eFundi is a platform made available to NWU staff and students for:
- Modules that they teach/take
- Committees engaged in academic activities
- Academic groups of which they are members
Contents:
Access to eFundi
NWU staff and students automatically gain access to eFundi using their NWU staff/student number and Novel password when registered. Users can change their passwords by visiting this link.
Non-NWU users can gain access when a staff member adds them as participants to a site using their e-mail address. An automatic e-mail will be sent to the person allowing them to create their own password.
Course management
Course site
At the end of the year all currently published sites are unpublished. This means that the students on those sites no longer have access to the content, but a lecturer still has access. If a lecturer no longer needs access to the site content, they can delete the site.
Important: Once a site is deleted it cannot be returned. Please make sure you really want to delete a site before going through the process.
Course site limitations
Every course site has a quota of 3Gig and a portfolio site has a 1Gig limit. Should you need more space, please contact your campus eFundi support so they can make the necessary arrangements.
Access to sites
If a staff member needs to gain access to colleague’s site, they must request that the colleague give them access. If the colleague is unavailable or unable to do so, he/she must send an e-mail to support to request that the staff member be granted access. If the original staff member is no longer employed at the NWU, written permission must be granted by the subject head or school director.
Staff members who wish to use the course site developed by another staff member need to receive written permission from the original staff member first and forward that permission to the campus eFundi support.
Creating a course site
eFundi allows staff to create sites for any course that they are teaching in a given year or semester. Staff and students can also create project sites.
Non-academic Course sites
Staff and students can apply to have non-academic sites created. Sites for residences and student societies are considered non-academic as they are not directly involved with student success. However, sites must still be relevant to the campus in question. The application form must be completed and approved by all three campuses and IT Central.
Click here for the application form.
Gradebook information
The Gradebook tool is designed for convenience of staff and students. It is not an official record of student grades, nor should it be considered legally binding. Staff are encouraged to make back-ups of the online Gradebook to ensure that no grades are ever lost. In addition, staff are strongly encouraged to post student grades in the gradebook to enable students to identify incorrectly recorded grades in a timely fashion and to ensure that students can keep track of their progress in the module and seek help before the end of a semester.
Information Security
The eFundi database is linked to the NWU system, allowing users to log in using their NWU staff/student number and password. The security of these accounts are considered crucial for maintaining a trusted resource for online instructional materials and activities.
Copyright and fair use
Copyright law and Fair Use Guidelines allow staff to share copyrighted material with students on eFundi, providing that they followed the guidelines.
Please take note of the communique sent on 22 November 2016:
Please take note of the NWU's DALRO blanket license agreement. The agreement stipulates that academic staff members must report on all copying from books and serial publications.
In future, all reports on copying from books and serial publications must be generated on the new electronic Copyright Reporting System. Click here for a user manual for the system.
Please keep in mind that reports may be generated retrospectively. This means that, if you comply with the DALRO rules (10%, 1 chapter or 1 article etc.), you do not have to apply for permission before you distribute the copies to the students. However, all reporting in terms of material that was copied and distributed to students during the semester, must be completed by the end of each semester.
The NWU incurs a serious legal risk if we provide insufficient reports to DALRO and it is for this reason that our office will continuously monitor and follow-up on reporting.
Please direct any queries in this regard to Hendra Pretorius or Ms Tarien Jacobs.
Please visit the NWU Library web page for more information on Copyright and Plagiarism.
Intellectual property
Content generated on eFundi is considered to be the property of North-West University.