<p>My S is taking his Spring semester abroad. Four of his five courses are being taught in location. The fifth, an econ course, is being taken online.</p>
<p>There seems to be no instruction or direction as to how or when to "attend" class. The course is listed on Blackboard under his FSU Class Schedule. However, the listing is an un-clickable link and has the icon associated with the description of- Course in BB Unavailable.</p>
<p>Any educated advice on how to proceed?</p>
<p>hmm, well I’m taking an online class right now. Though there has been communication from that class since first day. Our first day of attendance is taken by students completing a syllabus quiz for my class. </p>
<p>Not sure what to suggest with your son. Is there an instructor he can contact about the course? Or maybe wait till Monday and see what happens? My online class first official day is next week.</p>
<p>I’ve taken plenty of online courses (7 or 8). I have never had an issue where the instructor never activated the Blackboard course site- which is, based off how I understand Blackboard to work for professors, what appears to have happened (or, more appropriately it seems, what hasn’t happened). </p>
<p>Right now the best advice I can give is that if your son has a way of contacting the professor (they should be listed under the Course Search tab when you search for his class). Aside from one professor who apparently hated using Blackboard (go figure), I have never had an issue where they just never activated the course site. Plus it’s an online class? I just don’t understand. It’s now the end of the first week of classes.</p>
<p>Does he at least have a copy of the syllabus or something? </p>
<p>I honestly wish I could help aside from suggesting that he email the professor asking if they just forgot to activate the course Blackboard site. It really does boggle my mind how this is even an issue. How would First Day Attendance have been completed? I understand that not every professor actually does take attendance per policy, but still…</p>
<p>It is also quite possible (and I have seen this many times) that an online course will still require you to visit campus to take exams at the FSU Testing Center. Considering that Drop/Add ends Monday night, and your son is quite unable to meet this requirement should it be the case, it would be imperative that the professor have this information available. </p>
<p>Just Curious, is this class by any chance the Intro to Economics class that is taught online this semester? If so, the professor is Joab Napoleon Corey, and the course has 85 students currently registered for it. That’s a lot of students that are probably in the same situation as your son- confused as can be about what is going on with the course.</p>
<p>I honestly might recommend that your son start looking at either simply taking the 4 courses taught on location, or to look at dropping this course and replacing it with something else. I’m not sure whether the economics course is a requirement for him or not, which could then muddy things up quite a bit. </p>
<p>Like I said though, I’ve taken over a half dozen online courses and quite honestly I’ve never had an issue where the course Blackboard site wasn’t available well before classes started.</p>
<p>I am guessing that the issue is study abroad specific. The course is Principles of Macro and is online, but a section that is only available for his overseas study center. In fact, he is the only student registered for this particular section. His classes don’t begin until Monday instead of the past Wednesday start that on-campus classes had.</p>
<p>I’m certain he will get it figured out with the help of the study center administration, it just seems strange when compared to traditional class start-ups.</p>
<p>I had the same problem with Blackboard linking to my microeconomics webpage for a couple of days before classes started Wed., I wanted to get syllabus but couldn’t–Dr. Calhoun is the prof. On the Blackboard there is a tech support link, I messaged them and they said the prof hadn’t activated on his end yet. No big deal–It was working the morning of the class and I didn’t have to do anything else–guess prof activated link. Maybe check in with tech support or email the instructor if you haven’t been able to get into course website yet. Hope they didn’t just forget about your son!</p>
<p>I have a question with regards to online classes.</p>
<p>How is it that your son is able to take online classes abroad? My online class requires that we register at the testing center here to take tests. </p>
<p>The reason why I ask is, over the summer if I can avoid it by staying on campus (financial reasons) to take certain classes, I’d much rather take them online at home instead. </p>
<p>Would that be possible at all? You said your son is taking it abroad so I’m assuming out of the country and maybe at another school affiliated with FSU of some sort? (kinda like the study abroad programs they have)</p>
<p>BTW, the microeconomics course I’m enrolled in now is regular in class course at FSU campus–not an online course–but I had the same problem not being able to navigate to course webpage through Blackboard.</p>
<p>I’m sure FSUDAD’s son can take tests away from FSU at a testing facility–doubt he’d be expected to fly back for tests!</p>
