Platform Responsibilities
Students and Learners
Learners are encouraged to maintain a single Campus account and to avoid creating multiple accounts, as duplicate accounts can cause access, enrollment, and completion issues. If a learner believes they may have more than one account, they should contact Campus support for assistance.
When reaching out for support—whether to an instructor or to Campus—learners are expected to clearly identify their username, email address, course name, and provide a clear description of the issue, along with any relevant documentation (such as screenshots or error messages). Providing complete information helps ensure timely and accurate assistance.
Learners should direct all questions related to course content, assignments, assessments, grading, expectations, or instructional materials to the instructor or course owner. Campus support does not provide guidance on course content or instructional decisions and will defer content-related questions to the instructor.
Instructors and Course Owners
Instructors and course owners are responsible for all course content, instructional design, configuration, and learner experience. This includes creating, organizing, and maintaining course materials; configuring course-level settings; defining completion criteria; managing certificates; and ensuring courses are complete and ready prior to launch. Instructors own all course-level customization, including layout, assessments, certificates, badges, and course branding within platform standards.
Instructors are expected to serve as the primary point of contact for learners for questions or issues related to course content, assignments, assessments, expectations, and instructional materials. Learners should first seek assistance from the instructor for content-related concerns before escalating platform or access issues.
Instructors are responsible for interpreting reports for program needs and reconciling data when custom analysis is required.
When using third-party tools such as Articulate, instructors are responsible for authoring, publishing, testing, and supporting those tools according to vendor documentation. Instructors are also responsible for selecting and managing any external video hosting services required for their courses.
Instructors do not manage platform-wide settings, user accounts, payments, or system configuration.
Campus Administrator (Extension Foundation)
The Campus Administrator is responsible for the overall operation, stability, security, and day-to-day management of the Campus (Moodle) platform. This role manages platform-level settings, users, roles, enrollments, course shells, categories, and access controls. The Campus Administrator oversees registration workflows, payment integrations, and platform configurations, and provides Tier 1 support for access, enrollment, and general platform use issues. The Campus Administrator ensures the platform is maintained, updated, secure, and operating as intended, and escalates system-level issues to Tier 2 support. For fee-based courses, the Campus Administrator provides reconciliation of course sales at the course level, including totals by course and individual transaction records.
The Campus Administrator does not design or customize course content, configure course-level completion settings, perform custom development work, troubleshoot third-party authoring tools, or provide instructional design services.
Tier 2 Support
Tier 2 support provides advanced technical and infrastructure-level support for Campus. This includes hosting, system performance, backups, monitoring, server-level security, and major system maintenance. Tier 2 support resolves platform bugs, plugin conflicts, system errors, payment gateway failures, and system-level SCORM or automation issues. Tier 2 support executes Moodle core upgrades and major releases and supports escalations from the Campus Administrator.
Tier 2 support does not provide direct support to learners or instructors, does not create or customize course content, and does not support third-party authoring tools.
Course & Account Maintenance
Course Maintenance and Archiving
Courses are expected to be actively maintained by the assigned instructor or course owner. Courses that are no longer supported, maintained, or delivered and that have been abandoned without notice to the Campus Administrator may be archived at the discretion of Extension Foundation. Archiving may include restricting enrollment, removing the course from public listings, disabling learner access, and deleted.
Instructors and course owners are responsible for notifying the Campus Administrator when a course is no longer being offered or when ownership changes. Instructors that wish to pass their courses to a new instructor are responsible for identifying new instructors and communicating with Campus Administrator.
User Account Deactivation
To maintain platform security and improve platform operation, user accounts with no recorded activity for a period of 3.5 years will be removed from the system. Once an account is removed, associated user records are no longer retained or accessible within Campus. As a non-degree-granting organization, the Extension Foundation does not maintain long-term academic records in the same manner as colleges or universities.
Delivering Online Courses
How do I get an account?
On Campus, using the “Create new account” link in the login block, a user completes a user profile which includes a preferred user name, email address, password, and a few other required items. Upon submitting this profile, Moodle sends a verification message to the email address entered. The user accesses the link in the email message to verify the account, and then proceeds to enroll in courses of interest.
On Catalog, using the “Customer Login” link at the top of the page, a user completes an online form, and is able to create an account without the step of the email verification. Either of these methods creates accounts in the same database, so creating an account on Catalog allows the user to log in on Campus, and vice versa.
Why use it?
