Important Information for Online Students!
Welcome to the distance learning program at Washington State Community College. We hope that you have a great experience!

1. GET STARTED: To get started with your online class read the welcome letter located at www.wscconline.com/wscc/welcome.html.
2. GET YOUR E-MAIL ACCOUNT: A Washington State e-mail account is required to begin online learning. To request a new account or to receive the username and password for your existing account visit www.wscc.edu/students/emailform.htm immediately.
   
   If you have forgotten or misplaced your WSCC E-mail password, call the Help Desk at 1.740.374.8716 x EXTENSION 1182. Do it NOW! don't wait until the last minute. DO IT NOW!
3. GET IN TOUCH: Immediately contact your instructor as soon as you have enrolled in an online course. Instructor contact details are available from www.wscconline.com/wscc/instructor.html.

Washington States Community College is pleased to offer a wide variety of Distance Learning classes in an online format. Like regular classroom courses, online courses begin with the opening of the quarter and end with the close of the quarter. During that time, however, there is flexibility and convenience built around your own personal schedule. Lectures, discussion forums, live chats, interactive quizzes, and tests are available online for you to complete at the hours most suitable to your schedule. Instructors use e-mail, telephone, and course management tools to communicate with you. Students are encouraged to "participate" in class through discussions with faculty and classmates using "threaded" online discussions and live chat sessions these are often where the greatest learning takes place.

You probably will be online 5 out of 7 days, or roughly 15 hours, each week for a typical 4-credit-hour course. Courses maintain the same high-quality education standards as those in traditional classroom sessions, so plan now to dedicate time and energy toward your learning experience.

To take an online class from Washington State you must have Internet access and a WSCC-based e-mail address. If you do not have Internet access at home, you may participate from any of Washington State's open computer labs or from other Internet accessible locations, such as a relative's house, the public library, college library, or an Internet café. The computer you use must be up-to-date (see technical recommendations below) and your course instructor may require you to use specific software and hardware, so check with the instructor about requirements before you register for a course.

You are responsible for administering your own computer system, including hardware and software and connecting to the Internet. Neither Washington State nor your instructor can provide technical assistance for your computer system and Internet connection problems. However, if you believe your system is functioning correctly, and you are unable to access a particular online course for which you have registered, do one of the following:

• E-mail your instructor. Instructor contact details are available from www.wscconline.com/wscc/instructor.html.
• E-mail Washington State Distance Learning at dl@wscc.edu.
• Telephone the Distance Learning technical support line at 740.374.8716 ext 1182. The support line includes recorded messages that provide pertinent information about online courses, such as the server being down. During limited hours each quarter, the technical support line will provide staff to help answer your questions. The hours available each quarter will be announced at the beginning of the quarter.

You CANNOT START LATE in an online course. You must participate from day one, otherwise you will be too far behind to reap the full educational benefit.

CHARGE DATES

SPRING QUARTER: March 23, 24 & 25
Last day to charge to account - Spring Quarter will be April 8^th.

SUMMER QUARTER: June 17^th
Last day to charge to account - Summer Quarter will be June 29^th.

FALL QUARTER: September 6, 7, 8 & 9
Last day to charge to account - Fall Quarter will be September 23^rd.

Technical Recommendations

• Microsoft Word 2000 or above is required for all online courses.
• PC HARDWARE MINIMUM CONFIGURATION:
  
  Pentium processor or higher; Memory: 32 MB RAM and 8MB Video RAM; Hard Drive: 4GB hard drive; Floppy drive or CD-ROM; Monitor: 15" color SVGA. Monitor resolution of 800x600; Network Interface Card: 3 COM or Intel 10/100 Ethernet card; Operating System: Windows 95 or higher.
  
  
• MAC HARDWARE CONFIGURATION:
  
  500 MHZ or better Power PC process (Power Macintosh G3), 64MB RAM, 20GB hard drive; 15" color SVGA monitor, .26mm Dot-pitch; Built-in Ethernet; Macintosh OS, current version (OS 9,2,2/10.1.3).
  
  For information about other acceptable configurations and additional Distance Learning information visit www.wscconline.com. For further questions or information about the Distance Learning program, contact Andaz Ahmad, Director of Distance Learning, 740.374-8716, ext 1710, or via e-mail at dl@wscc.edu.

