We have begun to review and implement the suggestions for changes that you recommended to better serve our nontraditional learners.  We hope you will continue to complete the evaluations that we send to you throughout the year, so we can monitor our progress toward meeting your needs.  The financial aid process change (see announcement below) is in direct response to your suggestions!
 

FINANCIAL AID FOR ONLINE STUDENTS
UW-Platteville is currently working with UW-Learning Innovations to see if we can implement a policy that would allow students to use their financial aid at the time of their initial registration for online courses.  If we are able to establish a policy, details will be posted in the Announcement section of the distance education web site and also in the next issue of PLEXUS. The earliest such a policy could be implemented would be for fall 2002 courses.

Students who are interested in possibly using financial aid to pay for their online courses at the time of registration should complete all financial aid forms before July 1st.  If you wait for the policy to be approved and announced, you may miss important financial aid deadlines!

If a policy is established, students will need to be registered in a minimum of 6 credits at the time financial aid is disbursed in order to be eligible for aid.
 

TUITION PLATEAU POLICY FOR PRINT-BASED COURSES TO CHANGE
Effective July 1, 2002, tuition for print-based distance education courses will be calculated on a per credit basis (e.g., 18 credits = tuition rate x 18 credits hours). The current tuition plateau (12-18 credits) is only available for enrollments received by June 30, 2002. 
 

DISTANCE LEARNING WEB SITE WANTS YOUR IDEAS!
During the past two to three months, various members of the staff in the Distance Learning Center have been reviewing the information on our web site for accuracy and making minor changes to enhance the navigation on the site.  Now that this task has been accomplished, we are asking for your help.  If there's additional information you would like to see added to the site, items that you have problems finding, sites that you would like us to review that you believe are particularly helpful, and/or other improvements you would like to see made to the web site, please e-mail these ideas to Tammie at Miesent@uwplatt.edu.

We will be collecting ideas from a number of different people throughout the month of April, and then we will begin to identify the changes that we will be making to our distance learning web site.  Although we may not be able to make every change that is suggested, we want your input to try to make the site the most helpful it can be to you, while still maintaining quick loading speed. 

So, now's your chance to give us your ideas!  Please submit all recommendations to Tammie by May 1st.  We plan to have our new web site "unveiled" at the beginning of the Fall 2002 semester!
 

MAY GRADUATION EVENT
The weekend of May 10 and 11, there will be a celebration to honor the students who will be graduating from the UW-Platteville programs that are offered at a distance.  All of you should have received a letter or e-mail describing the activities for the graduates, current and prospective students, and alumni of these programs.  If you have not received or misplaced the information about the events during this weekend, please contact Tammie Miesen at 1-800-362-5460 or e-mail Miesent@uwplatt.edu.  We hope you will join us for the celebration!
 

REMINDER FOR SPECIAL STUDENTS: 12 CREDITS MAXIMUM
For those students who are taking classes without being admitted to a degree program, please remember that you are eligible to take only 12 credits before being admitted to a program.  If you take more than 12 credits, you are doing so at your own risk.  They may not count toward a degree program if you pursue admission at a later date. 

If you have questions about the degree admissions process, please contact the Distance Learning Center.
 

CHANGES TO COURSE NUMBERS
You may begin to notice a change to your course numbers on registration forms and transcripts, beginning with summer 2002 courses.  Due to the switch to our new student information system, a "0" is being added to all of the course numbers (e.g., BsAd 303 will now be BsAd 3030).  This does not change the level or content of the course.
 

SPRING COMMENCEMENT
Commencement will be held in Pioneer Stadium, weather permitting, on Saturday, May 11, 2002. In the event of inclement weather, the location will be moved to Williams Fieldhouse. A decision on the location will be made by 10:00 a.m. on the day of commencement, and announced over WPVL and WSUP radio stations.

All friends and relatives may be invited to attend; no tickets will be necessary for seating in Pioneer Stadium. If the ceremony is held in Williams Fieldhouse, graduates will be allowed to distribute three reserved tickets for guests.

Commencement will be televised on the UW-Platteville television chanel TV-5 for guests without tickets, and a large-screen TV will be set up for viewing. (Location to be announced.) 

If you have filed for spring or summer graduation, you should have received a packet from the Registrar's Office concerning graduation ceremonies.  If you haven't received the packet, contact the Registrar's Office at 608-342-1321.
 

NOTICE OF UPCOMING SOFTWARE CHANGE
Over the last couple of months, Prometheus, our online course management software, has caused some connection problems and downtime. In January, we were notified that Prometheus had been purchased by Blackboard. Because of the problems we experienced with Prometheus and the company buyout, we have decided to switch our course management software to Blackboard. Beginning summer 2002, all of our online courses will be conducted using Blackboard. 

What does this change mean to students?  In general, between the two systems, there are no major differences in how a course is conducted. Logging into a course will take you to a portal screen listing your courses, a calendar, and course announcements. A link will take you to the main page of the course. Once in Blackboard, you will see that the screens look very similar to those in Prometheus. There is a navigation menu on the left, and course content takes up the major portion of the screen on the right. There is an announcement section, a place for general course information, a place for course content, and communication tools. Groups and discussion tools are common to both. 

Before summer courses begin, students who enroll in online courses will receive a tutorial to introduce Blackboard. 

We expect no problems with the switch to Blackboard. Blackboard has been more stable then Prometheus and should offer much more reliability. If, however, any problems arise, the Distance Learning Center and Learning Innovations staff are here to assist and answer questions.