E-Learning

E-Learning Mission Statement

East Mississippi Community College seeks to provide eLearning opportunities for its district’s constituents who are unable, for a variety of reasons, to attend classes on one of the College’s campuses. The eLearning opportunities meet all quality standards set forth for traditional off-campus courses to carry out the mission of the College.

E-Learning Goals

• To provide quality educational offerings
• To provide students with greater access to higher education resources
• To reduce focus on place and time restraints for delivery of educational services
• To provide educational/student services equal in content and quality to traditional educational/student services
• To provide opportunities within the courses offered via eLearning for student/faculty interaction
• To ensure comparability to traditional on-campus classes through systematic planning and evaluation

EMCC is an active participant in the Mississippi Virtual Community College (MSVCC), an online effort of 15 public Mississippi Community Colleges, and has approved all MSVCC courses as an addendum to courses listed in the EMCC catalog.

Faculty and students participating in eLearning courses interact through phone, e-mail, discussion board, voice board, podcasts and/or chat rooms. These courses meet the same educational requirements as the traditional classroom in a more flexible format.

In order to be awarded a degree from EMCC, a student must meet the graduation requirements as defined in the EMCC catalog for the student’s chosen emphasis. Admission/registration requirements for eLearning courses are maintained at the same rate as the traditional classes.

Prior to registering for an eLearning course, EMCC recommends that students visit the eLearning web site at http://www.eastms.edu/programs/distance-learning/ for important information. EMCC provides advisors to assist the student to determine if eLearning is a viable alternative.

Minimum Requirements of Online Classes

Students must have a computer with a reliable connection to the internet, reflective of current technology. Students must be computer competent and learn to interact using the Canvas medium and various common software packages. Before registering for an online class, a student must have a working email address. Students are discouraged from taking online courses if they do not have daily access to a computer.

E-Learning Tuition and Fees

In addition to usual fees and costs associated with online courses, there is a $30 per course fee for each online class per term. Currently, there are no additional student charges associated with verification of student identity for students enrolled in distance education. Should future changes warrant the addition of additional student charges associated with verification of student identity, the procedure will require fees to be disclosed to the student at the time of enrollment as part of the current catalog.

After the student is registered and fees have been paid, the student must take the student profile to the bookstore for placing book orders. In the event of a textbook delay, the student should notify the instructor of the course.

Textbook Information

EMCC Students taking courses originating at EMCC:

Most EMCC online courses will use an eBook. Students can access their eBook(s) by logging into Canvas. More information for accessing your eBook will be posted in the course by your instructor. Students must be in possession of the text-book during the first week of class in classes where a textbook is required. Unapproved or late financial aid is not a reason for not purchasing the book. Students who are taking classes offered through the Mississippi Virtual Community College site, originating at EMCC and taught by an EMCC instructor, can make purchases at either bookstore or order by phone through the Golden Triangle campus bookstore. Phone orders require payment by Visa, Master Card, money order, or personal check. Orders placed with a Visa or MasterCard are shipped immediately via priority mail. Priority mail is guaranteed through the postal service for arrival in 2-3 days. Orders placed with a money order or check are processed and shipped upon receipt of the check or money order. Textbooks can be shipped for an additional shipping and handling charge per book. Textbooks may also be shipped via UPS at the student’s request. EMCC students wishing to have their bookstore charges billed to their account may do so by presenting a bookstore credit slip issued from the business office showing sufficient financial aid.

EMCC Students taking courses originating from another College:

EMCC students taking classes offered through MSVCC that another college teaches can purchase their books through the EMCC GT campus bookstore using either financial aid, cash, or a credit card. Students must take their student profile to the EMCC bookstore to place their order for books. Books ordered from other colleges are not eligible for EMCC’s book buy-back. Please verify with your instructor if the course utilizes an EBook before purchasing a textbook.

Non-EMCC Students taking courses originating from EMCC:

Students registered at other colleges taking classes offered through the Mississippi Virtual Community College site and taught by an EMCC instructor may call the EMCC Golden Triangle bookstore and place an order for the required text using their Visa, MasterCard, or money order. Orders placed with a Visa or MasterCard are shipped immediately via priority mail. Priority mail is guar-anteed through the postal service for arrival in 2-3 days. Orders placed with a money order are processed and shipped upon receipt of the money order. EMCC is not able to charge financial aid for non-EMCC students. Textbooks can be shipped for an additional shipping and handling charge.

