General Information for Online Students
Taking an Online Course
An online course provides students with flexibility by replacing face-to-face traditional classes with engaging online instructional activities. An online course requires that students work in an asynchronistic environment, where students will need to:
- Manage their time effectively and efficiently;
- Take increased responsibility of their learning;
- Be willing to seek help from instructors when needed;
- Regularly log into the online course;
- Fully engage in all aspects of the online environment;
- Be self-motivated;
- Be willing to learn independently.
In addition to the above, students should also ensure that they have a quiet learning space for completing their online work and collaborating with others in a virtual environment. Students should own their own computers meeting the minimum technology requirements as stipulated below.
Internet Skills
An online student should be able to:
- Send and receive e-mail
- Open an attachment to a message
- Find a Web page using its address or URL
- Follow links from one web page to another
- Use the forward and backward buttons on the browser
- Print a web page
- Bookmark pages to access them later
- Use a search engine on the Internet (e.g., Yahoo!, Google, etc.)
- Download documents or software from the Internet
- Upload documents
Software & Hardware Requirements
- Windows 10
- Microsoft Office 2013 or “Office 2016 Home & Student” installed.
- 2 GHz or faster CPU
- 8GB or more RAM
- 200 GB or larger hard drive
- Internet Speed of 20 Mbps or Faster
- Speakers
- Microphone
- An e-mail address (preferably the college email address that was issued to you)
- A Web-Cam
Some courses may have additional requirements. Instructors will give students more Information.
Students must complete an assessment in their student orientation to verify they have the required hardware and software.
Accessing Online Courses
Life University online courses are administered through the Blackboard Learning Management System.
Students can submit an IT request to LIFE’s Information Technology department if they are experiencing issues accessing their online courses. The IT request form can be found via the Life University Website. Blackboard support can also be contacted by emailing blackboardsupport@life.edu.
Online Student Orientation
All new online students are required to complete DEO 100 Distance Education Orientation for Students in Blackboard by the end of week two of the first quarter students are enrolled in courses at Life University. Students will earn a Certificate of Accomplishment upon completion of the course. This certificate should be scanned and sent to Shanika Turner, Digital Learning Program Coordinator, via e-mail at shanika.turner@life.edu. Failure to fulfill this requirement as described above will result in deregistration for the quarter.
Online De-Registration Policy
*This policy has been revised since the publication of this catalog. Please see Catalog Addenda for further information and details*
Students will be notified of de-registration on Wednesday of week two with the actual de- registration notification sent to Registrar and Financial Aid at the end of the day on Monday of week three. (Actual de-registration will then occur on Tuesday of week three due to system batching.)
Students may register for an online offering through Friday of week one; Blackboard batch for enrollment takes 24-hours. Students in this situation will need to be advised to participate academically by Monday of week three.
Faculty will receive notification of pending re-registration by student/course on Wednesday of week two. A final notification will be sent to faculty by student/course at the end of the day on Monday of week three.
ProctorU
Some undergraduate and graduate online courses will use ProctorU for student authentication in test-tasking. Student will be directly responsible for a fee for this proctoring service. Additional information on ProctorU and its use will be found in individual online course(s).
Student Complaints
Process for Student Complaint about an Institution Operating under SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement)
If a student/consumer feels an issue was not resolved satisfactorily at the highest level of the University, they may then file a complaint with the appropriate state agency.
Students/consumers residing outside of Georgia in a SARA state may file a complaint with the State of Georgia by contacting the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (http://gnpec.org/ga-sara/)
Figure 1. NC-SARA States
http://nc-sara.org/sara-states-institutions
Students/consumers residing outside of Georgia in a non-SARA state may file a complaint with the appropriate consumer protection agency in the state they live in. The following link displays the Complaint Resolution by State: http://www.life.edu/academic-pages/distance-education-complaint-process/
Department of Online Education
Dr. Richard M. Belcastro
Dean of Online and Continuing Education
Office: 678.331.4459
richard.belcastro@LIFE.edu
Shanika Turner
Digital Learning Program Coordinator
770.426.2695
Shanika.Turner@LIFE.edu
Online Degree Programs
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