<p>I looked at taking online courses while back home last summer, but it seems most FSU online courses you have to take tests right at FSU–I ended up taking courses last summer as a transient student at my hometown community college–FSU used the credits for me at FSU. You have to get approvals in advance from your advisors and college dean first before taking the transient courses elsewhere. Too, I think FSU is changing its policy for financial aid when you go elsewhere as a transient–more hoops to jump through to get money! I never understood the concept of taking online courses while living in Tallahasse when you could go to a real live class at FSU.</p>
<p>Yes, he is in the FSU International Program. This course was simply one that was part of the offered classes for his particular study-center country. Almost all of the courses offered on-site are liberal studies based. This was one course that he needed for his major and that allowed him to stay on schedule with his academic map.</p>
<p>It is funny, he wanted to take an online course over the summer, or even at a local Florida state university, in order to stay on track in his major due to prerequisite additions and not have to spend a summer session in Tallahassee, and was told that department policy was that the course had to be taken on-campus.</p>
<p>The secret to taking courses online over the summer is to know which ones require visiting the testing center and which ones don’t.</p>
<p>Pretty much any Humanities course is fully online. On the contrary, I’ve noticed that anything having to do with Anthropology is not fully online; you have to take exams at the testing center. There’s a few other courses like that too. It’s really just going to depend on the professor.</p>
<p>Just to update- The professor emailed to say that he had not activated the course’s Blackboard site yet and not to worry.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your help.</p>
<p>I think if you live in Leon county, they require you to take the exam at the FSU testing center. If you do not live in an adjacent county, they let you designate a test proctor (such as a local college) where you can sit for the exams. I live a few counties away from Tallahassee and have never had to drive to Tally for any exam.</p>
<p>Also, I have taken a course where a proctor was not required and you could just take the test directly online. For these exams they gave us like 60 questions in 50 minutes to make it impossible to just look up all of the answers in the textbook.</p>
<p>Like I said, it’s going to depend on what the professor wants. I’ve had online classes where the professor just uploaded the test and you took it within the time frame (typically a day or two) from anywhere you had internet.
Then I’ve had classes where the tests were taken at the FSU Testing Center in the stadium. And each professor has to designate a time where you can take the test (usually it’s a 1-2 hour block where you have to show up in that time period), and that’s the only way allowed.
And then I’ve had online classes where there were no tests (anything Humanities) so it really just varies.
I don’t think there’s a set university policy for this, which at times can make it frustrating to think your schedule is all set and everything, only to learn that your “online” class wants tests taken on campus. I don’t get how a class can be classified online and everything not be online, but that’s just me.</p>
<p>It’s particularly frustrating for the summer semester, when you’re nowhere near campus, and all the good online classes fill up rather quickly. Although I have to say that needing to replace a class this past summer led me to finding the International Wine & Culture course, which was particularly interesting, so it might not be all bad.</p>
<p>FSUDAD, I’m glad to hear that everything worked out. I figured it was just a case of the professor not activating the Blackboard site. Since your son was the only person registered for that section it was even weirder. Hopefully everything’s working as it should be now!</p>
<p>Yep, it’s all good, Pasbal. He is set and ready to go. Testing will be at the FSU study center.</p>
<p>Today was his first day of classes (schedule is a bit different than the campus). His Comparative Government class consisted of four students and the professor. Half of the classes will be the traditional type and the other half will be out in the city. Should be a unique learning opportunity.</p>
<p>Pasbal, are you saying that the professor required you to take a test on campus and would not allow a proctor site? I’m almost certain that unless you live in the Tallahassee area, you can take exams at another college (designated proctor). If you live close to Tally, I believe that they don’t allow proctors and require you to actually take the test on campus.</p>
<p>I didn’t stay in the class long enough to find out whether it was non-negotiable or not, because it was the last day of Drop/Add for this past summer session, and I wasn’t going to be on the hook for the tuition for a class that I wouldn’t be able to pass if I couldn’t travel back and forth to FSU. But in the syllabus all tests were on campus, no exceptions. It wasn’t a distance learning course or anything, just “online”, which I think makes the difference on that policy. </p>
<p>FSUDAD that sounds like a lot of fun. Closest thing that I think you can get to that is the MET1010 lab where you get to go on the Love Building roof a few times. And then even that pales in comparison to what your son will be experiencing. I hope he enjoys it!</p>