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| A Virtual Campus of The Community & Technical Colleges, connecting students to online learning |
| Home | Get Started | Class Schedule | Student Services | About Us | Help | Blackboard |
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| A Virtual Campus of The Community & Technical Colleges, connecting students to online learning |
| Home | Get Started | Class Schedule | Student Services | About Us | Help | Blackboard |
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Frequently Asked Questions Accessing Your Classes How do I login to Blackboard? When can I access my online classes? What are some things I can do if I'm having trouble logging in to my classes? Do I need to attend an orientation meeting for my online classes? Books How do I order and pay for my books? How can I order my books if the WAOL ID number for each book isn't listed in my college bookstore? How do I sell my books at the end of the quarter? Online Classroom Format and Functionalities How much work is an online class? Do online classes have regular meeting times? How do I submit assignments and take examinations? How do I communicate with my instructor? My online quiz says it has a lock on it. What does that mean and how do I fix it? What do I do if I have a complaint about my online class? How do I change my e-mail address in my Blackboard account? Why do my online classrooms malfunction when I am using AmericaOnline (AOL), Prodigy, Compuserve, Juno, or MSN? How can I use message box within Blackboard with Vista and/or IE7. Registration, Adding and Dropping Classes Can I view the course description before I register? Can I register into a closed class, or register after the beginning of the quarter? Can my name be put on a waiting list for a closed class? Can I request placement into a specific instructor's classroom? How do I drop an online class? Tuition and Fees, Financial Aid How much do online classes cost? How do I register and pay for online classes? Do online classes qualify for financial aid? When and where do I get my financial aid check? Can I use a state or school employee tuition exemption for WashingtonOnline classes? Grades, Transcripts and Credit Transfer How do I get my grades at the end of the quarter? How do I get a copy of my transcript? Are credits earned through online classes transferable to other schools? Do the community colleges offer any completely online degrees or certificates? Accessibility Is Blackboard accessible to students with disabilities? Logon Difficulties and Classroom Access How do I logon to Blackboard? Click the Blackboard link in the navigation bar at the top of the page. You may want to bookmark or create a shortcut to that page from your desktop for quick access later on. Enter the following USERNAME and PASSWORD when prompted: · USERNAME: waol + your student ID number. (all lower case, no caps) For example, if J. Smith's student ID number is 111223333, then J. Smith's user ID would be waol111223333. Remember, your student ID number is assigned by your college and is not your social security number. Contact your college if you don't know your student ID number. · PASSWORD = first 5 letters of last name (Johnson=johns, Lee=lee) Click LOGIN and your personal Blackboard account should open. Click on your course title to enter the classroom. Please change your password upon logging in for the first time. To do this, click "Personal Information" in the left hand Tools box and then click "Change Password." Keep in mind that all passwords are case sensitive. Please make a note of your new password in a secure location. Back to Top When can I access my online classes? Classrooms open one week prior to the start of the quarter. Lookup your class in the WAOL class schedule to check the Classroom Open and Instruction Start/Stop dates. If you cannot logon one week before your class begins, contact us. Back to top What are some things I can do if I'm having trouble logging in to my classes? When you have trouble logging in: · Make sure you are registered in a course hosted by WashingtonOnline (WAOL). Many colleges host online classes independent of WAOL. Cross-reference your registration receipt with the college catalog or web site. · Make sure it is time for the classroom to be open. Classrooms are opened to students one week before the start of the quarter. · If you continue to be unable to login, contact technical support. Presidium Learning technical support is available online at: http://d2.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=863 or toll free at 1-866-425-8412 and is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. WAOL staff is available 8am - 5pm Monday through Friday. E-mail wa-online@ctc.edu , phone (Toll free) 1-888-580-9011, or (Spokane area) 509-434-5155. Back to top Do I need to attend an orientation meeting for my online classes? First time students should go through the Week Zero Blackboard Tutorial to get aquainted with how Blackboard classrooms work. Also, WAOL classrooms open one week before instruction begins. Be sure to go to your classroom at that time to find more information about your class and practice using the courseware. To find out when you can access your classroom to get oriented, find the "Classrooms Open" date for your class by looking up your class details in the WAOL Class Schedule. Back to top Is Blackboard accessible to students with disabilities? Yes, Blackboard is accessible to students with disabilities. To learn how Blackboard works with screen reading software (such as JAWS) visit: http://www.blackboard.com/products/access/faqs.htm Back to top Books How do I order and pay for my books? If your college bookstore does not carry the books/materials