WSCC - Student/Instructor Support & Services > Student Pages

Student Pages > Student Resources & Services

This section provides a comprehensive list of student resources, services, and policies. Washington State Community College's policies, such as FERPA, ADA compliance, accreditation, and information about memberships and affiliations are detailed here. Information about offices, such as admissions, disability, registrar, and financial aid is also provided. Links and information about accessing the library, turnitin.com, and the helpdesk are also given.

* Accreditation Listing
* Memberships and Affiliations
* WSCC's Main and Distance Learning Web Sites
* Online Course Schedule
* Self Assessment Tools
* Pre Enrollment and Advising Information
* Frequently Asked Questions
* Online Course Management System
* Education Rights and Privacy Acts Compliance
* Services for Students with Disabilities
* Admissions Office
* Application for Admission
* Enrollment/Registration Procedure
* Financial Aid Office
* Office of Testing/Assessment Services
* Military Service Credit
* Life Experience Credit
* Registrar's Office
* Office of Fees and Deposits
* Orientation to Online Learning
* Bookstore
* Online Counseling
* Online Tutoring Service
* Early Intervention for Online Students
* Library Support and Services
* Technical Support, Equipment Loan, and How to Pages
* The Online Helpdesk
* Opportunities for Online Community/Online Study Groups/Student Life
* Plagiarism Service - Turnitin.com
* WebAdvisor
* Career Services Office
* WebMail
* Disability Services
* Course/Instructor Evaluation Form for Online Students

Accreditations Listing
Washington State Community College is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, which is the regional accrediting authority for Ohio colleges and universities. The Higher Learning Commission is recognized by the US Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Information about college's accreditation can be found at the following site:

http://www.ncahlc.org/index.php?option=com_directory&Action=ShowBasic&instid=1850

The college is a participant in the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP: http://www.aqip.org).

For further information, please contact Mark Nutter at mnutter@wscc.edu.

Memberships & Affiliations
Washington State Community College is a member of the Ohio Learning Network (http://www.oln.org). The Ohio Learning Network is a consortium of Ohio's colleges and universities using technology to enhance education. OLN helps Ohioans find educational programs that meet their needs, works with colleges and universities using technology to improve teaching and learning, and helps build partnerships among higher education, schools, businesses, and communities.

Washington State has received the Best Practices for Student Services designation. The criteria for this designation were derived from the OLN Task Force on Quality in Distance Learning. Several online faculty members have received the Course Check quality approval from the Ohio Learning Network. Course Check is a self-study tool to support faculty and course designers as they create and offer highly engaging courses for distance students.

The college is also a member of Sloan-C (http://www.sloan-c.org). Sloan-C is a consortium of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education. Sloan-C encourages the collaborative sharing of knowledge and effective practices to improve online education in learning effectiveness, access, affordability for learners and providers, and student and faculty satisfaction. Members include (1) private and public universities and colleges, community colleges and other accredited course and degree providers, and (2) organizations and suppliers of services, equipment, and tools that practice the Sloan-C quality principles.

For further information, please contact Andaz Ahmad at aahmad@wscc.edu.

College's main (www.wscc.edu) and distance learning (www.wscconline.com) web sites
These web sites provide accurate and timely information about Washington State Community College, its programs, distance education courses, course syllabi, instructor contact details, technical requirements, costs, and related policies and requirements.

Courses are also marketed through other channels such as local newspapers, press releases, and Cable Channel 22. The schedule of classes for both traditional and distance education courses are available through the campus website. There is the ability to query the schedule by entering specific criteria.

For further information, please contact Linda Lockhart at llockhart@wscc.edu.

All online courses are advertised through the Ohio Learns Catalog located at http://www.ohiolearns.org/. For further information, please contact Terry Merrow at tmerrow@wscc.edu.

