Confirm all information about your assignment is accurate  

Use the NLU Course Schedule Search to confirm the time, location (Wheeling, Tampa, etc.), and modality of the course (blended, face-to-face, online).

Confirm access to D2L shell 

Login to D2L and ensure all information (time/date) is accurate

Confirm relevant meeting invites 

Confirm that you have received an SSC/Content meeting or department meeting invite and let your supervisor know if you have not received one. Meeting invites will be sent to your NLU email address in the form of a calendar invite. They will include a link to the Zoom room location.

Order your instructor's copy of the textbook

If you have a textbook(s) required for your course, register with VitalSource as an instructor and request the book(s). If you do not receive confirmation or there is a delay in receiving the textbook(s), contact your department chair.

Acknowledge your contract

Be alert for an email regarding your contract, even if you haven't received it yet. You can also check the banner to see if you have a contract waiting to be acknowledged. For more info, download our Acknowledging Your Contract video, or check out the Acknowledge Your Contract guide (PDF).

Prepare your syllabus and confirm that your course is “Active”. All courses must be active and syllabi published no later than two weeks prior to the start of the term.

Update the “About your Facilitator” page on D2L 

This is where your students make their first introduction to you. And you know what they say about first impressions.

Set-up your gradebook in D2L

Setting Due Dates in D2L  

Check to make sure your D2L Gradebook Settings are accurate.

Prepare your syllabus

Review the set-up guidelines for Simple Syllabus.

Review all course material in D2L Shell

1) Getting started (with link to text)

2) All Modules:  Project Engagement Sections, Lesson Plans

3) All assignments:  Quizzes, Assignments, and Final Project

4) For insights or additional help with lesson planning, schedule a chat with the Learning Experience Design 

Ensure your course is set to "Active"

1. Begin on your course homepage in D2L.
2. In the upper right-hand corner, click Course Management.
3. Select Course Admin.
4. Select Course Offering Information.
5. Scroll about halfway down the page and ensure the Course is active checkbox is selected.
6. Select Save.

If you prefer a video, here is a course activation tutorial.

Once D2L is ready, send a “Welcome Email” or “Welcome Announcement” to all students through D2L. Make sure to include:

1) A positive message (e.g., you're looking forward to seeing/meeting them, etc.)

2) Zoom link or Classroom number where the class will be held (depending on modality)

3) Class start time

4) What students will have to be able to do during class (login to Zoom, access their computer, etc.)

5) Consider linking the book on the 1st announcement

6) Your contact information for when they have questions/concerns about the class

7) Please see these instructions for posting news announcements

For more information on how to communicate using announcements, please see our page about

Here's a Quick Guide to Enable TurnItIn, or use these quick instructions:

1. In D2L, go to the assignments menu and find the assignment. Click on the down arrow right next to it and select ‘Edit Assignment.’
2. In the editing menu, to the right, you will find evaluation and feedback; click and expand.
3. At the bottom of this menu, you will see Manage Turnitin.
4. Check the box that says enable similarity report in this folder.
5. Additionally, you can also select ‘Allow learners to see similarity scores in their submission folder.’
6. Save and Close

To run a submission through TurnItIn after the submission has been made:

1. In D2L, go to the assignments menu and find the assignment. Click on the down arrow right next to it and select ‘View Submissions.’
2. Now, find the students’ submission.
3. There should be an icon that looks like a folder with an arrow facing (see image below).
4. Just click on it, and Turnitin will run. Give it a couple minutes to generate the report.

Adjunct faculty are provided licensed Zoom accounts by NLU.

To access your NLU Zoom account, follow these instructions:

1. Navigate to nl.zoom.us
2. Click on "sign in."
3. If using the app, click on "sign in with SSO."
   • Use this Zoom Quick Start Reference to download the app.
   • *The app is recommended*
4. Enter NL as the domain.
5. You will now be on a NLU login page. Enter your credentials.
6. You should be logged into your NLU account now.

For faculty who would like to sign in on the web browser, you may follow the same instructions or use this link. For specific questions, please contact the help desk, or faculty can work with a tech on Zoom for live support: https://live-support.nl.edu.