There may be academic prerequisites for your course. You need to consult the college catalog to determine if and what those academic prerequisites may be. There are also computer and computing skill requirements for your online course.

First you have to have a computer with internet connections or access to one. OSU-Okmulgee has several open computing labs available for use. Second, you need to access your Okstate e-mail account, or login to O-Key and direct mail forwarding to an active account.. You should also be able to use e-mail including the use of attachments.

You should be familiar with the Windows operating system, wordprocessing, and the internet. If on campus you need to be able to login to the OSU network using your O-Key userid and password.

Online courses follow the same schedule as traditional classes.

We are only authorized to run online courses during the same time frame as traditional courses. Also a number of activities are integrated with other parts of the course. What you can do is get the textbook now and start reading. This should help with your time problems.

Check with the course instructor to determine the correct textbook for your course.

The textbook is available from the OSU-Okmulgee Bookstore

Take the OSU-Okmulgee online course orientation quiz.

Your instructor would be happy to see you, but you may or may not need to come to campus for online courses. You will use the internet as well as the course management software called the Online Classroom to do your course work. Some courses require a one time initial meeting, usually during the first week of the semester. Check your email often or your Online Classroom course for any announcements.

You enroll in the online courses using the same procedures that you use for enrolling in traditional classes. You can enroll via the Internet using Web for Students.

This could be a yes or no answer. It depends on your instructor and how the course was designed.

Typically online, like the rest of the course. However, in some cases a proxied exam may be given. A proxied exam is taken at one of many places throughout the state. Contact your instructor for more information should a proxied exam be required.

The majority of problems that occur with online testing or other issues center around your Internet Service Provider and you having an up to date web browser.

While having access to a T1 line, DSL line or a cable modem would make things faster and as a result a little easier. Access over dial-up will still function properly.

There are two major problems with ISPs. The first is only found with a few of them. Some ISPs just do not seem to be compatible with our network and the Online Classroom. They just do not fit right. They have the same problems with other universities so it is not just a problem at OSU-Okmulgee.

The major problem seems to be with America On Line (AOL). As AOL has a lot of interface problems with other systems as well, this is not a surprise that it has conflicts with the OSU system.

The second problem is what is called timing out. It is a problem with dial up modems.

When you connect to your ISP, some ISPs set a timer so that if they do not detect any activity for a certain period of time, they disconnect you from their system. They assume that you failed to log out and have quit using your connection. The ISP wants to make it available for their other customers.

When taking a examination, which could last a hour or more, your ISP will not see your activity. It will think you are not active and therefore disconnect you from the internet. When you try to send your completed exam, it will not work. the Online Classroom, which thinks you took the exam, will not let you do it again (unless it is fixed by your instructor).

As with the compatibility problem, use a computer not connected through AOL or use another ISP.

If you are an AOL customer and you use the AOL browser, you may have difficulty using the Online Classroom for internet courses. If you use AOL, you should install a Netscape or Internet Explorer browser and use it to connect to your course. Do not connect to the course with the AOL browser. DO NOT USE AOL FOR TAKING EXAMINATIONS!!! You should connect to the Internet using AOL, then minimize the AOL browser and use one of the two recommended browsers for your course.

The first solution is to call the service department of your ISP. Explain that you are taking an online course which includes testing and that you need to make sure that you will not be timed out (in other words, if they use timers, take them off your account).

Change ISPs or ensure your connection is active, run another internet program that access the internet on occasion, while you take your exam.

You may want to clear your browser's cache memory and reboot your computer just before taking an examination. This way every thing will be clean for the exam and you will have a new start with your ISP's connection and any time keeping. In addition you should have the most up to date copy of your browser software. Following are links to the update page of the four most used browsers:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Mozilla Firefox
• Netscape
• Opera

With MS Internet Explorer you need to make sure that you do not tell the browser to disconnect a dial up connection. To check this go to Tools, Internet Options, and Connections. Make sure that that the disconnect after a period of time box is unchecked.

Across the country, online learning has a higher dropout rate and "did not finish" rate than do traditional classes. If you have a problem, you need to communicate with your instructor as quickly as you can so that something can be done. Waiting will just make matters worse.

In online courses, most of the interaction between the professor and the student is by e-mail. You also may call or come see your instructor if that would be better for you. You should note the office and class hours under Faculty Information before doing either.

You should check with your instructor to determine if the course has any guidelines for using e-mail.

Visit our online directory to find your instructor's e-mail address.