Online Course Schedule
These web sites provide accurate and timely information about the institution, its programs, distance education courses, course syllabi, instructor contact details, technical requirements, costs, and related policies and requirements. The schedule of classes for both traditional and distance education courses are already available through the campus website. There is the ability to query the schedule by entering specific criteria. For further information, please visit the following site:

http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/
classesandschedules/classesandschedules.html

For further information, please contact Linda Lockhart at llockhart@wscc.edu or Andaz Ahmad at dl@wscc.edu.

Self-assessment tools for readiness for the online environment
The distance learning web site (www.wscconline.com) provides a variety of tools to assist prospective students in determining if their technical and academic skill sets are likely to result in success in the distance education environment. This is particularly important for students who are taking distance education courses for the first time. A self-assessment quiz and thorough information about technical, disposition, and academic skills readiness is provided through the following web site:

http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/visitors/visitors.html

In addition to specific course technical requirements, information about the minimum technical requirements for taking courses at a distance from the college are provided. For online courses, information about the type of computer, ISP Service, connection speeds, and special software/hardware is also included:

http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/visitors/online_readiness.html

For further information, please contact Andaz Ahmad at dl@wscc.edu.

Pre-enrollment advising information
Information about fully online degrees and certificates is provided along with the time required for completing them. Schedule of classes is available through the Internet: https://www.misweb.wscc.edu/WebAdvisor/WebAdvisor (Then choose Quarterly Course Listing). Questions regarding the transfer of credits and the enrollment process are handled via e-mail and phone for online students. Students can also get answers to general advising questions as well as transfer opportunities by accessing this site http://www.wscc.edu/main/contact.asp?section=about. It is simply an email address and the message comes to Kim Payne.

For further information, please contact Kim Payne at kpayne@wscc.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions
A list of Frequently Asked Questions about the nature of online courses is available through:

https://www.mis.wscc.edu/help/wonderdesk.cgi?do=cust_login&username=help&password=help

For further information, please contact Helpdesk at helpdesk@wscc.edu.

Online Course Management System
At Washington State, online courses are offered through various learning management systems -- Evolve, Interact, PageOut, MyCourse, CourseCompass, and PHIM2. A course/learning management system is an Internet-based software platform that you use to take an online course. It contains tools for distance learning, such as a hyperlinked syllabus, course content and notes, a bulletin board system/discussion forum and chat for collaboration and communication, assignment drop boxes, interactive quizzes and exams, and much more! If you have taken a course on any one of these platforms, it is easy to switch over to a different course management system. This also gives you some additional experience in a variety of platforms.

Interact Campus Portal System - Most of our online courses are offered through Interact, but some courses use other web courses systems. All of our online courses use Interact as an entry point. Interact was designed to be easy to use. If you feel that you need assistance with these online course systems, visit Student Orientation Pages. You will become more comfortable with the software as you use it, so please continue to login, read, and post through any initial feelings of awkwardness or in spite of any mis-clicks.

Remember, the purpose of group communication software it to build results, not to get sidetracked in features and flaws.
Please be sure to save all of your posts and other coursework on your hard drive or a disk -- any system or server can malfunction or 'crash'.
The servers are backed-up regularly, however keeping a personal copy of your important items is still recommended.

For further information, please contact Andaz Ahmad at dl@wscc.edu.

Online Learning Tools
As an online learner, you will encounter a number of new an exciting ways to obtain knowledge and information. We like to call this set of technology based learning aides the Online Learning Toolbox. While there are other tools and techniques that you may run into, these are the core tools used by Washington State Community College. These tools have been compiled to helps student to become a successful online learner.

Email - Email (electronic mail) is mail that's electronically transmitted by your computer. Email sends your messages instantaneously. Email is intended only for communication with the instructor and others in the course, and should not communicate outside the boundary of the course. It can be used to share ideas, ask questions or share documents (which can be attached to an email and distributed electronically).

Chat - Chat provides a way for you to communicate "synchronously" (in real time) with one or more persons who are logged into the chat tool at the same time as you are. This communication is textual in format. This tool can be used for a discussion on a course project, a study session, or general discussion about ideas generated by the course. The instructor or a students can arrange for a chat at a pre-specified time or a group of students can simply congregate because they happen to come together at the same time.

