Online Course Changes Fall 2007
A number of changes are being made in the UW- Consortium MBA program to serve students more effectively and efficiently. As a La Crosse/Oshkosh/Parkside student who takes online courses, these changes will impact YOU in a number of ways.
First, starting Fall Semester 2007, online courses will no longer be offered in partnership with Learning Innovations of Madison beginning with the fall semester. Learning Innovations has served us from the beginning as a technology partner; now, due to the success of the program, the Consortium will handle the technology aspects of the program ourselves. What does that mean to you:
- You will have a new username and password for online Consortium classes. These will be emailed to you at the address your school provides to us about two weeks before your first fall class.
- You will have several new contacts for tech support. (email fransojl@uwec.edu or call 888-832-7090; after hours email d2l@uwsa.edu or call 608-264-HELP (4357); toll free 888-435-7589). You can also use the problem report form at http://helpdesk.wisc.edu/d2l/auto_case.php
- Your online courses will appear on a different server (you will still access them through http://www.wisconsinonlinemba.org/students/). We want you to use this access route so that you see any news items we've posted for you.
- You will have a new bookstore and a new ordering method. Your materials will come through the UW-EC Bookstore, operated by Barnes and Noble. You can order your materials online at http://www.campusstores.com/uwec/index.asp.
All information will appear on the Consortium website at (http://www.wisconsinonlinemba.org/students/) as the Fall semester nears.
Second, you will be requested to use your campus email address. Efforts on our part to track and update students' other addresses often result in information going astray. While we will continue to use whatever address your campus provides to us, it is preferable that you use your campus address since that will remain consistent throughout your time in the program.
Third, you will receive all your information for class start up, etc. via email at the email address provided to us by your campus. We will no longer send hard copies through the U.S. mail.
Fourth, you will not be allowed to take more than 6 credits/semester unless you are a full time student beginning with Fall 2007. This decision was made after considering overall performance, late work issues and requests for extensions among those students attempting to carry 6 or more credits/semester. Requests for exceptions must be submitted in writing to the MBA office and must provide a case why more than 6 credits should be allowed. "Because it will allow me to graduate this term" will not be sufficient.
Fifth, you will be expected to have Microsoft Office 2007. As indicated on the Consortium website since mid-May:
On May 21st, the UW-EC campus converted to Microsoft Office 2007. What does this mean to you?
- Any documents created by your Consortium classmates or instructors in this product will not automatically open if you are using Office 2003 or older.
- There is a downloadable converter available at Converter BUT it can take over an hour to download and you'll still have old software.
- We expect you to upgrade to Office 2007 by the start of your Fall classes.
- As UW students, you can purchase Office 2007 for $89.00 through Wisconsin Integrated Software Catalog
We believe everything is in place for a smooth and efficient transition. But the best laid plans cannot always anticipate everything. If there are any issues relating to your online classes that arise, please let us know so that we can deal with them (888-832-7090).
Robert Erffmeyer, Director (erffmerc@uwec.edu)
Marilyn Bergmann, Coordinator (bergmama@uwec.edu)
Jan Stewart, Assistant (stewarjm@uwec.edu)
