Welcome

Life’s challenges can sometimes make attending classes difficult. The Macon State College Office of Distance Education helps faculty take advantage of the latest educational technologies to remove the constraints of time and location that might burden learners.  The Office of Distance Education is dedicated to supporting a quality educational experience for all Macon State College students and faculty engaged in e-Learning. To help you with your educational goals, we have compiled information on this web site that we hope you will find helpful. Macon State’s online courses are an expansion of our traditional courses, and are of the same quality and rigor, while meeting the same educational standards and objectives. Online courses require students to take a dedicated and self-disciplined approach to study and completing their coursework. The reward is access to quality higher education at times and places that are convenient to the student.

Online learning and distance education have been a part of Macon State College for over 10 years! From courses offered completely online, to partially online courses where technology is used to deliver more than 50 percent of the course, to hybrid courses where classes meet face to face and technology is used to enhance the learning process.  Macon State College offers flexibility, affordability, and opportunities for students to take advantage of the latest in instructional technologies to meet their educational goals.

In 2010, Macon State College became an affiliate institution of the University System of Georgia’s eCore program, allowing students to complete the first two years of their core curriculum entirely online. In addition, a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology is offered entirely online.  As of Fall semester, 2011, nearly half of the student population at Macon State were engaged in some form of online learning. Macon State College’s Office of Distance Education supports all modes of instruction and learning through the Internet and other distance formats. The chart and graph below show there has been a significant increase in the number of hybrid courses developed and offered over the past three years. Enrollment in these courses suggests that students desire a combination of online and traditional classroom interaction.

	FY09		FY10		FY11
	Courses Offered	Enrollment	Courses Offered	Enrollment	Courses Offered	Enrollment
Fully Online	89	3779	114	4472	218	7422
Hybrid	30	716	69	1905	90	2795
Partially Online	116	2768	99	2849	82	2114
Total	235	7263	282	9226	390	12331

Macon State College is proud to be a part of the Southern Regional Education Board’s Electronic Campus. The Electronic Campus is a comprehensive source for information about higher education opportunities in the South whether traditional campus study or e-learning. It is a gateway to e-learning opportunities and online services designed to meet the unique needs of adult learners wishing to start, continue, or complete their education.

Macon State also lists its courses and programs via the Georgia ONmyLINE database of online and distance education programs. Georgia ONmyLINE is a helpful resource for anyone wanting to begin a degree program online, as well as current students seeking an online course to fit into an on-campus schedule.

MSC Vista will no longer be in use as the Learning Management System of Macon State College after Fall Semester 2012. To learn more about the new Desire2Learn system click here.

What is Blackboard (MSC) Vista?

A core component of Macon State’s online learning is Blackboard Vista (also known as MSC Vista or GeorgiaView, and formerly known as WebCT). MSC VIsta allows faculty and students to communicate and interact via virtual classrooms. The system is web-based - you don't have to install a Blackboard Vista program on your computer and it is compatible with both Windows and Apple OSX systems - and you can access it by logging in from a variety of Internet connections and web browsers. There is a good chance that you will be required to use MSC Vista for one of your classes (online, partially online, hybrid, or traditional) so take a few minutes to log in and familiarize yourself with the application. Click here for more information about MSC Vista for students.

MSC Vista enables faculty to place their course material online without having to know any web programming. Students, in turn, have easy access to their courses. MSC Vista is integrated with Banner (our Student Information System). As a result, all courses and enrollment information are automatically updated in MSC Vista through Banner.
Benefits of MSC Vista

• Online Assignment Submission
• Online Assessment
• Online Discussion Board
• Email with automatic class email distribution lists, Chat Room Facilities
• Convenient Access, Anytime, Any place

Desire to Learn

What is Blackboard Collaborate?

Macon State College has recently purchased licenses for Blackboard Collaborate (previously known as Elluminate). Bb Collaborate is a web-based program that allows for synchronous online collaboration and communication with engaging multimedia content.  Bb Collaborate offers integrated audio and video, shared whiteboards, instant messaging, application/desktop sharing, synchronized notes and a polling/quizzing manager.  Instructors can import PowerPoint slides, transfer files to students, or take students on a web tour.

By using Bb Collaborate, we can support instructor-led courses, student projects or collaboration, remote guest lecturers, live demonstrations, staff training and other opportunities for teaching and learning.  Instructors can offer virtual office hours and mentoring while departments can hold meetings with external partners and the College might offer a virtual conference or workshop. The ability to record sessions means providing students with access to replay content they might have missed during a class session. Real-time interactivity in online courses creates a sense of community that has been proven to increase student performance and retention rates.