Anyone in the world can enroll
Extension Foundation provides hosting and support
Makes courses available 24/7/365
Provides a single site for all Extension Foundation courses
Allows for multi-institutional collaboration in development
Provides incorporation of competency frameworks
Uses a commercial storefront for sale of fee-based courses
Who can offer courses on it?
Anyone employed by an Extension Foundation member institution.
What features does it provide?
As a Moodle 4.1+ system, it provides a full range of course delivery tools and services such as web pages, video, books, lessons, assignments, forums, chat, certificates, databases, glossaries, quizzes, journals, questionnaires, and competency frameworks. It also allows for sharing of resources and courses with other course developers and Moodle sites.
What if I don’t have a real “course,” but just a few learning modules?
“Course” is the term used by Moodle to refer to a container holding various learning objects. Check out the blog post at https://extension.org/2016/02/21/when-is-a-course-not-a-course/ for more detail.
The Extension Foundation offers employees of its member institutions the free use of its online course system for the sale and delivery of courses to their clientele. This happens through a package of two integrated sites, Campus (a Moodle 4.1.9 platform) and Catalog, a store front facilitating fee-based access to courses on Campus.
Where is it located?
The online course site is located at https://campus.extension.org, while the catalog is at https://catalog.extension.org.
How do I get an account?
On Campus, using the “Create new account” link in the login block, a user completes a user profile which includes a preferred user name, email address, password, and a few other required items. Upon submitting this profile, Moodle sends a verification message to the email address entered. The user accesses the link in the email message to verify the account, and then proceeds to enroll in courses of interest.
On Catalog, using the “Customer Login” link at the top of the page, a user completes an online form, and is able to create an account without the step of the email verification. Either of these methods creates accounts in the same database, so creating an account on Catalog allows the user to log in on Campus, and vice versa.
Why use it?
Anyone in the world can enroll
Extension Foundation provides hosting and support
Makes courses available 24/7/365
Provides a single site for all Extension Foundation courses
Allows for multi-institutional collaboration in development
Provides incorporation of competency frameworks
Uses a commercial storefront for sale of fee-based courses
Who can offer courses on it?
Anyone employed by an Extension Foundation member institution.
What features does it provide?
As a Moodle 4.1+ system, it provides a full range of course delivery tools and services such as web pages, video, books, lessons, assignments, forums, chat, certificates, databases, glossaries, quizzes, journals, questionnaires, and competency frameworks. It also allows for sharing of resources and courses with other course developers and Moodle sites.
What if I don’t have a real “course,” but just a few learning modules?
“Course” is the term used by Moodle to refer to a container holding various learning objects. Check out the blog post at https://extension.org/2016/02/21/when-is-a-course-not-a-course/ for more detail.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
Can I charge fees?
Yes. Campus is tightly connected to catalog.extension.org which provides a store front with built-in Stripe and credit card capability. Details about that capability are located at https://extension.org/campus-procedures. Other means of charging fees through local online payment systems will require the use of an enrollment key issued to the user once payment is made.
Do I have to pay to offer a course on this site?
No, it is provided as a service of Extension Foundation to its member institutions.
Can I control access to courses?
Moodle, the software running on Campus, provides different forms of access or enrollment control. The standard method is requiring an enrollment key (a password) when enrolling in the course. Issuing the enrollment key is a reserved right of course teachers. Teachers can also impose limits in the duration one can be enrolled in a course as well as time frames during which enrollment is open.
How does the site handle video?
Video is generally managed in one of three different methods. It can be uploaded as a file to the Moodle platform and delivered on demand to the user. A teacher can provide a link to video on a third party site; e.g., YouTube, Vimeo. Or, you can utilize your own video hosting service that is compatible with Moodle.
How does the site handle video?
Video is generally managed in one of three different methods. It can be uploaded as a file to the Moodle platform and delivered on demand to the user. A teacher can provide a link to video on a third party site; e.g., YouTube, Vimeo. Or, video can be uploaded through Moodle to a VidGrid platform Extension Foundation provides and which streams the video on demand.
Can I offer group activities?
Moodle allows for the use of both groups and groupings (groups of groups) as a means of controlling content delivery by group as well as exchange of information among participants; e.g., forums and chats among only members of a specific group.
Can Moodle be used for instructor-led courses?
Moodle provides several tools that facilitate instructor direct involvement in the learning activity. Forums, journals, chats and assignments are particularly designed for that purpose. Such engagement with the learners is particularly encouraged.
