Student-Led Attendance Breaks

With the Student Led Breaks feature, admins can configure Courses to allow students to individually take breaks at varying times, while accurately documenting break length requirements and accounting for them in various attendance progress displays.

Setting up Student Led Breaks

To enable Student Led Breaks on a Course, admins with Edit Course permissions need to enable the “Student Led Breaks” toggle, which is accessible via Edit Settings button on the Course Info tab. Once the feature toggle is enabled, CourseKey will present several Breaks settings (outlined below) that should be configured to ensure breaks are enforced as desired on the course.

Student Led Breaks settings, accessible via Course Info tab

Note: Student Led Breaks cannot be enabled in the following circumstances:
- At the same time as Instructor Led Breaks on the same course
- On Flex / Async-only courses / non-CICO courses
Note: generally speaking, Student Led Breaks works best with set schedule CICO courses

Configuring Required Breaks Settings

Student Led Breaks settings, accessible via Course Info tab

When Student Led Breaks is enabled, admins with Edit Course permissions should configure several settings determine how student breaks are managed by the application:
1. Threshold - a break is required every 'x' hours of an attendance session
  1. When an attendance session length is shorter than the break threshold, then the session timePossible = session length
  2. Example: when a 4 hr session length is less than a 6 hr break threshold, then the session does not qualify for a break. In this case, the total timePossible will be 4 hrs.
2. Length - the length of the student's break for sessions that exceed the break threshold
  - Note: whenever students take a break, they are required to take the full duration of the specified break length. As a result, the full duration of the break length will be deducted from their total time awarded in the session.
3. Number of Breaks - the total amount of breaks required in an attendance session.
  1. This setting, in combination with length and wait time, allows admins to account for multiple breaks on the same attendance session.
4. Wait Time - to prevent students from taking multiple consecutive breaks, configure a minimum amount of buffer time that must elapse after a previous break before another break can be started.
  - Note: this buffer time only applies after the first break in an attendance session.
5. The default values when toggling on Student Led Breaks are:
  - Threshold: 300 minutes (5 hours)
  - Break Length: 30 minutes
  - Number of breaks: 1
When an attendance session qualifies for student breaks based the break specifications (i.e. session length > break threshold), then CourseKey’s calculation for that attendance session’s timePossible = (session length - break length x num_breaks)
1. Example: when an 8.5 hr length session meets the break threshold setting, and there is 1 break at a break duration of 30 minutes, then the total timePossible will be 8 hrs.
2. Of course, when Student Led Breaks is disabled, then timePossible = session length as is currently.
Attendance sessions that do not qualify for student breaks based on your specifications will not give students the option to start a break.
- Note: CourseKey will check every attendance session against the most up-to-date break settings to determine whether the individual attendance session qualifies for breaks (i.e. sessionLength > breakThreshold).
When student led breaks settings are changed, only future attendance sessions will be affected by the changes. timePossible and timeAwarded calculations associated with completed attendance sessions will NOT be recalculated based on new breaks settings.

Edit Settings

When student led breaks settings are changed, only future attendance sessions will be affected by the changes.
1. timePossible and timeAwarded calculations associated with completed attendance sessions will NOT be recalculated based on new breaks settings. Neither completed attendances nor active attendance will be affected by any edits.
2. Configured breaks amount cannot exceed session length, e.g. Breaks threshold and duration must be less than length of session
3. Simply put, on
  1. Past sessions - edits will have no effect
  2. Current session - edits will apply, but only BEFORE the class start time. Edits will not apply after class start time.
  3. Future sessions - all edits will apply up until the class start date

Student Experience

With Student Led Breaks enabled, students will be able to start and end their breaks on both the Mobile App and the Web Portal (when attendance sessions are long enough to qualify).

Starting a Break

When an attendance session qualifies for Student Led Breaks (i.e. sessionLength > breakThreshold), Students will see the option to start a break on the class activity card once they’ve successfully checked into the attendance session.
1. Students must take the full duration of the break before they can check back into the attendance.
2. Students will be automatically checked-out at the time they start the break.
3. Students must successfully complete all attendance technologies selected for the course when checking out for the break.
4. Even with breaks enabled, CourseKey does not actively enforce students to take breaks at specific times. For this reason, it is possible for the entire duration of an attendance to elapse without a student taking a break, which results in a) student awarded all timePossible, or b) student awarded more than timePossible >100%
  
  (left) Student option to Start Break after checking in
  (right) Student confirmation before starting a break
  
  Note: it will be possible for students to start breaks as soon as they check into an attendance session.

During a Break

While the break is in progress, students will see the “You’re on a break” activity card with a timer indicating the amount of break time left.

Activity card depicting break time remaining

Ending a Break

Students must take the full duration of the break before they can check back into the attendance.
1. As a convenience, students can pre-check back into the attendance session 5 minutes before the break expires.
2. Students will be unable to check back in until 5 mins before the break ends.
Students that check back in during the 5 min pre-check-in window will not be awarded any extra time.
1. End of break = break start time + break length

Push Notification informing students to check back in

Student Attendance Record depicting a Student Led Break (Mobile App)

Accounting for Student Led Breaks in Attendance Reporting

Attendance UX for Admins/Instructors

When a student takes a break, they will be listed as Status OUT on the attendance list.
1. As well, their break counter will increase from 0 with each subsequent break taken
2. The adjacent warning icon will be present for all students that have not yet taken all of their allotted breaks for the session

Attendance List. In this case, Eduardo is currently OUT on break and has taken 1 (but not all) allotted breaks for the session. Michael, unfortunately, never showed up to class…

Student Led Break referenced in Attendance Records. In this case, we can see Eduardo checked out for a break at 6:39. Eduardo can also see this reflected in his Student UX.

CourseKey does not actively enforce students to take their breaks at specific times.
1. For this reason, it is possible for the entire duration of an attendance to elapse without a student taking a break, which (needs confirmation!) results in a) student awarded all timePossible, or b) student awarded more than timePossible >100%
Manual Attendance Sessions
1. CourseKey will course admins from starting a manual attendance that is shorter than break duration
2. If for whatever reason, an otherwise valid manual attendance is manually ended after a duration of time shorter than the break duration, we’ll default to time to "0" rather than allowing a negative value in the event of duration < break length

Other Reporting

For Cortex customers, Retention Attendance Risk Score will now take into account the break time associated with Student Led Breaks in its calculations.
1. Again,
  1. session length < break threshold THEN Session timePossible = session length. Else timePossible = session length - break length x number of breaks
  2. And of course, IF Student Led Breaks is FALSE THEN timePossible = session length
General CourseKey reports that reference the reduced timePossible, where applicable as determined by Student Led Breaks, include:
1. Attendance Percentage in Course to Date
2. TimeAttended By Student
3. TimeAttended By Day
4. Courses Taking Break

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