Threaded Discussion (Bulletin Board) - Threaded Discussions, also known as bulletin boards, provide an opportunity for learners to carry on "conversations" around specific topics even though different individuals access the discussion at different times (asynchronously). Threaded discussions start with a topic being proposed by an instructor or a student, and then others can respond directly to the question or statement, or to any other response that has been received. This tool can provide a chance for outside of class discussion, or an extension of a discussion that ran out of time in class. Unlike a real classroom discussion, you are not forced to respond immediately, so take a little time to reflect on the discussion prior to responding. This can make for a much more informed discussion for everyone.

Streaming Media (on-demand and live) - One of the multimedia resources that is available for WSCC online courses is the ability to provide audio and video streams to the learner. This means that you can listen to an audio file or watch a video file without first waiting for the entire file to download. Instead, the file is played as it is streamed to you over the Internet. These files are usually pre-recorded and can be played by you, whenever you choose to access the file (on-demand). Occasionally you instructor may choose to have a live streamed event (audio or video) which would require synchronous attendance. In most cases live, synchronous events can be recorded and archived for later access on-demand. The specific software used for these media events can include Real Media, Windows Media, and QuickTime.

Assignment Drop Box - Often your instructor will ask that you complete an assignment and "drop it" into the assignment drop box. This tool will allow you to "drop off" your assignments during a permitted timeframe and will provide a date and time stamp for the file.

NetMeeting - Another multi-media tool that you might see in your online experiences is NetMeeting, a Voice Over IP (VoIP), or "voice over the internet" application. This tool will allow you to carry on a synchronous verbal conversation with one or more colleagues over the internet without any long distance or conference call costs.

Video Conferencing - In some courses, seminars and workshops your instructor may choose to use group video conferencing for live, synchronous, 2-way audio and video connection. This technology requires that participants travel to a video conferencing classroom where the session will be bridged. This is a high-end connection and provides for a high degree of interaction between the instructor and the students at various sites. In this environment you should take the opportunity to actively engage in questions and discussions.

Important Dates/Course Agenda/Calendar - Your instructor may choose to use the course agenda tool, which is a feature inside of Interact. With this tool, the instructor can record key dates for classroom events and assignments. Be sure to check your course agenda/calendars regularly.

Document Downloads - Sometimes instuctors will choose to make documents available to learners in the Interact course. In these cases you will be directed to click on a link (word or picture) and your computer will download the file. If you have the application on your computer, the file will open automatically. If not, you will be prompted to download the file to your computer.

Education Rights and Privacy Acts Compliance
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, provides information on rights and procedures for inspection, correction, and disclosure of information in the student record. Student rights under FERPA are published in the College Catalog, or by accessing page 22, of the Catalog.

For further information, please contact Mike Whitnable at mwhitnable@wscc.edu.

Services for Students with Disabilities
Washington State Community College ensures that no qualified person shall by reason of disability be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of any program or activity operated by the college. Each qualified person shall receive appropriate accommodations to ensure equal access to educational opportunities, programs and activities in the most integrated setting possible.

For additional information, please visit http://www.wscc.edu/Main/disabilities.asp?section=future or contact Patti Zakowski at the Office of Disability Services at (740) 374-8716 ext. 2503 / email pzakowski@wscc.edu.

Admissions Office
Online students will find information about Washington State Community College and its programs from the following link:

http://www.wscc.edu/main/contact.asp?section=future

Online students may complete this form to request that an admission's advisor contact them for further information. Alternatively, online students may contact Rebecca Peroni at rperoni@wscc.edu or Emily Shuck at eschuck@wscc.edu.

Application for Admission
The college provides a secure online application for admission located at:

https://www.mis.wscc.edu/apply/default.asp

It takes 1-2 weeks to process these applications. Online students receive an acceptance letter, the placement assessment dates available, and registration information by mail as soon as possible. The placement assessment is used for advising students who need to enroll in Math or English classes. Detailed information about the enrollment procedure may be accessed from:

http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/registration/register.html

* First time online students must meet with their academic advisors before registering for online classes. Returning students are able to register for online courses through WebAdvisor directly.

