Online Course Information

About eLearning

MSVCC Overview

The Mississippi Virtual Community College (MSVCC) is a consortium of Mississippi’s 15 community colleges that makes it possible for these colleges to leverage their eLearning resources – including faculty, courses, support services, and technology. Through the MSVCC, students may take courses from community colleges anywhere in Mississippi while getting support services from a local college. To take a course from a remote (provider) college, a student enrolls at a local (host) community college. The host college supports the student with a full slate of student services, including advisement and counseling, financial aid, and learning resources. The host college awards credit for the course. The remote (provider) college provides the course instruction.

MSVCC Mission

The mission of the Mississippi Virtual Community College is to provide educational opportunities to constituencies who live within the various community and junior college districts in Mississippi and to others beyond those boundaries. The mission includes providing access to instructional offerings through advanced technologies for those individuals who currently cannot take advantage of the offerings of the community and junior college through traditional means and to those individuals who are seeking alternative educational delivery systems.

MSVCC Rationale

College instruction has traditionally been offered to those individuals who appear at the door of an institution of higher learning, present some evidence of having met certain criteria for admission, complete the necessary forms, pay their money, meet classes at prescribed times, places, etc. There are many people in Mississippi who cannot attend college for various reasons of finance, travel, family constraints, work schedules, etc. In a number of cases these individuals are capable of improving their capability to earn a livelihood if provided access to higher education opportunities. There is a need to provide educational opportunities for individuals who cannot physically attend classes in accordance with time and place constraints as traditionally applied to the typical institution of higher learning. This need can be met to some level of satisfaction by offering courses and services by various means of distance learning.

MGCCC eLearning

What is eLearning?

eLearning is defined, for the purposes of accreditation review, as a formal educational process in which the majority of the instruction occurs when student and instructor are not in the same place. eLearning affords learners the opportunity to take a course anytime and anywhere. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous. Distance education may employ correspondence study, audio, video, or computer technologies.

Goals and Objectives

The MGCCC eLearning department helps fulfill the college’s vision of delivering world-class education by:

• Providing accessible, convenient, affordable, and flexible education to fit the busy lifestyles of learners and their families
• Providing learning opportunities for learners unable to attend traditional on-campus courses
• Utilizing appropriate technologies to meet the needs of a diverse community

Delivery Methods

Online
Online courses are courses that are offered through the Mississippi Virtual Community College (MSVCC) consortium. These courses are offered entirely online, usually with no campus component, using the Canvas platform. All online courses require at least one proctored exam that will require the learner to go to the campus or to a college approved location that can provide a proctor to take an exam.

Hyflex
Hyflex is a course design model that presents the components of hybrid learning (which combines face-to-face with online learning) in a flexible course structure that gives students the option of attending sessions in the classroom, participating online, or doing both.

Hybrid
Hybrid courses are a blending of the traditional face-to-face courses with an online component. In this format, learners complete a portion of the course online using the Canvas platform and then only meet on campus as outlined in the college tabloid.

Web Enhanced
Web enhanced classes are classes that meet regularly on campus, like the traditional face-to-face classes, but contain an online component as an additional classroom resource.

Contacting MGCCC eLearning

General Information about Online Courses

Availability of Online Courses

A complete list of online courses offered through the MSVCC can be found at https://sbcjcweb.sbcjc.cc.ms.us/ET/SelfService/default.aspx.  MGCCC students may only enroll in online courses that have counterparts in the MGCCC catalog. All MSVCC courses are not offered by MGCCC, because some courses do not have counterparts in the MGCCC catalog and/or not equivalent to MGCCC courses.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College reserves the right to change instructors, change class schedules, and cancel courses due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen circumstances.

Student Email Addresses

All MGCCC students will be provided an OFFICIAL email address that is required to be used for online classes. Please note that all college correspondence will be sent to students’ official email accounts.

Registration Confirmation

The eLearning department will send all MGCCC students registered for online classes an email, to their official college email account, confirming registration and providing instructions for getting started.  If a student does not receive confirmation prior to the start of the term, the student should call eLearning at 228-897-3863.

Online Course Start Date

Students will not be able to access their courses until the first day of online classes. Courses will be taught in Canvas. Students who are enrolled in MSVCC Online Courses should check their MSVCC student profile prior to the start of class. The student profile can be accessed by visiting the eLearning website at https://mgccc.edu/elearning/. Use of username and password by anyone other than the registered student may be cause for dismissal from the course.

Textbooks

Many textbooks for MGCCC students, who are enrolled in MGCCC provided online courses, are on MGCCC book rental service. MGCCC students will be accessed a $15 per credit hour resource fee.  Additional MGCCC course materials such as CDs and lab manuals may be purchase items available in campus bookstores or online. To locate MGCCC book information in Web Services, login to Web Services, click Personal Information on the main menu and choose Display Course Book Information.

