The PLUS Program - Getting Started www.aisacademics.com/online.html

The PLUS Program - Getting Started www.aisacademics.com/online.html

What is the PLUS Program? The PLUS program is online classes hosted by The Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online Division (AIPOD) So what does that mean? Classes are hosted through AIPOD Instructors are AIPOD instructors, NOT AIS instructors, nor are they located on-campus Classes are equivalent but vary from on-campus versions, including title and course number. However, your schedule, transcript, etc, will use the campus course number. Classes are intense 5 ½ week sessions

Class Involvement Are you a procrastinator? PLUS may not be for you! Expectations: Rigorous Course load. 11 weeks of material is compressed into 5.5 weeks. Utilization of your independent learning skills. Large Amount of Writing. One of the main sources of participation in PLUS classes are discussions and critiques via a message board-style system. Class Participation. Just logging in will not count! There is no set number of minutes you need to be in the classroom, but you will need to contribute to be marked present.

The Attendance Policy Just like on campus, attendance is taken in PLUS courses. To be marked present for the week, you must login and participate at least 4 different days. Note: Many online students later report feeling the need to login every day in order to stay abreast of discussions, etc. You are not required to login at any specific time, but note that AIPOD defines a day as ending at 10:59 p.m., Seattle time. EXAMPLES OF VALID PARTICIPATION Posting homework Remember: Failure to log activity can result in probation and/or a failing grade for the course! Adding comments to a threaded discussion Taking an exam or quiz

Policies A cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 is required to take online courses. You may take no more than 40% of your program of study online, and no more than 2 PLUS courses per quarter. You must be registered for at least one campus class NO ONLINE ONLY We STRONLY encourage you to have tested out or completed COM83 College Preparatory Writing due to the amount of writing involved in the course. If you intend on taking two PLUS courses per quarter, we recommend taking one course per session if possible. Please note that online class tuition is not eligible for funding under the Washington State Worker Retraining Program.

Textbook Information Most PLUS classes utilize ebooks, which are digital textbooks. A Digital Resource Fee is automatically added to your tuition at the time of registration. They are also eligible for financial aid. $50 for classes using one ebook $75 for classes using two or more ebooks There is no need to purchase an additional hard-copy. If you have not used ebooks before, you can find instructions inside the online classroom. For classes using a traditional textbook: Books for online classes are not available at the AiS Supply Store. You can purchase traditional textbooks either through the online bookstore (http://bookstore.mbsdirect.net/aio.htm) or other online book dealers, but make sure you get the correct edition and year. You can find out all the book information for each PLUS class by going to www.aisacademics.com/online.html and clicking on your class s course code.

REGISTRATION PROCESS How do I register for Online classes in the future? You will need to complete the online registration form, and submit it to the Registrar s Office. The Registrar s Office will manually add your online classes to your schedule. No Online Registration. How do I submit my schedule? Register for the number of credits which match your minimum plan credits. The minimum plan credits are based on your financial aid plan. If your schedule without the online course does not match your minimum plan credits, register for an additional on-campus class as a placeholder until the online course is added. Then submit your registration. Reminder: Notify the Registrar s Office of the placeholder class.

Using a G.I. Bill Benefit? Read This! In order to be eligible for your full monthly stipend, you must be a full-time student (minimum 12 credits) throughout the entire quarter. Online classes complicate this because they only run half the quarter. Examples below. Student A 15 credits total 9 credits on campus Student A 15 credits total 9 credits on campus +3 credits Online session 1 +3 credits Online session 2 +3 credits Online session 1 +0 credits Online session 2 = 12 credits per VA = 12 credits by VA = 12 credits per VA = 9 credits by VA 100% BAH or monthly stipend 100% BAH or monthly stipend 100% BAH or monthly stipend 80% BAH or ¾ monthly stipend Both students are full-time by the Art Institute of Seattle s standards. However, Student B is only full-time for the first half of the quarter by VA standards once the online class ends student B is only attending 9 credits, which lowers the BAH or monthly stipend.

Logging into your online class Login to myaicampus.com Locate your classes on the main page (right side of website). Click on Launch Class to enter the classroom. Note: Access to an online class begins on the first day of the course s start date. Session 1 is available Monday of week 1. Session 2 is available Thursday of week 6.

I ve logged in now what? Post in your class to confirm attendance! Click on the Academic Expectations tab on the left Read through all the course materials Post in the discussion area Note: Many instructors will not let you turn in assignments until you complete this step.

Student Support Academic or Policy Issues If you have a question about a grade, an academic policy, or anything else related to your class, you should contact your instructor first and foremost. If you have exhausted all avenues and not received a satisfactory answer, you should get in touch with the Online Advocate located in the Registrar s Office. Technical Issues For any technical issues, including accessing your class, resetting your password, etc., please contact Tech Support at 1.866.642.2711. A good practice is to have a backup location for completing your online coursework in case of power outage, equipment failure, etc. Note that online instructors may work with you in that situation, but you are still expected to complete your work in a timely fashion. In the event of a classroom outage, instructors will adjust due dates.

Important Dates and Deadlines PLUS courses follow the same schedule every quarter. Registration Opens Monday of week 5 and continues until the Thursday before the next quarter starts. After that deadline we can only adjust PLUS classes already on your schedule. Schedule Adjustment Period The schedule adjustment period for Session 1 mirrors that of campus classes you have until Monday of week 2 to drop a class without penalty. Session 2 has a second, shorter schedule adjustment period that runs from the first day of Session 2 until the following Monday. You may drop a Session 2 online class up to this deadline without penalty. After the schedule adjustment period has ended you can withdraw and receive a grade of W until Friday of Week 5 for session 1 and Friday of Week 9 for session 2. Session 1 and Session 2 dates Session 1 begins on the first day of on-campus classes and runs until Wednesday of week 6. Session 2 begins Thursday of week 6 and ends on the last day of on-campus classes.

Don t Forget Bookmark This Site! WWW.AISACADEMICS.COM/ONLINE.HTML AISACADEMICS.com/ONLINE contains: Quarterly calendar of important dates Classes that are being offered online Online class syllabi Registration materials FAQ s and tutorials Contact Information