How do I send a Reading Assignment cert?
Just send an email message to the address shown in your syllabus. Pay attention to these three things:
1. The address from which you send your message must be recognized by the system (see “What email addresses are recognized by the RA system?”).
2. The address to which you send your message must be the address shown in Attachment 2 in your syllabus.
3. The subject line must be in the proper form. It must contain the Reading Assignment number, the number of units you have read, and the number of units possible. For example, the subject line {RA01 2/3} (without the brackets, of course), tells the system that you read RA01, and you read two units out of a possible three units.
Can I put more than one RA in the subject line of my certification?
Unfortunately, no. The scripts that extract your score from the message’s subject line and record it in your gradebook are not yet sophisticated enough to parse multiple RA’s in one cert. So, for now, please send a separate message for each RA. And if you have experience with coding in Applescript (and specifically the dictionaries for MS Entourage and MS Excel), let me know. Maybe you can help me improve the scripts so that they can recognize more than one RA per message.
What happens if my RA cert is late?
If your RA cert is sent after the due date/time, a late deduction will be assessed as described in the syllabus. This deduction is typically 1% per day (or portion thereof) that your cert is late.
Should I always send an RA cert before the due date for a Reading Assignment?
I would suggest sending an RA cert before the deadline for each Reading Assignment, if you have done any of the reading for that assignment. Simply certify what you have done up to that point in time. You can always send another updated cert later. Sending a cert before the deadline guarantees that no late deductions will be applied to the reading you completed on time.
Can I send in an updated RA cert if I complete the reading after the due date?
Yes! Let’s pretend you read 3 out of 4 units assigned for RA72 on time--and as a result you sent a cert with subject line {RA72 3/4} before the due date for RA72. That means you will have received a confirmation telling you that 3 units were recorded as your score for RA72. Now let’s pretend that you finished the assigned reading for RA72 after the due date passed. No worries! Just send in another cert, this time with a subject line {RA72 4/4}. The system will automatically apply one more unit of credit to your record (after deducting the appropriate late penalty for the one unit that was late). Your original on-time 3 units are always safe...
What email address of mine will the RA system recognize?
At the beginning of the semester, the only address recognized by the RA system will be the address that you have on file with the DTS Registrar. The system gets a one-time dump of student info from the registrar’s system, and this is the information with which the RA system starts. So if you know what address you have (or had) on file with the Registrar at the beginning of the semester, you can be confident that the RA system will recognize that address.
Can I teach the RA system to recognize a new email address?
Yes. But you must use the address that you initially had on file with the Registrar in order to teach the system to recognize a new address for you. Here’s how it works:
To Add a New Email Address. Send an email message with subject line {Email Change} and message body {add: unclejed@clampetts.org} (please replace unclejed@clampetts.org with the email address you wish to add). Note that this message must be sent from an address currently on record for you, otherwise the script will not know if an authorized person sent the message.
To Delete an Email Address. If you have an address on record that you no longer wish to use for any reason, send an email message with subject line {Email Change} and message body {delete: badaddress@stinker.net} (please replace badaddress@stinker.net with the email address you wish to delete from the record). Note that this message must be sent from an address currently on record for you, otherwise the script will not know if an authorized person sent the message.
Another option for changing your address(es) is to simply write your changes on a slip of paper and hand-deliver it to Dr. Holsteen. That way he will know that your change of address is properly authorized.
Why is the RA System telling me that it cannot recognize my address?
You are probably sending your RA cert from an email address that is different from the ones recognized by the RA system. If you update your address on the registrar’s website, the RA system has no way of knowing this. Please try again using the email address you have on record with the Registrar. If that doesn’t work, please contact Dr. Holsteen at his dts.edu email address.
