INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM - Jefferson College

ONLINE COURSE MEMO
JEFFERSON COLLEGE
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Summer 2011 Online Students
Allan Wamsley, Director of JC Online
and Instructional Technology
636-797-3000 x342 awamsley@jeffco.edu
Online Courses
DATE: May 16, 2011
Welcome to your online course offered through Jefferson College.
Information on the Web. For your convenience, we have posted much of the information you
will need to prepare for your course on our web page. I strongly encourage you to take time to
review this information prior to the start of your course. To access this information, complete the
following steps:
Go to www.jeffco.edu.
In the column on the left side of the screen, click on JC-Online.
On the Online Courses page, click on Summer 2011 Online Student Information.
This will take you to a page linking you to information such as the orientation
schedule, library, bookstore, and Testing Center hours, online services outage
information, and much more.
How to Get Started. Some of the online courses will have an on-campus orientation session. All
the information you need to get started will be provided at that meeting. The dates and times are
listed on the orientation schedule posted on our website. Please be sure to check the orientation
schedule frequently for updates on orientation dates, times, and locations.
Other courses will not have an on-campus orientation but will have that information available on
the Web. Orientation information and course content will be available online by the date the
course is scheduled to begin.
A high-speed Internet connection is strongly recommended. If you need assistance logging in
to or accessing Blackboard, please contact the Instructional Support Center at 636-797-3000
x234, Option 2, or toll-free 1-866-522-1472 (from 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Monday -Thursday,
8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Saturday).
Beat the Rush! If your course includes videotapes, DVD’s or CD’s, you may want to beat the
rush and check them out prior to attending your orientation session or beginning the course.
These videotapes, DVD’s, and CD’s will be available for checkout in the Library at the Hillsboro

campus and in the Library/Information Commons at Jefferson College Arnold. Students may
also request that materials be checked out to them and sent to the office at Jefferson College –
Northwest for pick up. Please refer to the orientation schedule posted on our web page. Titles of
courses which have items to be checked out from the Library are in bold.
Jefferson College students will need to have a student photo I.D. to use various College services,
including checking out Library materials. If you do not already have your I.D., go to Student
Services or to the Library at the Hillsboro campus during regular business hours to have your
photo I.D. printed and to have a validation sticker for summer 2011 attached. Photo I.D.’s are
also available at the Arnold and Northwest sites. You will need a Missouri driver’s license or
state ID for proof of identity. Please note that if you already have your I.D. card, you will only
need to get a summer validation sticker.
Successful Online Students. Because we want you to be successful, we thought it would be
helpful to know a little more about the nature of online courses.
Past students who have been successful in this delivery format were usually highly motivated,
independent, active learners with good organizational and time management skills.
A mistake made by some students is to think that this type of course is easier than its oncampus
counterpart. Past students agree, however, that this is not the case. Online courses
require that students invest sufficient time to complete assigned work.
Assignments, lectures and discussions are most often in writing. It is important to have good
reading and writing skills to be successful.
Please take a moment to evaluate your skills and learning preferences to make sure this type of
delivery format is for you. We anticipate that you will want to continue with the online course
and will successfully complete it. However, if you decide that you would prefer to take this
course in a classroom, please contact your advisor to discuss your options.
If you have any questions about your online course, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Allan Wamsley