Terms of Use – Special Circumstances
1. Conference Presentations
Papers that have been presented at Extension Foundation or Extension Foundation–affiliated events are the intellectual property of the presenters/authors, even though they are published on the Site.
Permission to print or disseminate all or part of such papers is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage and that the title and authors of the paper appear on the printouts. To copy or disseminate otherwise, or to republish in any form, requires written permission from the authors.
2. Publications
- Authors retain the copyright to their intellectual content, with Extension Foundation owning the copyright to the presentation, whether as a journal article, a book, or a monograph
- Authors retain the right to publish their material elsewhere, and others may freely distribute it in electronic form, providing the original publication is acknowledged
- Extension Foundation has the right to edit the material to meet its standards
3. Electronic Discussion Forums
The Site may contain chat areas, forums, news groups, bulletin board Services and other facilities that permit you to communicate with other Users. Use of these Services is limited to post, send, and receive messages and materials appropriate to the Service.
Extension Foundation does not regularly screen or monitor these Services; however, Extension Foundation reserves the right to review information or materials posted and to remove any such information or materials if it violates the intention of the Service. eXtension reserves the right to block access to the Service by anyone who has routinely disregarded applicable terms of use guidelines and policies.
4. Extension Foundation Campus
Extension Foundation offers premium Users (“Submitters”) the ability to submit fee-based Content (“Course/Event”) to the Extension Foundation Campus and designate a fee for such Course/Event (“Course/Event Fee”). By submitting a Course/Event to the Extension Foundation Campus, Submitter warrants to Extension Foundation that Submitter has the full right and authority to the Course/Event, and in all intellectual property rights in and to the Course/Event, to permit Extension Foundation to offer the Course/Event to its Users of the Site.
Extension Foundation will remove any Course/Event from Extension Foundation Campus upon the written request of Submitter. Extension Foundation will endeavor to remove the Course/Event within 7 days of receipt of a request to remove but in no event will that removal occur later than 10 days from receipt of the request.
Extension Foundation will remit to Submitter on a quarterly basis the Course/Event Fees collected by Extension Foundation in the three months immediately preceding each quarterly payment date, net of any transaction fees and 10% (effective 4/1/23) retained by Extension Foundation . Notification of any changes to payment of transaction fees or the portion retained by Extension Foundation will be made not less than 90 days prior to implement%5ation, and will take effect at the beginning of the calendar quarter next following that 90-day notice.
Extension Foundation will provide to Submitter a written report on or before each payment date detailing the course attendance, faculty member, gross Course/Event Fee collected, the transaction fees, the 10% (eff. 4/1/2023) retained by Extension Foundation, and the net amount of the transfer. Reports and their associated payments will be made within 30 days following the end of each calendar quarter.
5. Paid Content and Subscription Services
In addition to the Content available for no charge through the Site, you may be offered the opportunity to purchase, subscribe to, or otherwise obtain access to premium Content (such as a Course/Event), or other goods or services, through the Site for an additional fee. Unless otherwise indicated on the Site, purchases or subscriptions made by you through the Site cannot be exchanged and any fees or charges in connection with those purchases or subscriptions are non-refundable. Any purchase or subscription will be subject to any terms and conditions displayed in connection with the purchase or subscription in addition to the Terms of Use and by accessing or using any premium Content, you agree to be bound by the following additional terms and conditions:
You use the premium Content at your own risk and you are personally responsible for verifying its suitability to your needs. All information that you provide in connection with a purchase or other transaction through the Site will be accurate complete and current.
Charges and Billing: You are responsible for providing a valid bank account, mobile services account, or other payment method at the time of registration for an account. You represent and warrant that you are an authorized user of such payment method, and you agree to pay all charges resulting from your account at the prices then in effect, including any unauthorized charges incurred prior to notifying Extension Foundation of such charges. You agree that Extension Foundation may pass any payment information and related personally identifiable information to its designated service provider(s) for their use in charging you for your selection. If you have specified direct withdrawal from a bank account as an applicable payment mechanism, you grant Extension Foundation the right to debit the bank account associated with your account for all fees and charges incurred for such premium Content. You are responsible for payment of all costs associated with payment by wire transfer, or through third party invoicing or accounts payable service providers. All charges are exclusive of sales or other taxes and you are responsible for payment of any applicable state, local, and city taxes. Extension Foundation reserves the right to modify or terminate membership plans, change prices, or institute new charges for any Content at any time with at least thirty (30) days’ notice.
