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About Online Learning
How do I find out what is required of me in an online course before I enroll?
How much time should I expect to spend on an online course?
What kind of technology do I have to have to take an online course?
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Enrolling in Online Courses
How do I register for an online course?
What does CORNET, GNSNET, BOWNET in the course schedule mean?
What is the Virtual College of Texas?.
Getting Started in Your Online Class
When does my online class begin? When does it end?
How do I access my online class?
What is the format for my ANGEL username?
When do I get an ANGEL account?
How do I find out what my ANGEL username is?
How do I access Campus Connect? ..
Is there an orientation for online learners?.
Working in Your Online Classes
What kind of academic support services are available for online students?
How do I turn in assignments, communicate with my instructor, and take tests/exams?.
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Technical Help
Who do I contact for technical questions?
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How do I enable cookies on my computer?
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How do I disable pop-up blockers?
Apple Computer Users' Help
An online course is held between 80% and 100% online. Some online courses require you to come on-campus for testing, orientation, or presentations. Be sure to check the course requirements.
A hybrid course meets at least 50% of the time in the classroom. The other part of the course is held online.
How do I find out what is required of me in an online course?
Click on the Online Courses link. Here you will find information about orientation, software requirements, and instructor contact information. Many instructors require that you email them upon enrollment in a course.
How much time should I expect to spend on an online course?
You should expect to spend the same amount of time on an online course as you would attending and studying for an on-campus course.
What kind of technology do I have to have to take an online course?
Please review the Technology Requirements for Online Courses Web page to make certain that your computer's hardware and software meet the requirements for online learning.
How do I register for an online course?
How do I register for an online course?
Admission requirements are the same for NCTC online students as they are for students attending traditional face-to-face classes on any of the NCTC campuses.
Students must meet NCTC’s entrance requirements in order to enroll in NCTC online courses. Qualifying students may register online after completion of an academic advising session.
Visit the Office of Admissions /Registrar Web page to learn about admission requirements. You may also call or visit one of the following NCTC’s campuses.
Office of Admissions/Registrar Contact Information
What does CORNET, GNSNET, BOWNET in the course schedule mean?
The NCTC course schedule has online courses listed with either CORNET, GNSNET, or BOWNET in the campus column. Does this mean that a student that lives in Corinth must register for the CORNET course, or that students who live near the Bowie Campus must register for BOWNET courses? (See the course schedule graphic below to view the issue that this question addresses.)
No, you do not have to register for a specific campus. You may choose whichever online section you wish to join regardless of campus listing in the course schedule. However, before registering for an online course you should always check the NCTC's Online Course's Web page to make sure of the course's requirements. If the course requires a trip to campus for presentations and/or testing you may want to register for the campus nearest your home.
What is the Virtual College of Texas?
Fifty Texas community college districts and the Texas State Technical College system collaborate to offer distance education courses via the Virtual College of Texas (VCT).
Students may register for VCT courses through NCTC.
The following guidelines must be adhered to by NCTC students who wish to register for VCT Courses.
- Students MUST register for online courses at NCTC as long as they are open. If the course if full, then students may register for a VCT course.
- The total cost of a VCT course may not exceed $200.
- Students may only enroll in VCT courses that are courses offered at NCTC. If the
- course is not listed in the NCTC catalog, then we will not enroll students in the VCT course. However, students can contact other institutions directly to inquire about enrolling in their course.
- Students who have enrolled in VCT courses and either dropped or failed for two consecutive semesters MUST enroll in and pass 12 hours of non-VCT courses before they may enroll in another VCT course.
How do I get an email account?
You will be provided course mail in ANGEL. Course mail allows you to communicate with your instructor within the course. There are a number of free email services available on the Internet. A few of these are: Hotmail, Yahoo, and Lycos. If you do not have an email account, you should sign up for one of these.
When does my online class begin? When does it end?
All online courses begin on the first official day of class for the NCTC semester. Please check the NCTC course schedule for the exact date. Online students much complete the Orientation for Online Students prior to the first day of class. Online students must login to ANGEL on the first day of class. If online students do not login to their courses on the first day of class, and certainly no later than second day of class, they may be dropped from the course by their instructors. Courses will not be available for student login until the first day of class.
NCTC's online courses are not self-paced. Each instructor has a schedule with assignment due dates that must be met.
Online courses end on the last day of finals for the semester. See the NCTC course schedule for that exact date each semester.
How do I access my online course?
