eCore^tm

GHC Online

College Policies

As an eCore student you will be under the policies of the affiliate institution of the University System of Georgia through which you register. Therefore, if you register through GHC, you will be under GHC policies.

You will be under GHC policies.

How to register

However, in order to enroll in an eCore course a student must be admitted to one of the six eCore affiliate institutions of the University System of Georgia.  Georgia Highlands College is one of the six affiliate institutions. 

If you are enrolled in another college or university and want to take an eCore course you can apply to Georgia Highlands College as a transient student.

As a GHC student, you register as you would for any other GHC class.

You register as you would for any other GHC class.

Professor

Your professor many be from anywhere in the state.
Therefore, making an in-person visit may be difficult.

Communication is primarily through email and discussion forums.

Your professor will be located at one of the GHC campuses.
 Therefore, making an in-person visit is possible. Communication is primarily through online means such as email, discussion forums, etc. and occasionally by phone

Courses

You can complete Areas A through E of the core online.

There are currently only ten cores offered in the online format.

Class meetings

Completely online, except for at least one proctored exam or assignment.

Online, but you may have to come to campus for orientation or tests.  This will vary with each course.

On-Campus Requirement

You must come to a testing site for proctored exams. GHC has two test sites.  One is on the Floyd (Rome) campus and the other is on the Cartersville campus. For those students closer to SPSU in Marietta, SPSC has a testing center that  you can use to take exams.

Most have a required in-person orientation the first week, and you may have to come to campus for tests. Check with the course professor for more on these requirements.

Cost

Ecore costs $144 per credit hour. For example, a three-credit hour course is $432. There is a proctoring fee $25 per exam. If you are registered for a regular GHC course and eCore courses, other fees will apply. See the course catalog for a list of these.

GHC costs $65 per hour for in state tuition as with a conventional class.  There is also a technology fee, data card fee and a parking fee that brings the cost of one three hour course to $264 for an in state student and $840 for an out of state student.

Problems in the Course

First, contact your professor and try to work it out with him or her.  If you and your professor cannot work it out, then contact the eCore advisor. However, keep in mind that the eCore advisor will not over-ride your professor’s decisions.

First, contact your professor and try to work it out with him or her.  If you and your professor cannot work it out, then contact the Chair of your professor’s division.

Challenge of your first online course

The Vista online course system is used by both eCore and GHC online courses.  However, students who are taking their first online course should expect it to take one to two weeks to feel comfortable with the course features in Vista.  Those who are new to the Vista system should login each day the first two weeks and spend time getting to know the Vista features or required elements of your course.  In your online course you will find a syllabus, email, discussion area, and the course content.  There also may be an assignment area, quizzes, and tests. 

Time

Expect to spend more time on an eCore or GHC online class than you would in a conventional class.  Some of the successful students have found that it takes them over twice as long per week to do an eCore class or GHC online than the same class would have taken using traditional methods of instruction.  For some people not having to drive to class makes up for the demands placed on their time. 

Time Management

You must be able to manage your time and be diligent about what needs to be done next.  You do not have the routine of going to a classroom to keep you on task so you must do it on your own.  You should dedicate at least 9 hours per week for each course.

Knowledge of computer technology

In general, eCore and GHC online courses are designed for students who have good basic computer skills.  These include using a Web browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer not AOL), sending an email message to someone not in your address book, managing files (locate, copy, attach), and creating a document using Word.

The computer you use needs to be nice.  If you don't think it is nice, then the course will not be nice either. Know that rebooting will solve 83% of all computer glitches, but you still need to know how to use the items mentioned above.