes place online only via your MyLawson account. All faculty MUST meet this recording deadline. When you record attendance, you are reporting the first date the student attended class. This date is fixed and should not change. See page 25 to review how to record attendance is Banner (MyLawson).
What is a "No Show" Attendance Report? When is It Due and How Do I Submit It?
Non-attending students are dropped administratively from classes. Around the 2nd week of school and sometimes again during the 3rd or 4th week of school, you will be asked to submit a No Show Report. This report is submitted in Banner (under your MyLawson account), not via Blackboard. To complete this report, you simply list the FIRST DATE of ATTENDANCE for all students. If a student has NOT attended class, you leave the date entry field BLANK. Never report a student Absent if they have attended at least one time. Follow the directions for submitting attendance as usual. Remember, start dates are FIXED for students, so NEVER change the start date on any student. Keep start dates intact. Only add NEW START DATES for those students who may have entered late to you class. And again, if you have never seen the student or they have not completed any work in your class (if teaching online or virtual), then leave the date entry block BLANK.
See page 25 for directions on reporting attendance.
Click to view User Guide for Faculty: ACCS SSB Faculty User Guide v5 (1).pdf
Step 4 (Week 2): Review the Following Faculty Operations in Your ACCS Faculty User Manual
Page 13: How to view your teaching assignments
Page 19: Entering Grades
Page 20: Submitting Final Grades
Page 27: Entering Office Hours
Page 29: Uploading Your Syllabus
Step 5 (Week 2): Complete the Blackboard and Collaborative Training Series
Blackboard--100% of all Lawson State courses are supported by Blackboard. All faculty should post announcements, homework assignments, classwork, handouts, syllabi, course calendar, and presentations within all classes. Click on the Blackboard logo to access the required training videos. View the following videos as part of this Blackboard Orientation Course and then take the two tests associated with this learning series. You will have three weeks to complete this training. Step 5 is a series of training videos on Blackboard, the main course support system that 100% of faculty teaching at Lawson State are required to use. After you complete each part, you must complete any and all quizzes associated with the various sections. You must score an 80% on each exam. Tests can be retaken. Once done, you will receive your faculty orientation certification. NOTE: Part time faculty who do not successfully complete orientation will not be offered a new contract the following term. Full-time faculty are required complete all training components as part of their first year evaluation professional development credit. CTEL will assist both full and part-time faculty with completion.
Click on the Blackboard logo to access your tutorials
Step 6 (Weeks 2-3): Begin Your Online Training Series for New Faculty
Step 6 of faculty training acquaints you on Lawson State's internal operations and procedures. You will have two weeks to complete this training although many faculty complete it in less than two weeks. This part of training is required of all full and part-time faculty members and has quizzes associated with many of the lessons. Step 6 of training is designed to train all full and part-time faculty on Blackboard.
Part I: LSCC Internal Faculty Operations & Systems
Click on "Tutorials" to begin
Step 7 (Week 4): Review the Faculty and Staff Handbook
As a new employee of Lawson State Community College, it is important that you stay abreast of the policies that impact you and the inner-workings at the college at large. The Faculty and Staff Handbook is designed to provide you with key and important information related to your employment. Information can be found on the evaluation process, promotion, policies, procedures, travel, leave and more.
The Handbook can be accessed via Lawson's State website under the Faculty and Staff tab (on the main page). Click the Faculty and Staff Handbook icon below to begin reviewing its contents.
Have general questions? Let Us Help You.
If you need any help as you transition as a new faculty member at Lawson State, let us know. You can request an additional training video be added to our listing. You can ask us a question (on any topic), or you can submit a Technical Support Request if you are having trouble with email, Blackboard or Student Suite. We are here to help.