John, Typically what I did was set 4 different timeslots before the course began and put them in the syllabus. I chose very different times/days such as Monday at 2:00 p.m., Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday at noon and Saturday at 9:00 a.m. I email all of my students the syllabus at least a week in advance of the course beginning and tell them the four dates/times. I also tell them they have to arrange their schedule so that they can attend at least 2 of the 4. I record them all so if they are not in attendance, they can view them later at their leisure. I give participation/attendance credit for attendance. About a week before the synchronous class, I ask for items to put on the agenda. This gives them an opportunity to have items put on the agenda on which they need clarification. The session can also be simply a Q & A period or I lecture on some part of the course that I know is difficult for most students or I discuss the components of the big project coming up, etc. It has worked well for me. Just a suggestion. We all have to figure out what works for us, our students and our course content. Thanks!