For further information, please contact Cindy Rogers at crogers@wscc.edu.

Enrollment/Registration Procedures
Online students complete the online "Application for Admission" located at:

https://www.secure.wscc.edu/general/registration/admin.htm

Students are able to register for classes online using Web Advisor (https://www.misweb.wscc.edu/WebAdvisor/WebAdvisor). The complete registration process for new and existing online students is available through the following web site:

http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/registration/register.html#Registration. However, currently students are unable to make payments online or by telephone.

For further information, please contact your academic advisor or e-mail student services at stuserv@wscc.edu.

Financial Aid Office
In order to determine total financial need, each applicant should submit the FAFSA (no fee required). This form may be obtained from high school guidance counselors or through the Division of Student Services at Washington State Community College. The FAFSA can also be completed online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. More information is available through: http://www.wscc.edu/learnmore/cost.asp?section=FIN.

Online students also have access to scholarship information and the application process, with equitable opportunities to apply for and be awarded scholarships through http://www.wscc.edu/learnmore/cost.asp?section=FIN

For further information, please contact Dave Metz at dmetz@wscc.edu or Kathy Patterson at kpatterson@wscc.edu.

Office of Testing/Assessment Services
The Testing/Assessment Center allows the flexibility of taking a test between specified dates. For more information call 1.740.374.8716. In some cases, arrangements can be made for tests/assessments to be proctored off campus. Arrangements are made by contacting the instructor.

For further information, please contact Kevin Conley at kconley@wscc.edu

Military Service Credit
If you have prior military credit or training that you would like evaluated for possible college credit, please request an official military transcript to be forwarded to the Records Office at Washington State community College. (Official transcripts must be mailed to the college from the military; we can't accept a student copy.)

Websites to obtain military transcripts:

* AIR FORCE - http://www.au.af.mil/au/ccaf/active_transc.htm
* ARMY - https://smart.cnet.navy.mil/
* MARINES - https://aartstranscript.army.mil/
* NAVY - http://www.pearlharbor.navy.mil/nco/smart_htm.htm

For further information, please visit http://www.wscc.edu/main/off_records.asp?section=About or contact Mike Whitnable at mwhitnable@wscc.edu.

Life Experience Credit
Students may receive credit for prior relevant college level learning acquired either through formal schooling or some type of occupational experience. Credit may be granted for satisfactory performance on examinations; successful completion of military courses and experiences; appropriate work experience. Students Will need to contact an advisor to determine if the life experience evaluation is appropriate to his or her educational program.

For further information, please visit http://www.wscc.edu/main/off_records.asp?section=About or contact Greg Mitchell, Director of Career Services, gmitchell@wscc.edu.

Registrar’s Office
The Records Office (http://www.wscc.edu/main/off_records.asp?section=About) at Washington State Community College will help you register for classes, add and drop classes, grades, apply for graduation, order transcripts and so much more.

For more information, email us at records@wscc.edu or registrar at registrar@wscc.edu.

Office of Fees and Deposits
The Business Office accepts payment of tuition and fees when the registration process is completed. If you are making full payment for your tuition and fees you payments can be made at https://www.misweb.wscc.edu/WebAdvisor/WebAdvisor immediately upon completing the registration process. If you are not making full payments you can call area code 1-740-568-1905 to be enrolled in alternative payment options.

Note: If student can successfully register for courses through Web Advisor they will be able to make payment on-line. If the restrictions prohibit the student from registering (first time student, minimum hour restrictions, pre-requisites) they will not be able to pay on-line until they are successfully registered at the Registrar's office.

For more information, contact Joe Crone at jcrone@wscc.edu.