The online course management system used at NCTC is ANGEL. Students can access it from the NCTC homepage or directly by typing the address http://www.angel.nctc.edu into your Internet browser. Every student is provided an ANGEL account with a username and password.
What is the format for my ANGEL Username?
Your ANGEL Username is your last name, followed by a period (.) and then your first name, followed by 4 randomly assigned digits. For example John Doe’s username is doe.john3456. ANGEL usernames are not case sensitive. There are no spaces or dashes in your Username or password.
Your ANGEL Password is your student ID number. This is a 9 digit number assigned to your NCTC student account when your register. When entering your password in ANGEL exclude any dashes or spaces
ANGEL Login Example
Username: Doe.John3456
Password: 123456789
When do I get an ANGEL Account?
If you register early, your account should be available the week before classes begin. If you register during regular or late registration, it should be available approximately 24 hours after you register.
How do I find out what my ANGEL Username is?
You can locate your ANGEL Username by logging into NCTC’s Campus Connect system. Campus Connect lists your ANGEL username as your Network Account number. You may retrieve your Network Account number (ANGEL Username) by logging into Campus Connect (see below) and going to: Your Student Information/Demographics/Network Account.
To access Campus Connect, you will need your Student ID and your PIN. To find out what your NCTC student ID number is contact the NCTC Computer help desk at 940-668-4284, or the NCTC Registrar’s office at one of the following numbers.
Office of Admissions/Registrar
Gainesville: 940-668-4222
Bowie: 940-872-4002
Corinth: 940-498-6280
Is there an orientation for online learners?
Yes. All students enrolled in online courses must complete the “Orientation for Online Students” course. This orientation is presented online via the ANGEL Learning Management System (LMS).
In this orientation you will discover how to be a successful online student, find out about the technical requirements for your computer, and learn how to navigate in the ANGEL system.
If you are enrolled in an online course you will see the orientation listed in your list of courses on your ANGEL Home page. Please complete the orientation before beginning your courses. Once you complete the orientation and the accompanying final exam, you do not have to repeat the orientation course in subsequent semesters.
What kind of academic support services are available for online students?
Please visit the Academic and Student Support Services Web page to learn about the services offered to online students.
How do I turn in assignments, communicate with my instructor, and take tests/exams?
- Online students turn in homework/assignments and communicate with their instructor through the ANGEL LMS internal course mail within each course, or by using other course tools as stated in the course syllabus.
- Check your course syllabus to find out when you instructor may be available for telephone and office conferences. Office conference may be held online using the Virtual Office Hours feature of the ANGEL LMS.
- Students communicate with other students enrolled in the course through private course mail and public “discussion board” postings.
- Students take their tests online via the ANGEL LMS
The ANGEL LMS provides a secure password protected learning environment. Only your instructor, course administrators, and students enrolled in the course have access to course content. Students have access to their grades only; they cannot see the grades of other students.
Who do I contact with questions pertaining to the course?
Contact your instructor. Check your course syllabus for contact information
Who do I contact for technical questions?
Contact ANGEL support via email at nctcangel@nctc.edu. The NCTC Computer Help Desk personnel can resolve login issues. The NCTC Computer Help Desk's phone number is 940-668-4284. Students may also contact ANGEL Support at 940-668-7731 extension 3335.
How do I drop an online course?
Please visit the Office of Admissions/Registrar's Web page to review the NCTC policies on dropping courses.
How do I enable cookies on my computer?
For Internet Explorer:
- Go to Tools on the menu bar of IE.
- Select Internet Options
- Select the Privacy Tab
- Click the Sites button on the Privacy tab.
- In the Address of Web site text box type the complete URL to NCTC’s ANGEL http://www.angel.nctc.edu
- Click Allow.
- Click Ok.
- Click Ok.
How do I disable pop-up blockers on my computer?
Disable pop-up blockers:
- If you have the Google Toolbar installed you can disable the pop-up blocker by going to Options on the Google Toolbar. Under the Accessories area uncheck the box next to Popup Blocker. Click the Apply button. Click the OK button.
- Windows SP2 has a built-in pop-up blocker for Internet Explorer. To disable this feature, click on the Tools menu on Internet Explorer. Then click Internet Options. Select the Privacy Tab. Uncheck the checkbox next to Block pop-ups. Click the Apply button. Click the OK button.
- Disable other pop-up blockers by following information provided by the pop-up software.
My ANGEL course pages are not displaying correctly. What can I do? How to Empty my browser temporary files.
If your ANGEL course pages are not displaying the correct content you may need to empty your temporary Internet files. Follow the directions listed below for your browser.
