University of the arctic

The Role of Site Coordinators

The Site Coordinator acts as the main liaison between UArctic students, course instructors, the Office of Undergraduate Studies (Circumpolar Studies Program) and the Academic Coordinator. It is important to understand that the UArctic Council Representative and the Site Coordinator are two different positions, though sometimes they may be exercised by the same individual. The Council Representative is a person representing the given institution at the Council meetings, while the Site Coordinator is the person who deals directly with students and coordinates their liaison with instructors, the Office of Undergraduate Studies and Academic Coordinator (person responsible for registration of students for online BCS courses).
 
Who should fulfill the role of Site Coordinator?
 
The Site Coordinator may be someone from the international relations, distance education, northern studies or interdisciplinary studies departments, and it is essential that the Site Coordinator have good English language skills. A logical choice for Site Coordinator would be the staff person who performs some of the tasks of the Site Coordinator: a) doing some promotions of BCS online courses; b) accepting the registration applications from students and sending them to the Academic Coordinator for registration; c) being accessible to the course instructors and students should problems or questions arise.
 
 
The main responsibilities of the Site Coordinator
  1. Promoting BCS online courses on campus
  2. Advising and assisting students in registering for BCS courses
  3. Providing technical and academic support, or directing students to such support, particularly for those studying online for the first time or in a language which is not their mother tongue.
  4. Liaising with instructors, the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Academic Coordinator on issues such as registration, online participation, credit, and poor academic performance
  5. Monitoring students’ performance
In other words, the Site Coordinator is the person that students could contact in the first place if they are experiencing any problems or have any questions, as well as the person that the course instructors for Circumpolar Studies or Academic Coordinator could contact first hand if there is a problem with student’s registration or performance.


Site Coordinator Resources

The documents below also provide a comprehensive background for those who are interested in learning more about the role of site coordinator.