Additional Bb Collaborate tools for instructors include:

• Bb Collaborate Plan! for organizing and scripting session content ahead of time. Instructors can easily trigger each action, like starting the recording, advancing to the next slide, creating breakout rooms, loading and presenting a quiz, or playing a multimedia file, with a single click
• Bb Collaborate Publish! for creating high-definition video podcasts, audio podcasts or standalone recordings.  Full session recordings will capture white board content, shared application, chat transcripts and all audio.  Standalone recordings can be posted to a web server, sent via email or distributed on a DVD.

Macon State College is one of a small number of institutions of the University System of Georgia taking part in the migration to Bb Collaborate. As a part of this migration, the Office of Distance Education has created a Bb Collaborate User’s Group for faculty and staff. For more information on training and access, and to become involved in the user’s group, please contact Charles Smith at charles.smith@maconstate.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to Macon State College’s eCore Information Center

 

eCore—short for electronic core-curriculum — allows students the opportunity to complete their first two years of their collegiate careers in an online environment. eCore courses are taught entirely online, except for the occasional proctored exam. eCore courses are designed, developed, taught and supported by faculty and staff from the University System of Georgia (USG). General information about eCore, Georgia’s College Core-Curriculum Online, can be found at http://ecore.usg.edu/

Here are the steps you must go through to be able to register for eCore courses through Macon State College.

1) You must be a fully admitted student at Macon State College

You must be fully admitted at Macon State College in order to take eCore classes.  A student, who is currently enrolled in another college or university and is not a degree seeking student at Macon State College, will be admitted as a transient student.  Students with CPC deficiencies or students with Learning Support requirements are not eligible for enrollment in eCore courses.

If you are not currently a student at Macon State College, admissions information, including an application, can be found at http://www.maconstate.edu/admissions/

2) You must have a realistic understanding of what eCore has to offer

a) Visit the USG “Is eCore Right for Me?” webpage to learn about what eCore courses entail (http://ecore.usg.edu/right/).

b) Visit the USG “eCore Course Array” webpage to learn about the courses that are offered by eCore (http://ecore.usg.edu/courses/curriculum.php).  

c) Visit the USG “Courses” webpage to read the course descriptions, prerequisites, and sample syllabi (http://ecore.usg.edu/courses/description.php).  You must have completed any prerequisites applicable to any eCore course.  

3) You must be academically advised

Meet with your academic advisor and discuss your academic program of study and if eCore courses would be appropriate for you to take.  It is critical that any eCore courses you wish to take are appropriate for your degree program.

The eCore courses available to students at Macon State College are listed in the college’s class schedule. The class schedule can be found at http://www.maconstate.edu/onlineschedule/. You can search the schedule for courses by term and by subject. eCore courses are denoted with the word ECORE in the course title.

You must also have completed any prerequisites applicable to any eCore course.

4) Successfully complete the eCore orientation quiz

The eCore orientation must be viewed before you can be registered for an eCore class. The orientation can be found at http://ecore.usg.edu/prospective/orientation/msc/.

After you complete the orientation you will take a brief quiz to assess your understanding. If you do not pass the quiz with a score of 80 or higher, you will be redirected to take the quiz again. If you pass the quiz with a score of 80 or higher, you will receive a follow-up email from Mr. Terry Hamilton, Macon State College’s eCore Advisor.

After successful quiz submission, it takes 24 hours or more to update your academic records. The 24 hour period excludes weekends and holidays. After your academic records are updated, you should be able register for eCore classes using your Banner Web access.

5) Register for classes

Upon successfully passing the orientation quiz you will receive an email from Mr. Terry Hamilton, Macon State College’s eCore advisor.  

You can self-register for eCore course(s) through Banner Web just as you would for any class offered at Macon State College. However, to self-register you MUST have passed the Orientation Quiz with a grade of 80 or better AND all Banner Web Holds must be satisfied. If you have any Banner Web Holds, your academic advisor is authorized to register you for eCore classes. Students who have CPS Deficiencies or are in Learning Support cannot be registered for eCore classes.

You must have satisfied all of the prerequisites for the eCore course. Prerequisite information can be found using this eCore web page: http//ecore.usg.edu/courses/description.php

Please check with your academic advisor should you have any questions about eCore courses and your school's core curriculum requirements.

6) Tuition

The tuition for eCore classes is different from the tuition charged for on-campus courses.

Current information on eCore tuition can be found at http://www.maconstate.edu/businessoffice/eTuition.aspx

Financial Aid is available for eCore classes just as it is available for on-campus courses.  Please visit the Financial Aid Office webpage at  http://www.maconstate.edu/finaid/default.aspx for additional information.

You should contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions.

7) Purchase your textbooks

The list of textbooks and required materials for each course can be found at http://ecore.usg.edu/courses/textbooks.php.   The required textbooks for eCore courses may be different from the ones used in regular Macon State College courses.

The textbooks and other course materials can only be purchased through the eCore bookstore, the MBS Direct Bookstore (http://bookstore.mbsdirect.net/ecore.htm).

