Appoint key staff members to serve on your Course Support team.

Schools can directly influence student success in online courses by appointing interested and suitable staff to the key Course Support team roles. The DLC has noted some high-level tasks associated with each role; here are some additional traits.

Teacher/Mentor (required by the DLC). This staff member should be:

• Diligent with problem solving.
• Comfortable working with technology.
• Not necessarily a subject area expert (unless working with AP students as recommend by some providers).
• Prepared to learn about online course platforms and provider policies and to troubleshoot when necessary.
• Able to work closely with (a) the school's DLC Registrar to get the students started and (b) the building technologist to resolve technology-related issues.
• Resourceful in mentoring students on good study and learning habits.

DLC Registrar (required by the DLC). This person can be the Teacher/Mentor, but is often the school registrar or counselor, and should be:

• Highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Part of the team making decisions about the school's online course policies.
• Familiar with online courses—including technology requirements, prerequisites, and timelines—prior to enrolling students.
• Authorized to assist students in the selection of their courses, to provide academic advising, and to apply credits earned online to student transcripts.

School/Building Technologist. This person is not a default CS team member, but is someone strongly recommended to be included in school-side coordination of online course support. This person should be:

• Prepared to coordinate with the school's DLC Registrar on issues such as course technology requirements and downloadable materials (once a student has been registered for a course).
• Prepared to offer ongoing technical support to students and Teacher/Mentors throughout, or at least through the first month of, the online term.