Orientation to Online Learning
Online Success is a two-credit course designed to orient students to the online learning environment. The course runs for 5 weeks twice a quarter. It covers personal management skills and the study skills needed to be successful in distance learning courses. Students will examine the Interact course management software program and activities related to online attendance, class participation and virtual communication. Students will learn about campus resources, time management, memory techniques, test-taking strategies and research methods and documentation. More information about this is available from this web site:

http://www.wscconline.net/spaces/space.php?space_key=55

For further information, please contact Amy Peckens at apeckens@wscc.edu

Bookstore
The Washington State Bookstore offers full service for our Distance Learning students. Visit our Bookstore website for information or email books@wscc.edu.

Online students may call, fax, or e-mail book orders, however, they cannot purchase directly through the web site.

For further information, please contact Jenny Davis at jdavis@wscc.edu.

Online Counseling
The College does not currently provide online counseling services, however, advising is provided via e-mail and/or phone by the academic advisors assigned for individual online students.

For further information, please contact Kim Payne at kpayne@wscc.edu.

Online Tutoring Service
The College offers limited free online tutoring for students in online classes. For further information, please visit http://www.wscc.edu/main/learningcenter.asp or contact Pam Roberts pleasure@wscc.edu for this service.

Early Intervention for students who may be struggling
The College has a standard procedure for handling this via interim reports that are sent out towards the middle of a quarter. Additionally, students are referred to Amy Peckens for online orientation course.

For further information, please visit http://www.wscc.edu/main/learningcenter.asp or contact Pam Roberts at pleasure@wscc.edu.

Library Support & Services
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://www.wscc.edu/library/index.asp?section=LIBR

We are members of OhioLINK, a consortium of Ohio's colleges and university libraries and the State Library of Ohio. OhioLINK provides access to more than 31 million library items statewide. Our students and faculty have the ability to electronically request items while searching the OhioLINK central catalog. It provides a delivery service among member institutions to speed the exchange of library items. You can have your library materials delivered to the campus closest to your location. OhioLINK is at www.ohiolink.edu

In addition, users can access over 80 electronic research databases including a variety of FULL-TEXT resources.

Chat With a Librarian: Chat with a Librarian allows you to ask a librarian a question in real time when you're online doing research, no matter where you are-on campus, off campus or even in the library. Chat service supplements other library services such as e-mail, phone and in-person assistance. For further information or questions about your OhioLINK password, contact refdesk@wscc.edu

For further information, please contact Georgene Johnson at gjohnson@wscc.edu.

Technical Support, Equipment Loan, and How to Pages
The College currently offers limited technical support via e-mail and telephone. Additionally, technical support materials and user guides for online courses are available through the following web site:

http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/help/help.html.

We do NOT have any equipment loan facilities for online students.

The online course orientation page (http://www.wscconline.com/wscc/dl/students/students.html) offers students the opportunity to become familiar with course management systems used for online instruction such as Interact, WebCT, and Blackboard, etc. In addition, you will find information about the guidelines and protocols for the use of communication tools, timelines for activities within a typical online course, and strategies for success. Plans are to develop and deliver video based training materials as time/resources permit.

For further information, please contact Washington State's help desk at 1-740-374-8716 ext. 1182 or e-mail helpdesk@wscc.edu.

The Online Helpdesk
The On-Line Help Desk is a fully automated web based help desk package. If you have a questions or problems regarding WebAdvisor, Distance Learning, or email problems go to https://www.mis.wscc.edu/help/wonderdesk.cgi?do=cust_login&username=help&password=help or http://www.wscc.edu and click the Help Desk link. A FAQ section is provided or you may log a call, and a technician will assist you with your questions or problems. Confirmation emails are sent after a technician has started working on your request.

For further information, please contact Washington State's help desk at 1-740-374-8716 ext. 1182 or e-mail helpdesk@wscc.edu.

Opportunities for Online Community/Online Study Groups/Student Life
The College is considering creating a discussion forum/live chat area for all online students, http://www.wscc.edu/communicator/communicator.html an online student newsletter, and video streaming of graduation ceremonies etc.

Plagiarism Service - Turnitin.com
Washington State Community College provides a term paper checking service through the services of Turnitin.com. This company has been helping millions of faculty and students in 51 countries improve writing and research skills, encourage collaborative online learning, ensure originality of student work, and save instructors' time - all at a very affordable price.