Currently financial aid is not an accepted payment method for eCore textbooks and course materials.  Please check with your financial aid office to determine if you can be reimbursed for any of your eCore textbooks and course materials.

8) Start the class

Approximately 2 weeks prior to the beginning of each new term, registered students should receive a letter from the central eCore office. The letter will be sent via your Macon State College email address. The letter that you should receive will include very important information such as how to buy books, how to get help, and how and when to logon.

If you do not receive this letter, please contact your eCore Advisor at ecore@maconstate.edu.
Please note: Students cannot logon to their courses until the official first-day of class. Although you will be unable to access your course(s) until the first day of class, you will be able to access your MyGeorgiaView page as well as the Student Guide to eCore, so go ahead and log in to be certain that your username and password work.

If you added a course during late registration or drop/add, you will receive an eCore letter through your Macon State College email account within 24 hours after your registration date. If you do not receive this letter please contact your eCore Advisor at ecore@maconstate.edu  to have another letter emailed to you.

On the first day of class you can login to eCore directly by going to the eCore login page at https://ecore.view.usg.edu.

Lost Password: If you have lost your GOML/eCore password, this link will assist you in retrieving your password at the time you registered for an eCore class: Password Lookup

Usernames: Your username is the official email address provided to eCore by your home institution.
Example: If your official email is joe.doe@maconstate.edu, that is your username.

Passwords: Your initial password is your 8-digit birthday, without dashes or spaces, in mmddyyyy format.
Example: You were born on October 15, 1987 - so your initial password would be 10151987.

9) Important Deadlines

The eCore academic calendar can be found at http://ecore.usg.edu/courses/calendar.php.

The Business Office deadlines (payment deadlines) can be found at http://www.maconstate.edu/businessoffice/tuition.aspx

10) Drop/Add and Withdrawals

• After classes begin, typically for a four-day period, students may adjust their schedules with a refund for each course dropped and no grades awarded.   For the Spring 2011 semester, eCore classes can be added or dropped anytime during the eCore  Drop/Add period - January 10 through January 14.  During this period, students may totally drop or cancel their eCore registrations by notifying the Macon State College Registrar brenda.hogan@maconstate.edu.

• Macon State College eCore students desiring to withdraw from one or more eCore classes after the drop/add period and before the midpoint of the term may do so by completing the online eCore withdrawal form.  After doing so, the student will be assigned a grade of "W" for those course(s).   While a grade of "W" does not count in the student's cumulative grade point average, it does count in attempted hours for financial aid purposes and could affect a student's eligibility for aid if there are repeated withdrawals.  The withdrawal deadline for the Fall 2010 semester is October 13.  Students who withdraw after the deadline will receive a grade of “WF” for the course.

To withdraw from an eCore class, students must complete the eCore withdrawal form available at             http://ecore.usg.edu/students/withdraw/msc_policy.php.   The eCore withdrawal information will then be forwarded to the Macon State Registrar.     

11) Proctored exams and testing

Exams in eCore classes work differently than exams in traditional, on-campus classes, because they require you to plan and schedule appointments at a testing center.

Information about exams and testing can be found at http://ecore.usg.edu/exams/.

The instructions you are to follow should your exams be proctored can be found at http://ecore.usg.edu/exams/student_instruct.php.

The Macon State College testing center is one of the approved testing sites.  Contact information for the center is below.

Approved Testing Sites

Name	Email	Phone	Address
Terry Hamilton Academic Testing Center	terry.hamilton@maconstate.edu.	(478) 471-2050	100 College Station Dr. Macon, GA 31206

BSIT Online

The Online Bachelor of Science in Information Technology provides students with knowledge in the core information technologies and builds on that knowledge to create professionals who meet the business and economic needs of Central Georgia. The program is designed to produce graduates with a diversified set of skills, roles, and experiences including knowledge in areas such as:

• Information Assurance & Security
• Network Technologies and Administration
• Integrated Digital Media
• Software Development
• Information Technology Management
• Gaming Design and Development

These knowledge areas will prepare our graduates for careers in a range of organizations, from small to large.  The courses in the program also emphasize critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making, and interpersonal and communication skills.  Career success through lifelong learning and professional development is emphasized at all levels of the curriculum.

Check out the School of Information Technology for more information about the BSIT Online.

The mission of the Office of Distance Education is to manage and support all distance education, hybrid, and partially online courses and programs offered at Macon State College. In compliance with federal, state, and accreditation guidelines the Office of Distance Education will facilitate learning and teaching through effective implementation of various and innovative pedagogical, technological, and administrative practices in distance education and online learning. These efforts support Macon State College’s commitment to quality education and student success through excellence and innovation in teaching. Please feel free to contact us to discuss how online learning at Macon State College can possibly help you reach your academic goals!

Neil J. Rigole, Ph.D.
Director of Distance Education
Office of Academic Affairs
Room A-119
neil.rigole@maconstate.edu
478-471-5760