How to: Thrive in Your Online Classes - PDFIn response to the uncertainty of many variables associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Elgin Community College has made the difficult decision to convert the majority of face-to-face courses for the fall 2020 semester to online courses. Specialized lab courses, where the face-to-face component is essential, will be offered on campus but may also include online learning.
Based on the conversion of most courses to online courses, the college is working diligently to update and finalize the fall 2020 course schedule. Students will be able to view schedule updates for face-to-face courses converted to online courses by Thursday, July 2, 2020. We are also finalizing details on how on-campus specialized lab courses will be conducted to ensure the health and safety of students and instructors. In the event a course includes any instruction on campus, the on-campus instruction will be scheduled to complete by the Thanksgiving break. The remainder of the on-campus course may continue online, however. Course schedule updates for students enrolled in on-campus specialized lab-based courses will be completed by July 20, 2020, to the extent possible.
ECC will continue to deliver a high-quality academic experience for students enrolled in online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. For clarity, some definitions may be useful:
- Online: Most classes will be offered fully online. Some will be asynchronous classes—with no live instruction or scheduled meeting times. Others will be synchronous, with some live, scheduled online interaction.
- Hybrid: Coursework requiring an essential face-to-face component, such as on-campus lab work, will blend online learning with in-classroom instruction.
- Face-to-face: A small number of courses that do not lend themselves to online delivery may be held fully on-campus.
Students who will be enrolled in online and hybrid courses should review ECC’s Distance Learning department’s web pages for related resources and information.
Student Resources
- Distance Learning Orientation
- How to: Thrive in Your Online Classes - PDF
- D2L Student Video Tutorials
- Professional E-mail Etiquette Guidelines
- Tutoring
- Study Labs (The Write Place and Math Lab)
- Remote Hub
For the fall semester, students will need to be equipped and prepared with the necessary technology, such as a laptop or Chromebook, and access to the Internet. If a student notifies you that they do not have access to these resources and need assistance, please recommend they contact the Library Circulation Desk at circdesk@elgin.edu for Chromebook requests and deanofstudentservices@elgin.edu for Wi-Fi hotspots.
The college will continue to provide student-centered and engaging remote (and in some cases, on-campus) support services and programming to meet the needs of all students.