This system makes it easy to identify students who submit unoriginal work, and also acts as a powerful deterrent to stop plagiarism before it starts. Turnitin has expanded its search capabilities to thousands of internet sources to articles from thousands of commercial publications contained in ProQuest®'s ABI/Inform, full-text Periodical Abstracts, and Business Dateline. It also includes tens of thousands of books from some of the largest digital libraries available.

To use this service, individual instructors must go to Turnitin.com to create a user profile, log in under Washington State Community College's account identification number and password and then follow the prompts to create individual classes and assignments. Students must also go to the web site to create a user profile but will need a special password and ID number to access individual instructors' classes. Instructors may obtain the account identification number and password from Joe Testerman . Students may only obtain class identification numbers and passwords from individual instructors who have set up individual classes with Turnitin.com. Once students and instructors have created user profiles, log in with an email address and password to access the service. For further information, please contact Joe Testerman at jtesterman@wscc.edu.

WebAdvisor
WebAdvisor is your online access to important student information. WebAdvisor will provide you with up-to-date, real-time information on scheduled courses, billing information, financial aid, grades, transcripts and more. Watch for new features to be added. Visit WebAdvisor (https://www.misweb.wscc.edu/WebAdvisor/WebAdvisor) as a guest or to login as a registered student of the college.

For further information, please contact Washington State's help desk at 1-740-374-8716 ext. 1182 or e-mail helpdesk@wscc.edu.

Career Services Office
Learn more information about the online job and résumé forum (http://www.careers.wscc.edu/) from Washington State Community College. You may also contact Greg Mitchell, Director of Career Services, at (740) 374-8716, ext. 1412, or email him at gmitchell@wscc.edu.

Students can access on-line career counseling via our FOCUS software and follow-up emails with Kim Payne. They can contact Kim Payne via email (kpayne@wscc.edu) expressing interest. Kim Payne will then email them the keycode to log-in to our FOCUS software. It can be accessed at http://www.focuscareer.com/register/wscc.cfm.

For further information, please contact Greg Mitchell at gmitchell@wscc.edu or Kim Payne for FOCUS at kpayne@wscc.edu.

WebMail
The instructions for accessing your online course, including the course web site address, username, and password will only be e-mailed to your Washington State WebMail (E-mail) account. If you do not currently have a Washington State WebMail account, please visit following address: https://www.mis.wscc.edu/help/wonderdesk.cgi?do=cust_login&username=help&password=help and fill in the form.

Checking your Washington State WebMail (E-mail) account from home is now easier than ever. In response to your requests, we have launched Washington State's new web-based E-mail service.

To use this new service, go to the WSCC homepage http://www.wscc.edu, click on Related Links, then select Washington State Web-based E-mail Service. Follow the directions to set up the security certificate for this service. Once you have completed this step, you may log on using your WSCC E-mail account and password to begin checking your mail. This service is available either on- or off-campus.

Clicking on the 'help' button will give you information for whatever area of the system you're working in. Please explore all of the features of this new service.

For further information, please contact Washington State's help desk at 1-740-374-8716 ext. 1182 or e-mail helpdesk@wscc.edu.

Disability Services
Washington State Community College ensures that no qualified person shall by reason of disability be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of any program or activity operated by the college. Each qualified person shall receive appropriate accommodations to ensure equal access to educational opportunities, programs and activities in the most integrated setting possible.

For additional information, please contact Patti Zakowski at the Office of Disability Services at (740) 374-8716 ext. 2503 or email pzakowski@wscc.edu.

Course/Instructor Evaluation Form for Online Students
We would appreciate your help in evaluating our online courses. Your perspectives and comments are valuable to us as we seek to strengthen courses offered online. Your evaluation is important to us whether or not you completed the course. You may look at the evaluation form that is available for each online course. If you take more than one course, you will submit a separate evaluation for each course. Click here to view a sample online course evaluation form.

For more information about the online course evaluations please review the Frequently Asked Questions.