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Q: Who should
take this certificate?
Q: How is it
taught?
Q: What if I am not a student
at the University of Idaho?
Q: How do I register for these
courses/certificate?
Q: How much does this
certificate
cost?
Q: How do I do
homework, exams and papers for these courses?
Q: What should I
expect from these courses? Are they different?
Q: How much time
should I budget for these courses?
Q: Is this a
difficult certificate? What do students say?
Q: What software
do I need to see and hear the lectures? Is it free?
Q: What computer
hardware
do I need to take this certificate?
Q: Who do I contact if I have
technical problems with the course web site?
Q: Who do I contact if I have
technical problems with my computer?
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| Q: Who should
take this certificate? |
A: These courses are intended
for degree and non-degree seeking students and working
professionals in the environmental sciences, environmental health
sciences, earth sciences, natural sciences, life sciences,
agricultural sciences, and environmental engineering areas. See
information for each course in the upper left for pre-requisite information. For degree seeking students, university credit earned for
this course may be transferred to your home institution if you are
not a local student.
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| Q: How is it
taught? |
A: These courses are
available completely over the web. They are designed for a variety
of learner types - though self motivation is key. Text, visual and
audio interactive support is a part of the course whether in the
classroom or over the Web. When the course is not in session,
the archived lectures from the previous class are left on the
site. Lectures and the supporting course information are updated
annually. Some knowledge of using a web browser and e-mail is a
plus.
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Q: What if I am not a student
at the University of Idaho? |
A: These courses can be taken
completely over the Web. If you are taking this course to
fulfill or supplement curriculum requirements at your home
university we can work with your institution to transfer credits.
Working professionals or part-time students can register as a
non-degree seeking student.
Non-Degree Application
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Q: How do I register for these
courses/certificate? |
A: For information on admissions and
registration contacts see the
Certificate Info page of this site. If you are already a
student at the University of Idaho and meet the pre-requisites for
each course you may want to talk with your advisor or the
Environmental Science advisors to see which courses would be best
taken at which time for you. See the
Certificate Info for the
Environmental Science program contact information.
If you're ready to register for classes you can
go to the
UI Banner
Web Interface to register.
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Q: How much does this
certificate cost? |
A: See the tuition
and fees section of this site.
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| Q: How do I do
homework, exams and papers for these courses? |
A: This is a digitally supported course. All
students will submit homework, exams and papers electronically. All
submissions can be printed out for your use.
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| Q: What should I
expect from these courses? Are they different? |
A: You will have a different
experience in these courses than a typical university level course. If
you are on campus, the differences will primarily be in the web
resources and course support areas. If you are a distance student,
you will be interacting with a variety of students via chat, email
and the lectures. Although the course is paced for performance through a
semester, you have some freedom on how and when you choose to do the
work needed for success. This is especially important for working
professionals and graduate students that require flexible course
schedules or for those who travel for field research and conferences.
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| Q: How much time
should I budget for these courses? |
A: University courses typically
require 2-3 hours of work per credit-hour. These are 3 credit-hour courses and you
should expect to commit 6-9 hours per week to course effort for
success. Graduate credit success may require additional effort
depending on the study habits and skills of the student.
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| Q: Is this a
difficult certificate? What do students say? |
A: Difficulty of a course
depends on your level of preparation and the amount of effort you
are willing to put towards success. As an interdisciplinary
subject area, these courses are demanding in their scope of subject,
quantity of readings and the requirement for case studies and
book reviews. Homework is generally designed for ensuring the student keeps pace with the course
readings. Some of the exam problems are challenging while others
are a drill of material to be mastered. Depending on background and individual student
abilities, these courses have been regarded by students as everything
from easy to hard. There are tradeoffs in a digitally supported
course and certain shifts in classroom culture (more e-mail and
online discussion/chat - less in-class discussion). Overall, students give these
courses very high marks in review and remark favorably on the
information resources available, the lecture style, the holistic
nature of the course materials and the anywhere-anytime
accessibility of the courses.
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| Q: What software
do I need to see and hear the lectures? Is it free? |
A: Yes the software required for these
courses is free. You'll need an updated version of either Internet
Explorer 5.0 or higher from
Microsoft
or Netscape Communicator 4.7 or higher from
Netscape.
You will also need to download and install Real Player
8 or higher from RealNetworks, Inc. The
site you will link to offers full versions of the player, 14-day
trials of the full version and a totally free player version. When
you go to the site, find the link that explicitly says
Free RealOne Player
if you do not wish to purchase or trial the full version of the
software. The free version is sufficient for the course.
You will also need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Go to
Adobe's website
and look for the
Download Acrobat Reader link. The free version is
sufficient for the course.
Web links:
Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
Netscape
http://www.netscape.com/download/
Real One Player
http://www.real.com
Adobe Acrobat
Reader http://www.adobe.com
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Q: What computer
hardware do I need to take this certificate? |
A: Minimum Computer:
 | 200 MHz or better
|
| 32MB of RAM |
| 56Kbps modem (T1/DSL/cable modem
recommended) |
| 16-bit sound card and speakers
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| 65,000-color video display card
(video)
(minimum resolution 800x600) |
| Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
2000,
Windows NT 4.0, MAC OS 8.5 |
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Q: Who do I contact if I have
technical problems with the course web site? |
A: First contact the Professor. They will then either answer some of your questions or
forward your question on to the appropriate technical staff here at the
University of Idaho, Moscow.
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Q: Who do I contact if I have
technical problems with my computer? |
A: There are several options you may
consider depending on the problem you are experiencing. If you have a
system administrator who looks after your computer contact them first to
see if they can be of assistance. If you are having internet connection
problems contact your internet service provider. You may contact your
Professor for the course you're taking if
you think that your problem is related to the course Web site. Another
option is to contact the University
of Idaho Helpdesk:
helpdesk@uidaho.edu
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