Note:  Rental books will not be shipped, and the resource fee is non-refundable.

MGCCC students enrolling in online courses provided by other colleges should go to http://sbcjcweb.sbcjc.cc.ms.us/ET/SelfService/Signin.aspx and check their student profile for textbook information for the course. Textbooks for courses offered by other colleges are purchase items. Please go to https://mgccc.edu/elearning/ and click on the Textbook Information link for information on how to obtain purchase item textbooks.

Fees

There is a non-refundable online course fee of $15 per credit hour for online courses in addition to tuition costs. For example, the fee for a three-hour online course is $15 x 3 hours or $45.

Technical Assistance

Students and Faculty have access to 24/7/365 Canvas technical support.

Questions dealing with course content or course assignments will be referred to the course instructor. Questions dealing with other aspects of college life will be referred to the appropriate offices.

To provide the best service possible and quicker resolution to your problem, please provide the information outlined below when contacting your instructor and/or technical support:

• Your first and last name
• Your student ID number (M#)
• The course name and number for which you require assistance
• A detailed description of the problem for which you require assistance

Pre-requisites for Courses

All students must meet pre-requisite requirements as outlined in the college catalog.

Computers for Online Courses

MGCCC does not provide dedicated computers for students to use to access online courses. The college recommends that students provide their own computers. The college is not responsible for technical problems that students may have with computers used to access their online courses.

Canvas Smartphone App

eLearning continues to receive reports of issues with the Canvas Smartphone App.  The mobile app can cause issues with submitting assignments.  We strongly discourage using the app for submitting any graded activity, whether it be a discussion, quiz, or assignment.  The best solution is to use a computer rather than a mobile device; however, if your only option is a mobile device, please be sure to access Canvas using Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. The college is not responsible for technical problems that students may have with mobile devices used to access their online courses.

Internet Access

Students will need to have their own Internet Service Provider to access their course site. The College is not responsible for technical problems that students may experience with their Internet Service provider.

Attendance

MSVCC defines attendance in online courses as active participation in course learning activities.

The attendance policy for each online course is determined by the course instructor and/or the college hosting the course. To access a course you must login to Canvas and click the name of the course in which you are enrolled.

Students who wish to drop or withdraw from a class that has already begun must email their course instructor to request a withdrawal.

Outline of Online Key Semester Tasks

Prior to Semester Tasks:

1. Complete eLearnReady Assessment
2. Join the MGCCC Student Resources Course (FREE) - https://mgccc.instructure.com/enroll/AKYEMK
3. Check official MGCCC student email account
4. Check MSVCC Student Profile (MSVCC “away” courses only)
5. Obtain your textbooks
6. Email course instructor
7. Explore the eLearning web site
8. Contact Business Office/Financial to make payment arrangements for current term (payment plans/fee deferments are not provided during the summer term)

Beginning of Semester Tasks:

1. Login to your online course
2. Read course announcements
3. Familiarize yourself with the course outline/organization
4. Locate course syllabus and become familiar with course policies
5. Locate course calendar and make note of due dates
6. Complete tasks outlined by the course instructor

Mid-Semester Tasks:

1. Verify what quiz/test will be proctored
2. Schedule proctored exam

End of Semester Tasks:

1. Complete evaluation for course/instructor
2. Return book service textbooks to the campus book store

Guide to Completing Key Semester Tasks

eLearnReady Assessment

eLearnReady is a free assessment tool that is used to determine a student’s readiness for online course work. The survey consists of a total of 43 questions focusing in the areas of self-motivation, self-management, communication, interaction, and learning preferences.

MGCCC Students are encouraged to complete this assessment prior to registering for an online course; however, the assessment can be completed at any time. Your scores on this assessment will not prevent you from being able to take online courses; nor will your scores impact your grades in courses you may already be taking. eLearnReady is just being provided to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses better as you prepare to learn online.

This assessment takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. After completing the eLearnReady assessment, you will be provided a link with your survey results which includes easy to interpret graphs and text. The results will also be emailed to the email account that you provided during the survey.

How to get started with the eLearnReady Assessment:

1. Go to https://mgccc.edu/elearning/
2. Click Online Readiness Assessment
3. Click the “eLearnReady Assessment” link
4. Complete the 43 question survey
5. Review the analysis report:
   1. Click the provided link, or
   2. Check the email account provided within the survey

Student Resources Course

MGCCC’s Department of eLearning has developed an entire course devoted to Student Support!

