OSU Navigation Bar

Carmen Affiliates

The Carmen Affiliates program provides a way for Learning Technology staff to share technical resources and information with staff and faculty who provide support and leadership for instructional technology throughout the university. 

In their colleges or departments, Carmen Affiliates usually provide technology support, instructional design, or course coordination.  Some Carmen Affiliates also work with the Registrar’s SIS or deliver other kinds of administrative support to instructors. 

Carmen Affiliates receive specially-created accounts within the Carmen learning management system (LMS) that allow them to better perform their jobs. They may also be given access to tools that enable them to request non-academic Carmen courses or to directly manage some changes to Carmen course structures. Carmen Affiliates receive priority communication from the Carmen team and are also consulted on decisions regarding eLearning at Ohio State.

 

Becoming a Carmen Affiliate

Because of the level of access granted to Carmen Affiliates, participation in the program requires certification by the Carmen staff and authorization from a dean, department chair, or program director.

 

Roles and Access

Two account types are available to people with department or college level responsibilities.  A third account type is appropriate for those with course-specific responsibilities.  

  • Carmen Affiliate – instructor-level access to all courses in specified department(s).  Can include access to administrative tools that are useful for troubleshooting.  Intended for people who provide instructional design or technical support. Requires Dean or Chair authorization, or designee appointed by Dean or Chair.
  • Carmen Viewer – view-and-enroll access to all courses in specified department(s). Intended for SIS course schedulers or others who provide administrative support to instructors. Requires Dean or Chair authorization, or designee appointed by Dean or Chair.
  • Course Coordinator – instructor-level access to specified course or group of courses.  Intended for people who support instruction in particular courses or course sequences. Requires at least Program Director authorization, or designee appointed by at least Program Director.

Public Utilities is a collection of web-based tools for working with courses in Carmen. Access to Public Utilities can be granted to people with the specially-created Carmen LMS accounts.  In some cases, staff who do not have these accounts can be granted Public Utilities access.

  • Basic access can be a useful resource for many staff and faculty. It allows the user to create new non-academic courses, for non-credit courses, course resources, meetings, projects, administrative processes, etc.
  • Advanced access is used to adjust which enrollment sections have access to which Carmen courses. It is most useful in situations where course structures in SIS do not match how courses need to be set up in Carmen.  Advanced access included the basic ability to create new non-academic courses.

 

Expectations

Carmen Affiliates are informed about upcoming maintenance plans or known issues before announcements are made to the university as a whole.  Affiliates may also receive early knowledge about or special access to other Learning Technology opportunities (for instance, limited-enrollment workshops or new tools and pilot projects).

In exchange for this level of access and communication, we expect that Carmen Affiliates will acquire and maintain up-to-date knowledge of the Carmen tools used in their area, provide feedback to Learning Technology staff about Carmen and other eLearning needs in their area, participate in Carmen updates by testing their courses and tools in “Sandbox” sessions, and occasionally communicate with instructors, staff, and leaders in their area about changes or opportunities related to Carmen. 

 

Training, Certification and Authorization

Depending on the access being requested, Carmen Affiliates will be required to demonstrate completion or understanding of some or all of the following:

  • OSU’s Institutional Data Policy course
  • FERPA regulations
  • Basic and/or Advanced Carmen tools
  • Carmen Admin tools
  • Common Carmen Problems & Solutions

Carmen Affiliate candidates may enroll in Carmen workshops, review Help documents and video tutorials, and/or request access to a self-paced tutorial.  Some candidates may also need to schedule a training session on Admin tools with a Carmen staff member.  All candidates will be required to complete a series of online quizzes appropriate to their level of access.

Because Carmen Affiliate accounts have access to instructor and student information protected by FERPA and copyright laws, we require that the dean, department chair, or program director (or an appropriate designee) authorize each new Carmen Affiliate. 

Each summer, Carmen Affiliates must demonstrate up-to-date understanding of the Carmen tools they support or use.  They must also be re-approved by their dean, department chair, director, or designee.

 

Next Steps

If you are interested in becoming a Carmen Affiliate, please complete this form to begin the process. 

If you aren't interested in beocoming a Carmen Affiliate but would like announcements about Carmen sent to you via email, subscribe to the Carmen News listserv.

If you are a dean, department chair, program director or designee who needs to authorize a staff member to become a Carmen Affiliate, please complete this form.