What to do when on-line instructor is ignoring questions? I am enrolled in an on-line graduate course. The course is not available in the classroom format.

For the past few weeks, the instructor has ignored every question I sent him. I've asked for:


help in understanding specific course content.
clarification on upcoming assignment instructions.
clarification on the problems in my papers.


I used the recommended contact method described in the syllabus and all other tools on the course Web site, but he sent no replies to these.
The first two kinds of questions should be asked in the course's public discussion area so that the answers will benefit all students.  Since you've used "all the other tools" in the course, perhaps you've done that.

I suggest a concerned phone call to the department chair.  If the professor is not present in the course at all, ask, "Is Dr. X OK?  He hasn't been in the course in several weeks."  If he's around, but ignoring you, ask, "Do you know whether I've somehow offended Dr. X?  He hasn't answered any of my questions in several weeks."

The point is to give the chair a chance to make corrections without having said anything like "ignoring me."  If it has already been several weeks, I'd suggest doing this very soon. Be as specific as possible about dates when the instructor stopped responding, how other work such as quizzes is handled, etc.