Top 10 Tips for Success in DL courses

1. Start early in the registration process to allow yourself enough time to assure that the technical requirements are met. You must have a Washington State e-mail address, even if you have a personal e-mail address. You also must have Internet access, and you must have a computer system that meets all required technical standards for the course.
2. Contact your instructor to receive course information as soon as you register for an online course. Your instructor may request that you schedule an on-campus orientation session.
3. You are responsible for obtaining the necessary materials for class - be familiar with test dates, assignment due dates, and all class policies and procedures.
4. Follow the directions listed in your instructor's welcome letter. Be sure to read it carefully. (Your access to online courses will not be available until the first day of the quarter.)
5. Ask questions when something is unclear to you. Contact your instructor by e-mail, phone, or fax during office hours.
6. Keep your instructor informed about problems that prevent you from participating in the distance learning course. Although Distance Learning provides you the flexibility and freedom to schedule your coursework at your convenience, you are still required to meet deadlines as required by your instructor.
7. "Attend" class in a learning environment - most successful DL students schedule regular, frequent sessions to work on their class material.
8. At the end of the quarter, check your grade by using WebAdvisor on the Washington State web site, www.wscc.edu.
9. Complete a course evaluation at the end of the quarter. Your instructor will provide a link to an online course evaluation; it will be active for a limited period during the latter part of the quarter. These evaluations are anonymous and the information gathered is used to help us improve our Distance Learning courses.
10. Decide early if the online system will work for you! If you decide you cannot continue with the course for any reason any time during the quarter, or if you are unable to start it at all, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you contact the Records Office at Washington State to directly and officially withdraw. The date(s) by which you must withdraw to receive a refund and/or register for future classes will depend on which class(es) you have registered for.

Extra Tips

• Please contact the Office of Disability Services at (740) 374-8716 ext. 2503 or email pzakowski@wscc.edu, if you require special assistance. We encourage you to notify us about any such requirements well in advance, so we can meet your requirements in a timely fashion.
• The Carson K. Miller Library collection includes reference books, periodicals, videotapes and other media to support the college's educational program. Our catalog is at http://washcc.wscc.edu/search/. For further information or questions about your OhioLINK password, contact refdesk@wscc.edu.
• Every online and on-campus course require special study skills to help you become a successful student. Click here to learn more tips and tricks about online learning.

Getting started
...reminders and tips to get you going in a Distance Learning environment

• Before enrolling in an online course, check to see if you can meet general hardware and software requirements for the course. Click here to view general requirements. You MUST contact the course instructor for any additional software or hardware requirements specific to the course.
• You must use a Washington State based e-mail address (for example, smithj1@wscc.edu). All online course communication is handled through your WSCC email account, including the instructions for accessing your online course, the course web site address, and your username and password for the course. If you do not already have a WSCC based e-mail account or have forgotten the username and password to access it, visit www.wscc.edu/students/emailform.htm to apply for one.
• Go to www.wscconline.com/wscc/instructor.html for contact info for your instructor. E-mail or call your instructor to let him/her know you have enrolled in the course. The instructor will e-mail instructions for accessing your online course approximately ONE WEEK before the course begins. This information will ONLY be e-mailed to your WSCC e-mail account.
• Remember to buy books, software and course materials early!
  The Washington State Bookstore offers full service for our Distance Learning students. Visit our Bookstore website (www.wscc.edu/students/resources/bkstore/dl.htm) for information or email books@wscc.edu.
• If you have any problems logging into or accessing the course materials, contact your course instructor immediately.

Prodigy, MSN or Compuserve users, read this:

These companies are all Internet Service providers (ISP). As part of their software they each provide an internal web browser that allows users to browse the web. However, using these internal browsers may cause sporadic problems with an online course. To minimize the possibility of browser-related problems, we recommend using an external browser, such as Internet Explorer 6.0 or above, when accessing our online courses. Most computers have a version of an external browser pre-installed. It is easy to use an external browser (contact technical support for further assistance):

1. Connect to the ISP, but do NOT go to any web site on the Internet
2. Minimize the ISP window
3. Open the browser, click on the address bar, type the web address (or URL of your online campus and press the enter key to access the online campus home page
4. Login
5. BE AWARE, when an ISP's internal browser is not in use, the ISP will consider the user inactive and will disconnect the user after a set period of time. To remain active and avoid being disconnected, return to the main page of the ISP (every 20-30 minutes) and click on a link, check e-mail, check the weather, or open a chat room on your ISP. Any of these activities will reset the ISP's "inactivity timer" so you can continue to work on your online.

A Washington State e-mail account is required to begin online learning. Visit www.wscc.edu/students/emailform.htm immediately to request a new account or to receive the user name and password for your existing account.

If you have forgotten or misplaced your WSCC E-mail password, call the Help Desk at 1.740.374.8716 x EXTENSION 1182. Do it NOW! don't wait until the last minute. DO IT NOW!

Please immediately e-mail or contact your instructor as soon as you have enrolled in an online course. Instructor contact details are available from www.wscconline.com/wscc/instructor.html.

We encourage you to take advantage of the Distance Learning opportunities offered by Washington State Community College and further your education according to your schedule.

FEEDBACK: Have we answered all of your questions? Please let us know if this publication contains the information you needed to get started online. Send your feedback to dl@wscc.edu. Your input will be used to make improvements.