you need for your online class, you can order from eCampus Bookstore or check with other online book retailers. Keep in mind that you need to have your books by the first day of class, so order early and leave time for delivery. Order books by ISBN or by your class WAOL ID. Lookup your class in the WAOL Class Schedule to find the WAOL ID. Back to top How can I order my books if the WAOL ID number for each book isn't listed in my college bookstore? Since not all colleges stock books for WashingtonOnline classes, you may not be able to find the WAOL ID at your local bookstore. If this is the case, look up the ten-digit ISBN number for your books in the "class details" area of the class schedule. The ten-digit ISBN number can be used to order books from your college bookstore or online retailers. Specialty Books has most books and materials listed by WAOL ID to make your selections easy. Back to top How do I sell my books at the end of the quarter? 1. Contact the store where you initially purchased the book. If it was from your college's bookstore, please contact them. 2. If you ordered your book through eCampus Bookstore, visit the eCampus website and click the "Sell Textbooks" link. Back to top Online Classroom Format and Functionality I'm an instructor who wants to teach for WashingtonOnline. What do I do? Instructors who want to teach courses for WashingtonOnline need to be hired by one of the 34 community and technical colleges in our system. Contact the college for which you would like to teach and they can put you in contact with the proper people and procedures for their school. Back to top How much work is an online class? College level classes are generally designed so that students spend two hours in preparation or homework for every hour in class. WashingtonOnline classes follow that model, so you can expect to spend as much as three hours each week for each credit. For a five-credit course, this will mean 12 to 15 hours per week. Online courses can be a lot more work than those on campus. If possible, think about starting with one online class just to get the feel of how it works and whether you would be successful in more than one at a time. Back to top Do online classes have regular meeting times? Most online classes are designed to be accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Keep in mind that although you can participate at any time of the day or night, all courses are time sensitive with specific due dates and deadlines. You might participate in live chat with your instructor or other students, but you will not be required to be online at a particular time each day. Back to top How do I submit assignments and take examinations? Instructors specify exactly where you are to post your assignments. Most examinations are conducted online, but you may be directed to take them at a proctored testing center near you. Back to top How do I communicate with my instructor? Instructors are available primarily via e-mail, and threaded discussion boards. Some instructors will provide a telephone number for messages, or arrange live online chat times. Instructors, like students, are online five days out of seven. Back to top My online quiz says it has a lock on it. What does that mean and how do I fix it? A locked quiz means that the instructor has set it up so that a student can only access it once. Contact your instructor as soon as possible and explain what happened. Only the instructor can allow a student to re-access an online quiz. Back to top What do I do if I have a complaint about my online class? If you're having trouble with one of your WashingtonOnline classes and have not been able to resolve the issue on your own, contact WashingtonOnline Virtual Campus staff between Monday - Friday from 8am to 5pm (Pacific Standard Time) at (Toll free) 1-888-580-9011 or (Spokane area) 509-434-5155. Or, send e-mail to wa-online@ctc.edu. Include your full name, your instructor's name, the quarter and course, and your concerns. The individual colleges generate course evaluations at the end of each quarter. If you have not had an opportunity to do a class evaluation, please contact the distance learning staff at your enrolling college. Back to top How do I change my e-mail address in my Blackboard account? From the opening page of your Blackboard account, go to Tools on the left side of the screen and choose PERSONAL INFORMATION. When the next page comes up, click on EDIT PERSONAL INFORMATION. On the next page, overwrite your current email address with the new email address. Then scroll down the page and look in the lower right corner where you will click on SUBMIT. If a confirmation screen does not appear that acknowledges the change, please phone the Presidium Learning 24-hour toll free technical support number 1-866-425-8412 for further assistance. Back to top Why do my online classrooms malfunction when I am using AmericaOnline (AOL), Prodigy, Compuserve, Juno, or MSN? Internal browsers that are part of the AOL, Prodigy, Compuserve and Juno Internet Service Providers are either customized or are older versions of Internet Explorer and do not work well with Blackboard classroom software. VERY IMPORTANT: To minimize the possibility of browser-related problems, we strongly recommend using an external browser when accessing your online courses. Most computers have a pre-installed updated version of an external browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. Visit the Technology & Skills Requirements page for more information about free web browsers. Back to top How can I use message box within Blackboard with Vista and/or IE7. Using Firefox is one solution. Turning off the editor within Blackboard is another and here are the steps do to that.
