Success Tips

How Do I Begin Taking my General Education Elective?

Our experience is that students who start their online electives early and who plan to work on them every week are successful in these courses.

Step 1 : Visit the Brightspace Course Site for Your Elective

Once you are registered for your online elective, it will appear among your courses on Brightspace. Visit the course site to become familiar with the setup of the course, read the course outline and schedule, and read any announcements that your professor has posted.

Step 2: Attend the One-time Meeting

Each course starts with a one-time meeting, which is an opportunity for you to meet with the professor face-to-face, to ask any questions you have about the course and its assignments and to meet other students who are taking the course. Over 90% of students who have attended one-time meetings say that they were very useful and that face-to-face contact with the professor and other students helped them understand the course and be clear about course requirements and expectations.

The one-time meeting is scheduled during the first week of classes. Consult your timetable or the schedule of one time meetings (see the “Meet My Professor” link at the top right of this page) to find the room and time of the meeting for your Gen Ed elective.

Step 3: Participate Regularly in Your Course

All General Education electives have certain learning activities that you should complete each week of the course. Our experience is that people who visit the course site regularly and complete their weekly assignments in a timely way are successful in these courses.

Step 4: Get Help if You Need It

Contact your teacher through Brightspace or by email with your questions about course content, or visit the Online Learning Centre or the Learning Resource Centre at your campus, where experienced teachers and student assistants are available to help you be successful in your online elective.