New Student Distance Education and Blackboard Information
Welcome to Augusta Tech! At some point during your enrollment here, you will take a distance education class. Grades, assignments, announcements, and other course information for most Distance Education classes will be on Blackboard Den.
We offer a variety of class types to meet your scheduling and learning preferences.
Class types:
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Campus (CA) – classes meet on campus for most contact hours and use Blackboard Den for some content and assignments. No Badge required.
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Blended (BL) – classes meet on campus or at a specific time online for a portion of the contact hours, but most teaching content and assignments are asynchronous in Blackboard Den. Students are required to participate in both the synchronous and the asynchronous portions. Badge required.
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Online Asynchronous (OA) – classes are fully online. There are no required live meetings. Due dates are weekly. Exams or other proctored assignments will use webcams, lockdown browsers, or other methods of verifying identity. Badge is required.
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OWL – online classes, as above, but students have the option to attend a lecture once a week. Badge is required.
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Online Synchronous (OS) - classes are fully online. Live meetings are required on days and times scheduled in Banner. Exams or other proctored assignments will use webcams, lockdown browsers, or other methods of verifying identity. Badge is required.
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ECampus – online classes, either synchronous or asynchronous as above, but through a different Blackboard link.
Badge: Badge is a training course that introduces students to policies and technologies used for online courses at Augusta Tech. Badge takes 2-3 hours to complete. There is no charge for Badge. You must register for courses before you can take Badge Training. You must complete Badge Training before the first week of the semester ends. It is preferable if you complete Badge Training before the semester starts.
To register for Badge, go to Blackboard Den and self enroll. Use your Smartweb user name and password to log in.
Online Course Procedures:
- Make sure you use the right link: Blackboard Den or eCampus (a schedule example is here: https://www.augustatech.edu/academics/blackboard-ecampus.cms)
- Your courses will appear under Course List on the first day of class. ECampus course dates may vary: check your schedule.
- You are responsible for protecting your privacy and academic security. Do not share passwords or personal identification information.
First Week: Log into Blackboard and get started right away. Do not wait for your instructor to contact you. You need to submit your weekly assignments to establish attendance to remain enrolled in online class(es), so prompt attention is important.
Drop/Add period: If you add a course during drop/add period, email your instructor to let him or her know you are joining the class late. If you withdraw from a class and still see it in your Blackboard course list, email distanceed@augustatech.edu to have the course removed.
Instructor Contact: You will have access to instructors by e-mail or by appointment with the instructor on campus or web conference. Maintaining contact with your instructor is important for successful completion of a distance education course. You will find your instructor’s contact information once you are in the course.
Proctored Assignments: Online students are required to attend at least one proctored event, such as a final exam, for each course. Students will have to provide a picture ID to the instructor at the time of the proctored event(s). There are no additional fees associated with the identification process. Students will take their proctored events at the campus of their instructor (Blended courses only), through a video submission, or using a Lockdown browser. The Lockdown browser download will be available in the class. Students without download capabilities may use the library computers, by appointment, for tests requiring Lockdown browser. Contact your instructor if you have a transient status. Transient students must complete the Proctoring Form located in their course. Students will be responsible for any fees associated with an outside proctoring site. Students who do not submit the proctored assignment are not eligible for a passing grade in an online class.
Technical Support: If you are experiencing problems with Badge or Blackboard, please complete the Help Form on the Login page of Blackboard or visit the Success Center
Withdrawal Procedure: Use Smartweb to drop the course. Continue to check your Banner schedule in Smartweb to be sure that you have been withdrawn.
An online course is one delivered over the Internet using web pages, e-mail, online discussion forums, etc. Augusta Technical College offers a selection of full-credit college courses over the Internet as a flexible alternative to traditional, on-campus classes. Augusta Tech uses the Blackboard learning platform to deliver online, hybrid and web-enhanced courses.
Online courses cover the same content as their traditional counterparts on campus. Class sizes are limited so that instructors can provide the same level of personal interactions as they do in the traditional classroom. This personal interaction is accomplished using e-mail, online discussion forums and other technologies available to instructors and students
Students "attend" online courses by accessing the class web pages and completing assignments according to the class schedule. Students communicate regularly with the instructor and classmates via e-mail and online discussion forums.
Augusta Technical College's online courses are not self-paced, independent study courses. Students are required to complete assignments according to the class schedule, to maintain regular contact with the instructor, and to participate in online class discussions.
Taking a course over the Internet requires the ability to work independently and to devise your own regular schedule for "attending" class and completing assignments. Badge Training is required prior to registration for an online course. In Badge, you will be able to determine whether you have the skills and temperate necessary to thrive online.
A desktop or laptop computer with reliable internet access. Blackboard has an app for viewing classes on a mobile device, but tests and assignments must be done on a computer. Note: Some courses may have additional hardware/software requirements. Please contact the instructors of each course listing for special requirements.
All courses require at least 1, and up to 3, proctored events on-campus. Out of state students may request to have events proctored at a testing center in that state.
You are required to keep up with the class schedule and to complete assignments before specified due dates. Some classes may have several due dates each week; others may require work once per week. You can choose the time of day or night you want to log on to the Internet to work on an assignment, but you must complete it and submit it by the specified date and time.
After you have completed Badge, use the dynamic schedule in Smartweb to register. The instructions for the dynamic schedule are located in the left sidebar.
Online courses cost the same as traditional Augusta Technical College courses -- they are priced according to the number of credit hours. Credit hours are listed in the catalogue for each class.
NOTICE: Some online/hybrid courses use books that require an "Access Key." This Access Key is ONLY available with new books, or purchased directly from the publisher. It is your responsibility to check with the instructor of your online course to determine if the course will require an Access Key. Please do this before you purchase your books for online/hybrid classes.