Registration, Adding and Dropping Classes Can I view the course description before I register? Yes, course details are available at the WashingtonOnline Class Schedule. After you've found the class you're interested in, click the "course details" link for a course description and other information. Back to top Can I register into a closed class, or register after the beginning of the quarter? No, late registrations are not accepted for WashingtonOnline classes and the WAOL enrollment management system does not allow students to enroll once a class is full. Back to top Can my name be put on a waiting list for a closed class? WashingtonOnline does not offer waiting lists. However, if you want to continue trying to register, you may be able to take the place of a student who drops. Back to top Can I request placement into a specific instructor's classroom? Placement in a specific instructor's classroom cannot be guaranteed. When a registration is accepted in a pooled class, student enrollments are randomly distributed among the instructors' classrooms. Back to top How do I drop an online class? To drop an online class, contact the registration office at the college at which you registered for that class. WashingtonOnline staff cannot drop a class for you. Any refund is subject to the policies of your enrolling college. Back to top Tuition and Fees, Financial Aid How much do online classes cost? Since tuition and fee costs vary at each of the colleges, the following figures are approximate. Average tuition for Washington State residents: $72/credit hour. (One class is usually 5 credits, or approximately $360.) Full-time tuition for Washington State residents: approximately $720 per quarter (10-18 credits is considered full-time.) Full-time tuition for non-Washington State residents: approximately $2,435 per quarter. Remember to budget for additional expenses such as college fees, books, Internet access, and technology fees. These fees can range from $40 - $100 or more per quarter. Back to top How do I register and pay for online classes? Once you have completed the college's admissions process and any other pre-registration requirements, you can register into the online course the same way you register into courses held on campus, usually in person, by phone, or via the web. Check your college's web site for more specific information. Payment of tuition for online classes is subject to the same terms and conditions of on campus courses at your enrolling college. Please contact your enrolling college for more information. Back to top Do online classes qualify for financial aid? Yes; please contact the financial aid office at your enrolling college for more information. Lookup your colleges contact information on our student services home page page. It is very important for you to understand that your financial aid may be affected because the start/stop dates for online and on campus courses differ. You still need to have books for online courses in time for the start of class, regardless of your financial aid status. Back to top When and where do I get my financial aid check? Contact the Financial Aid office at your enrolling college for instructions. Please note that if your financial aid check includes funding for both online and on-campus classes, the entire check may be delayed until you can get verification for online classes. The process for verification can vary from campus to campus, but often it requires posting a biography in your virtual classroom. Back to top Can I use a state or school employee tuition exemption for WashingtonOnline classes? Colleges generally don't allow students to use the state employee tuition exemption for WashingtonOnline classes. Additionally, WAOL does not allow late enrollments. Back to top Grades, Transcripts and Credit Transfer How do I get my grades at the end of the quarter? You need to check with your enrolling college to see how that college distributes grades to its students. Most likely, you can view your transcript online to see your grades. Because the WAOL start-stop dates are not the same as those on your campus, you might not get your WAOL grades at the same time as your other grades. WAOL grades are due to the WAOL office on the Monday after classes end. WAOL sends your grades to your college after receiving them from your instructor. Back to top How do I get a copy of my transcript? Please contact your enrolling college for specific instructions. Their website may also have information regarding transcripts. Many colleges allow students to view transcript information through a secured web portal in their website. For an official transcript, you will need to file a signed request with your school. Back to top Are credits earned through online classes transferable to other schools? Credits can be transferred to another college, depending on the policies of the individual college. Check with your college about the transferability of the specific course. It is best that you determine which courses you want to take and where they are offered, then take all that information to you colleges advising staff, they can tell you if those classes can be transferred into your degree. Another consideration is that any time you need a complete transcript of your education, you will have to produce transcripts from all your enrolling colleges, not just the one that granted your degree. If you are thinking about transferring courses outside of the Washington Community and Technical College system, you should always contact an academic advisor at the college at which you are planning to transfer. Back to top Do the community colleges offer any completely online degrees or certificates? Yes, there are currently more than 25 degrees and certificates that are offered completely online by the community colleges. Go to the Online Degree and Certificate Programs page to find out which programs are available, then contact the college's academic advising office to find out about credit transfer and other information. Back to top Is Blackboard accessible to students with disabilities? Yes it is. You can find out more about Blackboard accessibility at http://www.blackboard.com/company/accessfaqs.htm Back to top
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