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VSU ONLINE

Technology is an important component of many Valdosta State University courses; all VSU students should expect to use technology at some point during their college careers. In fact, one of VSU’s General Education Outcomes is that students will use computer and information technology when appropriate

  1. What is BlazeVIEW?
  2. What is an online course?
  3. What are some of the advantages of online courses?
  4. In Banner, how can a student tell if a course is online?
  5. What are the special requirements for online courses?
  6. What is eTuition?

What is BlazeVIEW?

VSU uses BlazeVIEW (WebCT Vista 8) as the course management system to provide online content for courses.  Through BlazeVIEW, instructors may put some course materials (such as syllabi and readings) online, utilize discussion boards, and even set up and grade assignments.  Many VSU classes will use some of the features of BlazeVIEW, and some courses will be completely online.  For fall semester 2009, VSU students can choose from over 200 fully online course sections.

What is an online course?

An online course is one in which the students are geographically separated from the instructor for 95% or more of class time. (Some online courses may require attendance for one or two face-to-face meetings; proctored examinations at an approved testing site may also be required.)  Although online courses may not meet in a classroom, the web-based format allows students to interact with the instructor and other students through e-mail, chatrooms, and online discussion boards.  Course content, notes, assignments, projects, and grades are often posted on web pages.

What are some of the advantages of online courses?

Online courses allow you to be more flexible with your time.  Although these classes do have scheduled assignments just as face-to-face classes do, they generally do not have regular meeting times, so you can complete these assignments at times (and places) best suited to your schedule.

In Banner, how can a student tell if a course is online?

 All VSU online courses are designated on the Banner course registration system with an “I” in the section code, “IA”, “IB,” etc., and the campus building code is marked as “ONLINE”. eCore courses will be designated as 01G, 02G, etc. while GOML (Georgia OnMyLine) courses are designated Y01, Y02, etc.

What are the special requirements for online courses?

Appropriate equipment and computer experience: To take an online course, you must have a computer with Internet access or be willing to travel to utilize a computer in the campus computer labs.

Computer:  You will need access to a Windows PC or Apple computer.  PC computers will need the Windows 2000, XP, or Windows Vista operating system. Apple computers will need the MacOS X 10.3.9 or higher. 

Internet Service Provider (ISP):  A connection to the Internet is required to use BlazeVIEW. A high-speed Internet connection (cable modem, DSL, or LAN) is strongly recommended. Performance may suffer over dialup, especially for those courses with audio and/or video components.

Browser: In order for your online experience to be successful, your Internet browser must be approved for use with BlazeVIEW and configured properly. 

To test your computer’s ability to run BlazeVIEW, go to http://www.valdosta.edu/vista/GettingStarted.shtml  and use the Browser Checker.

You will need some experience navigating and using the Internet. Knowing how to attach document files to email and word processing skills are important in an online course environment.  While previous experience with distance learning is not required, it is recommended that you view the BlazeVIEW tutorials , before you start  your first online course. To access the tutorials, login to BlazeVIEW and click the link for
BlazeVIEW Tutorials for Students.

What is eTuition?

The decision to take an online course where more than 95% of instruction time occurs via the Internet will affect your tuition rate. These courses have a different tuition rate known as eTuition. 

This eTuition rate is the same whether you are an in-state or out-of-state student.  eTuition rates are not part of the “fixed for four” guaranteed tuition rate.  In addition, there is no maximum tuition cap for fully online courses. However, these courses are still competitively priced with other available online courses. eTuition rate charges are covered by the Hope scholarship and by financial aid.

eTuition for Undergraduates

eTuition for Graduate Students