Placing an order for shipment of books for courses originating at EMCC:

To have your order shipped to you, please call the EMCC Golden Triangle Bookstore at (662) 243-1940. Please have the following information available: Your name, ID number, ISBN number, credit card or financial aid information, and shipping address.

Login Information

Students will be able to login to their online classes the day that the online classes are scheduled to begin.

To access Canvas, log on to LEO and select the link that says Canvas.

If you registered for a class that is not showing in your Canvas listing of classes or have difficulty logging in, please send an email to elearning@eastms.edu.

Students must log into their online classes during the first week of class.

Attendance Policy for Online Classes

All students are expected to attend and participate in class and submit assignments on a regular basis, at least weekly. Attendance is taken regularly and will depend on the term. The frequency and method of attendance will be noted in the syllabus. eLearning students are subject to EMCC’s excessive absence policy. If a student is considered absent by the instructor the student will accrue one absence. Students are encouraged to read all the course policies to ensure they are aware of the number of unexcused absences allowed. Students in full-term classes will be dropped after accruing three unexcused absences. Students in intensive online classes will be dropped after accruing two unexcused absences.

Online Testing Information

Students taking an online course may be required to take one, two, or three proctored exams. The student is responsible for making an appointment with a designated proctor at an approved testing location for taking any proctored exam. Appoint-ments must be made in advance. All scheduling at any East Mississippi Community College campus will be done through our proctoring scheduling software. Students must schedule exams at least 48 hours in advance.

EMCC students taking MSVCC online courses can test at any of the approved MSVCC testing sites in the state (all 15 com-munity colleges will have testing sites). If you wish to schedule a proctored exam at another location other than EMCC, you will need to contact that specific school to schedule the exam.

If you are an EMCC student who does not reside in Mississippi and need to schedule an outside proctor, please view the Off-Site/Out-of-State page on Canvas for information. Any proctored location other than the 15 community colleges in Missis-sippi must be approved by the eLearning office well in advance of scheduling the exam. It is recommended you do this at the beginning of the semester. In addition to testing at an approved testing site, students can use the proctoring at-home testing software.

EMCC students can test at home by using the online proctoring service. Online proctoring service allows students to take their exams from their homes’ comfort at no charge. Students do not need to create an account, download software, or sched ule an appointment in advance. These services are available 24/7, and all that is required is a computer, webcam/microphone, stable internet connection, and your EMCC ID or Government Issued ID.

If there are any questions regarding proctoring, please send an email to elearning@eastms.edu.

Withdrawal Procedure

Students who wish to withdraw from a class or all classes will be required to obtain a Student Initiated Withdrawal form from the advising center, advising@eastms.edu or the registrar’s office, during the withdrawal period (noted in the EMCC catalog/calendar). Students will be required to complete the form and have their advisor/counselor sign/approve the withdrawal. The student is required to return the completed form to advising@eastms.edu for processing, before the withdrawal period ends. A withdrawal fee of $10.00 per course will automatically be processed on the student’s account at the time of processing. Students are not withdrawn from class(es) unless the completed form is returned to the Office of the Registrar for processing.

MSVCC Grievance Policies

Students who register through the MSVCC will be subject to the disciplinary policies and procedures of the student’s host College. (The host College is the institution where the student registers for the class.)

Any student who wishes to make a complaint regarding any aspect of the MSVCC must take the following steps:

1. Discuss the problem with the faculty member, staff member, or administrator involved. Direct communication between the parties usually resolves most of the problems.
2. If informal efforts to resolve the problem are not productive, the complainant should then contact the eLearning Coordinator (eLC) at the student’s host College to help in processing the complaint. (Host college is the institution where the student registers for class.)
3. If the complainant, at this point, wishes to file a formal complaint, he or she should express the specific nature of the complaint and the remedy sought in writing to the providing College’s eLC with a copy sent to the host College’s eLC (if different). The providing eLC will then refer it to the appropriate person for disposition. A response will be made to the complainant within 15 working days. (The providing College is the institution teaching the course.)
4. If the student is not satisfied with the resolution of the grievance, that student must follow the procedures prescribed by the student’s providing College in writing. This appeal must be made within five working days.
5. Students who do not submit a written appeal by the appointed date forfeit any further consideration in this matter.
6. No adverse action will be taken against a student for filing a complaint.