Internet Explorer 7
- From the Tools menu, select Internet Options... .
- Choose the General tab.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete... .
- Next to "Temporary Internet Files", click Delete files... .
- Click Close, and then click OK to exit.
- Close all instances of Internet Explorer and reopen it. Login to ANGEL again.
Firefox 2.0 for Windows
From the Tools menu, select Clear Private Data, and then choose Cache. Close all instances of Firefox and reopen it. Login to ANGEL again.
Firefox 1.0 and 1.5 for Windows
- From the Tools menu, select Options... , and then click Privacy.
- In 1.5, select the Cache tab, and then click the Clear Cache Now button. In 1.0, next to Cache, click the Clear button, and then click OK.
- Close all instances of Firefox and reopen it. Login to ANGEL again.
Firefox 1.x and 2.0 for Mac OS X
- From the Firefox menu, select Preferences... .
- From the sheet that drops down, select Privacy. In 2.0, click Clear Now. In 1.5, click Clear Cache Now. In 1.0, next to Cache, click the Clear button, and then OK.
- Close all instances of Firefox and reopen it. Login to ANGEL again.
When I try to upload my Microsoft Files to ANGEL drop boxes I get a message that the file is too large?
Graphics included in files may increase the size of your files. When you try to upload these files to ANGEL they may be blocked. You need to compress (reduce) the size of the graphics in your files.
The directions for compressing graphics in Microsoft office documents follows.
Microsoft Office 2003
You may want to use the Compress Pictures button is located on the Picture toolbar to compress graphics in Office files.
The Compress Pictures button on the Picture toolbar enables you to reduce the file size of the graphics in any Microsoft Office file such as PowerPoint, EXCEL, or Word.
- Click the Compress Pictures button on the Picture toolbar. or simply double-click on a picture in your file.
- The Format Picture dialog box displays.
- Select the Picture tab.
- Click the Compress button.
- In the Compress Pictures dialog box, under Apply to, select All pictures in document.
- Under Change resolution, select Web/Screen.
- Click OK.
- If a message appears asking if you want to apply picture optimization, click Apply.
- Save your file and try to resubmit it to ANGEL.
Microsoft Office 2007
The directions for compressing pictures in Word 2007 can be viewed at the following link. The process is basically the same – just looks different in 2007.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA101922001033.aspx#3
If you continue to have problems submitting to the ANGEL drop boxes please contact nctcangel@nctc.edu
Will a Web Accelerator cause problems when using ANGEL ?
Yes, using a Web Accelerator may prevent you from logging into ANGEL, and/or interfere with the features of ANGEL. Web Accelerators are offered through a number of Internet Service Providers and private entities, such as Google.
When attempting to log in to ANGEL with a Web accelerator running on your computer you may receive this message: ‘Session timeout…you may need to reauthenticate’.
To avoid this problem you should turn off the Web accelerator when using ANGEL or configure your accelerator’s preferences so that it does not accelerate NCTC’s ANGEL Web address of www.angel.nctc.edu
Will ANGEL work with my AOL Browser?
You may experience problems using ANGEL in your AOL browser. If you are an AOL user you should connect to AOL then minimize the AOL browser. Open a session on Internet Explorer or Netscape and use it to connect to ANGEL.
I use an Apple computer and cannot open the course files such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel from ANGEL? What can I do?
- Purchase MS Office 2008 for your Apple computer.
- Purchase iWork and open the files in Keynote.
- If you have MacOS X 10.5 (Leopard) or if you are willing to upgrade (you computer must be able to support this 10.5), you can select the file in the Finder then press the space key to view the file in QuickLook. You will not be able to edit the file, change views, or print it. You will be able to view
- Download and install OpenOffice Aqua, which is a free and native port of OpenOffice to Cocoa but is in development. Expect problems.
- Create a Google Docs account. Download the file from your ANGEL course and upload it to your Google Docs account. Open the files in Google Docs and view them in your browser. View the Google Doc setup information.
My instructors say they can't open my files in ANGEL course drop boxes because I created them on an Apple computer. What is wrong?
- Apple computers handle files differently from PCs and PC based programs. Macs do not need the file extension (the ".doc" “.doc” of paper_title.doc) that PCs use to determine what kind of file is being used. When you create files on a Mac for upload to ANGEL, you have to rename the file and add the file extension before uploading it to ANGEL. With the correct file extension added to the file, your instructor’s PC will know what program to use to open the program