ORGANISATION
1. How much time do I need to spend on the course?
The planned study load is about 6 to 8 hours a week.
2. Do I need to watch the lectures live in the corresponding week?
No, during the course, you can watch the lectures whenever you like.
3. Can I contact the instructor or teaching assistants?
Not directly. The discussion forum is the appropriate venue for questions. Instructors monitor the discussion forum and try to respond to the most important questions; in many cases, the response from other students and peers will be both adequate and faster.
4. Can I still finish all assignments when I start later in the course?
Yes, you can. The peer review assignment in module 6 should be submitted by 18 june 2020. All other assignments have to be finished by 3 July 2020.
INTRODUCTION & PREPARATION
5. Which browser can I use when working on this edX course?
We advise you to use Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer 11.
6. How can I download the transcripts?
On the right side of the 'download transcripts'-button underneath the video is the option to choose between an .srt-file of a .txt-file. Choose the .txt-file to download the text. When you prefer a more readable document you can copy-paste this to a Word file.
COURSE WORK
7. How can I download the PowerPoint presentations?
You can download the PowerPoint presentations used in the lecture videos by clicking on the ‘Download handout’ button under the video. Only the PowerPoint presentations that contain significant information have been made available for downloading.
8. Can I re-use the materials of this course? Or can I make a translation of this course for my university/institution?
The course materials of this course are Copyright Wageningen University & Research and are licensed under an 'All Rights Reserved' license. The individual videos are published under a CC-BY-NC-ND license. If you wish to re-use the course materials, please contact wageningen.x@wur.nl to discuss possibilities.
9. Can I write my answers in a language other than English?
No, the official language of the course is English. All course materials are provided in English, and all communication, including answers, posts, and assignments, need to be written in English.
QUESTIONS FOR GRADING
10. What if I am having trouble with a question (for grading)? May I discuss this with others to get some help with solving the problem?
There are many assignments to practice. You can use these to discuss with your fellow students in the discussion forum. Do not share any answers on the forum for the Questions for grading. The formulas, together with the understanding of the matter brought by the videos, should give you hints on how to solve the questions.
11. After I checked an assignment, an asterisk was shown and I received the feedback ‘This answer is partially correct’. What does this mean?
In this MOOC, partial credit is used. This means that whenever you submit an answer that is partly correct, you still receive credit. You get points for selecting a correct answer as well as for not selecting a wrong answer.
For example: there’s a question with 5 answer options, of which 3 are correct. A learner selected two of the three correct choices, and did not select any incorrect choices. The learner therefore had four out of five correct answers. Because the course team set this problem up to award partial credit for every correct answer selected and every incorrect answer left unselected, the learner earned 80% of the points for this problem (for more information, see the help page of edX).
PEER REVIEW
12. What to do if I feel I am being treated unfairly in the peer review?
Reviewing is the responsibility of your peers and so far we are not able to manipulate these after the peer-reviewing. The community consists of highly capable and motivated people, so we trust that this will be done fairly. Double check your submission before handing it in and write your submission in English.
13. Why can I not click on 'Upload' in the submission of my assignment in the peer review module?
The button will become active if there is also text added in the response box. So if you just type a few letters it will be possible to save your progress. You can then finish your assignment at a later moment.
14. How many peers do I have to review in the peer review module?
In the peer review you will have to review the work of 3 of your peers. You will also receive feedback from 2 of your peers, however we would like to ask you to assess more peers to make sure everybody will be graded especially in the last weeks (18 June 2020 - 3 July 2020).
AUDITING AND VERIFIED CERTIFICATE
15. What does it mean to audit a course?
If you audit a course, you are participating for free and you have access to most course materials (including the discussion forum). The audit track does not grant access to graded assignments and unlimited course access. At the end of the course, you don’t receive a certificate. These things are exclusively for verified learners who have paid a small fee for unlimited access to the course. Please visit the verified overview page if you would like to know more about the difference between audit and verified, how the upgrading process works or to upgrade immediately. After the option of upgrading is closed, it is no longer possible to get a verified certificate.
16. When do I receive my verified certificate?
Any time after you have qualified to pass the course, if you have a minimum average grade of 60% and meet the peer review requirements, you can download your verified certificate from your edX dashboard. For more information on how to generate and download your certificates, explore edX’s documentation on how to generate your certificate. NOTE! The grade that is displayed on your dashboard reflects your grade at the time that you request your on-demand certificate. If you complete more assignments to raise your grade, the grade on your Progress page changes, but the grade listed on your dashboard is not updated.
17. How do I change sessions?
Most of our WageningenX MOOCs offer multiple sessions of the course. This means that you can select the period in which you would like to follow the course in advance. After you join a course session, you can change to another session or leave the session within 14 days, as long as you have not completed the course. See the edX Help Center for more information on the specifics of this edX policy.
18. Can I still get a refund?
To receive a refund in a verified track course, you must unenroll from the course within 14 days after your purchase date or 14 days after your course starts (whichever comes later). This is still possible up to a maximum of 180 days after your payment. See the edX Help Center for more information on the specifics of this edX policy.