AAP Policies

For general Policies, see the AAP Policies and Procedures page. Below are some AAP Faculty-focused Policies for your reference. 

Accomodating Students with Disabilities

Johns Hopkins is committed to providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations to students with disabilities. Students taking AAP courses who need accommodations should request disability accommodations at least four weeks prior to the start of classes. The Director of Faculty and Student Services will contact the faculty member once the administrative process is complete to discuss the necessary accommodations in further detail.

Course Guests, Observers, or Viewers (not contributing to the learning of the current class)

Students‘ course information is protected by FERPA, so instructors inviting guests must be compliant with AAP and federal policy.

Course guests, observers, and viewers are defined as JHU-contracted individuals who are not contributing to the student learning in the current course. (Please see Guest Speakers and Lecturers for guests who are contributing to student learning). The individual must have an active contract with JHU and JHED credentials. The instructor or PD can request access to the content of the course, not student tools or information. The instructor or PD must warrant the course content (e.g. lessons, welcome, and syllabus) do not contain any student information prior to access being given due to FERPA considerations. Please submit an online Guest Access Form to process this request. We recommend contacting our Course Support Specialists for online access questions and the AAP registrar with any policy questions.

To request guest access, the Guest Access Request Form will walk you through the different levels of access and policies. This process ensures that the guest access is compliant with AAP, JHU, and Federal policies. We will reply to your submission within 1-2 business days at the email you provide.

Important Note: Any individual not currently contracted by JHU (including a future hire) is not permitted into AAP courses as a course guest. Please work with HR and the registrar to hire the individual. After the proper credentials have been obtained, then access to the course can be granted.

Guest Speaker or Lecturer

Students‘ course information is protected by FERPA, so instructors inviting guest speakers must be compliant with AAP and federal policy.

Guest speakers or lecturers are individuals invited by the instructor to contribute to the learning of the current class. AAP allows guest speakers to access the course based on the below requirements and FERPA. Instructors and program directors are able to request guest speaker access using the Guest Access Form. We recommend contacting our Course Support Specialists for online access questions and the AAP registrar with any policy questions.

To request guest access, the Guest Access Request Form will walk you through the different levels of access and policies. This process ensures that the guest access is compliant with AAP, JHU, and Federal policies. We will reply to your submission within 1-2 business days at the email you provide.

Below are common scenarios and rules for online guest access:

  1. Type: Pre-recorded interview or presentation
    Access to the Canvas Course: No online guest access needed.
    Next Steps: Work with the AAP Multimedia specialist to share the presentation with students.
  2. Type: Zoom (optional) synchronous session
    Access to the Canvas Course: No online guest access is needed for Canvas. Use the default guest access within Zoom.
    Next Steps: The guest speaker can access the instructor‘s Zoom meeting as a guest. A post can be made in the classroom regarding the session (which can be recommended but not required), informing the students of the nature of the session and that a guest lecturer will be present and able to see the names of the attendees. A recording of the session can be provided for those students who did not wish to or were not able to attend.
  3. Type: Guest involvement in the Discussion Board or other course tool
    Access to the Canvas Course: Submit a guest access form to obtain access to the discussion board while having limited access to additional information (e.g. student grades or the ability to alter your course materials). To protect you and your students, the guest lecturers will be given a role with the proper permissions (e.g. “student” or “guest”).
    Next Steps:  To comply with FERPA and protect student information, the course must note within the syllabus that there will be guest speakers accessing the class and students must agree to a waiver.  In the syllabus and the impacted lesson an appropriate waiver would be:
    “There will be a guest lecturer this week.  The guest lecturer will have access to our class discussion boards and the content contained within in order to interact with the students and answer your questions.  The guest lecturer will have limited access to the course and will not be able to access or view your grades.  If any student has an objection to the guest‘s access please contact the instructor immediately.”
  4. Type: Guest previewing content of the course to prepare for session
    Access to the Canvas Course: Submit a guest access form to obtain access to the specific areas of the course needed. This access request will ensure that the guest does not have access to additional information (e.g. student grades or the ability to alter your course materials). To protect you and your students, the guest lecturers will be given a role with the proper permissions (e.g. “student” or “guest”).
    Next Steps: Submit the guest access form. If the guest will need access to the discussions or other tools, a note in the syllabus and a waiver for each student is needed to comply with FERPA and protect student information. In the syllabus and the impacted lesson, an appropriate waiver would be:
    “There will be a guest lecturer this week.  The guest lecturer will have access to our class discussion boards and the content contained within in order to interact with the students and answer your questions.  The guest lecturer will have limited access to the course and will not be able to access or view your grades.  If any student has an objection to the guest‘s access, please contact the instructor immediately.”

Guidelines Regarding Technical Issues During Online Assessments

In the event that there is a technical problem during an assessment in the course management system, please use the Guidelines on Technical Issues During Online Assessments to help ensure the issue has been clearly communicated by all concerned parties and that appropriate action will be taken.

AAP Online Course Access Policy

According to AAP policy, students have one full semester after the end of the semester in which they take an online course to retrieve their own student-generated work and to access course materials. The University‘s policy on the use of Intellectual Property applies in all cases where students access online classes after a semester has already ended. Additionally, individual instructors or University administration have the option to make courses available for longer or shorter periods of time.