Liberal Arts and Science - Manchester Community College ...

GENERAL INFORMATION
Online/Distance Education Courses
The Distance Education program at Manchester Community College (MCC)
offers an excellent opportunity for people in Connecticut and throughout
the world to stay knowledgeable and competitive in today’s global environment.
Because MCC recognizes the importance of flexibility in a person’s
day-to-day life, we offer online courses that provide flexibility in time and
geographic location.
The faculty at MCC are experienced educators and are especially known for
providing individual guidance. They provide a relaxed electronic environment
that encourages student-to-student interaction. Whether it is through discussions,
chat, or group projects, the MCC faculty will be able to provide you with
a rich and rewarding experience.
The primary online learning environment at MCC is WebCT Vista, which offers
MCC students a robust set of tools, functions, and features for learning
online.
Federal financial aid may be available to you as an online student at MCC. Information
is detailed in a brochure that is available from the MCC Financial Aid
office (call 860-512-3380) or online at www.ctdlc.org/Financialaid/index.html
through the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium.
Textbooks for online courses may be purchased from the MCC campus
bookstore. You may order books online from the bookstore by going to the
web site www.efollett.com/
Technical Requirements
While you are enrolled and taking an online course you will need to have
access to an Internet connection (preferably via cable modem or DSL; if you
use a 56K modem connection, you may experience degraded performance
depending on the amount of multimedia material used in your class), a web
browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, or Safari; you can check your
browser compatibility by going to http://vista.ctdlc.org and selecting Check
Browser), a word processor (Microsoft Word), and associated programs
recommended by your instructor (for example, Excel, PowerPoint, or Minitab).
You must have an active email account, and be familiar with sending and
receiving email. IMPORTANT: You should tell MCC your active email address
either on your application form or through Banner Web for Students once you
are a registered student.
The recommended minimum system configuration is a computer running
either Windows (98 2nd Edition or higher) or MacOS (10.1.x or higher) with at
least 128 MB of RAM, at least 500 MB of free hard drive space, a CD-ROM
drive, and a color monitor. A USB “thumb” or “keychain” drive (or other removable
media) is recommended. Some MCC instructors may use various web
plug-ins such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, Apple QuickTime, Macromedia Flash
Shockwave, Real Network RealPlayer, and/or Microsoft Media Player throughout
the course. Actual system and software requirements for a course may
vary—please see the instructor’s requirements listed in the class schedule or
check with your instructor prior to beginning the course.
How the Online Learning Environment Works
The online learning environment at MCC is an electronic community consisting
of electronic classrooms in WebCT Vista where you will engage in
discussions with professors, classmates and colleagues, and collaborate on
course work.
During the course, you will be doing a fair amount of reading, typing and
reflecting on what others have written. In an on-campus classroom most communication
involves talking and listening, with some reading and writing. In an
online course, communication mostly occurs through reading and writing.
You will be communicating directly with fellow students and the instructor
through email, discussion forums, and virtual chat. Class discussions will occur
primarily through asynchronous discussion board messaging. You will read
what your instructor and other class members have posted, write responses
26
to readings or questions, and participate in text-based class discussions
about the course material. While you can expect deadlines for assignments,
in general you have flexibility about when you actually do your class work, with
the exception in some classes of virtual chats, which are scheduled events
that occur at a particular time. You may be required to attend an informational
orientation for your online course depending on your instructors’ preferences.
Please see the instructor’s requirements listed in the class schedule for information
about sessions you may need to attend on campus, if any.
On average, you can expect to spend an equivalent number of hours working
on your online course as you would on a campus course, including the hours
you would normally spend in the classroom. This includes activities such as
completing and submitting assignments, reading supplementary texts on
coursework, accessing lectures and participating in class discussions.
For Information On:
• The WebCT Vista classroom environment and general questions, call
Cathy Manly at (860) 512-3442 or email cmanly@mcc.commnet.edu.
• A particular course, please contact the individual instructor.
• Federal Financial Aid, contact the Financial Aid office at (860) 512-3380.
The following courses generally have sections that will be offered online during
the academic year. To see what sections are offered in any given semester,
students should refer to the MCC Class Schedule for that semester or visit
www.mcc.commnet.edu.
MCC Online Courses
ACC* 290 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
AH 270 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
ART* 292 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
BMG* 101 Introduction to Management 3
BMG* 204 Managerial Communications 3
BBG* 295 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
BIO* 115 Human Biology (hybrid) 4
BOT* 180 Medical Terminology 3
BOT* 253 The Virtual Assistant 3
BOT* 296 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
COM* 270 Internship I 3
CSC* 101 Introduction to Computers 3
CSC* 295 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
CST* 114 Exploring the Internet 3
CST* 150 Building Web Pages 3
CST* 123 Computer Operating Systems 3
CST* 131 Network Theory & Application 4
ENG* 110 Introduction to Literature 3
ENG* 246 Modern Western Literature 3
ART* 292 Cooperative Education 3
HIS* 201 United States History I 3
HIS* 202 United States History II 3
LGL* 270 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
MAT* 109 Quantitative Literacy 3
PHY* 110 Introductory Physics (hybrid) 4
QM 110 Quantitative Methods for Bus 3
SOC* 101 Principles of Sociology 3
SOSC 270 Cooperative Education/Work Experience 3
Note: "Hybrid" courses combine both online and classroom course work.