The Canvas Support Course Includes:

• Policies & Procedures related to eLearning
• Guides for using Canvas
• Video Tutorials
• Contact information for student service groups

It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with Canvas!

To access the Student Resources Course, go to https://mgccc.edu/elearning/, click the “View eLearning Student Resources Course in Canvas.” Once logged in, click the link “Click here to enroll in the Full Student Resources Course,” click Enroll.

MGCCC Student Email

All MGCCC students will be provided an OFFICIAL email address that is required to be used for online classes. Please note that all college correspondence will be sent to your official email account.

1. Go to https://mgccc.edu/
2. Click the “My Gulf Coast” link, located in the top right side of the web page
3. Click Student Email
4. Click the “Can’t access your account?” or “Forgot my Password” link below the sign-in field         
5. Enter your student email address, if necessary
6. Follow the instructions to reset your password with one of the contact methods you configured during account enrollment
   *Students:  If your are unable to reset your account password using the instruction above, please contact the MGCCC Helpdesk at helpdesk@mgccc.edu or call toll free at 1-855-343-9165 for assistance.

MSVCC Student Profile

This step is only necessary if you are enrolled in an MSVCC “away” class that is offered by another college in the MSVCC Consortium.  See the “Schedule Notes” section below to determine if you are enrolled in an “away” class.  The MSVCC Student Profile will be available 24 hours after registering for an online course. Student’s should check their MSVCC Student Profile to ensure that their contact information is correct, retrieve your instructor’s contact information, and obtain textbook information.

To Access the MSVCC Student Profile:

1. Go to https://mgccc.edu
2. Click “My Gulf Coast”
3. Click “Online Course Information,” under Online Classes
4. Click “Check your MSVCC Student Profile” (for MSVCC away classes only)
5. Enter First and Last Name, select MGCCC, enter Student ID # (M#), choose Semester.
6. Click Access Profile
   (Contact the eLearning Office if your information is not correct)

Schedule Notes: 

• Courses taught by MGCCC instructors are considered “Local” and will be identified by BLDG: ONLINE and ROOM: ON-LINE

NOTE: “Local” course textbooks are available in the MGCCC bookstore.  Students should be sure to obtain the textbook prior to the start of the course.

• Courses taught by other colleges in the consortium are referred to as “Away” classes and will be identified by BLDG: ONLINE and ROOM: AWAY

NOTE: “Away” course textbooks are NOT available in the MGCCC bookstore; therefore, students will need to purchase the textbook shown on the MSVCC Student Profile from the “Away” college or through an online book provider.  Please be sure to obtain the textbook prior to the start of the course.

• Both “Local” and “Away” classes will be available in Canvas on the first day of the class.

eLearning Web Site

Students should familiarize themselves with the eLearning website. The eLearning website provides students with a list of frequently asked questions, links to student resources, and other tools for online learning. Access the website at https://mgccc.edu/eLearning/.

Login to Online Courses

STUDENTS MAY BE ABLE TO LOGIN TO CANVAS WITHIN 24 HOURS OF REGISTERING FOR COURSES, BUT YOU WILL NOT SEE YOUR COURSES UNTIL THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS.

New Users: Retrieve Username and Password

New Students and employees should follow the steps below to retrieve their login information:
 

1. Go to https://mgccc.edu/
2. Click the My Gulf Coast link which is located in the top right side of the web page
3. Under Online Classes, Click Canvas
4. Click the “Can’t access your account?” or “Forgot my Password” link below the sign-in field         
5. Enter your student email address, if necessary
6. Follow the instructions to reset your password with one of the contact methods you configured during account enrollment
   *Students: If your are unable to reset your account password using the instruction above, please contact the MGCCC Helpdesk at helpdesk@mgccc.edu or call toll free at 1-855-343-9165 for assistance.

Login:

1. Open your web browser
2. Go to https://mgccc.instructure.com/
3. Enter your login credentials
4. Click Login

Proctored Exams

MSVCC policy states that all MSVCC courses must require at least one (1) proctored exam and no more than three (3) proctored exams per course. A maximum of four (4) proctored exams may be required in four credit hour courses. Proctored exams are exams in which students have to come to campus to complete. MGCCC offers assessment centers at the three main campuses (Jackson County, Harrison County, and Perkinston) and the George County Center. Instructors will provide students with a list of what tests are proctored and deadlines for completing those tests. As soon as you are notified of what test(s) are proctored, you should schedule an exam through one of MGCCC’s Assessment Centers. Instructions for scheduling a proctored exam are provided in the MGCCC Student Resources Course. Students authorized to use off-site or virtual proctoring may be assessed a testing fee for site utilization. No fee is assessed to students enrolled in an online course when using a proctoring site on a Mississippi community/junior college campus.