Success Online

Be a successful online learner

Smiling female graduate wearing a blue graduation cap and gown

At Bay College you can be successful online. Our completion rates for online courses are just as high as our face-to-face courses. Our mandatory online orientation has significantly reduced withdrawal rates and increased our students success rates. In addition to our mandatory student orientation, we require all faculty that teach online, to be certified to teach online. All of these things add up to your success!

Strategies for Success Online

Be Prepared

Know that your online courses at Bay are not self-paced and require reliable access to the Internet. As an online learner at Bay College you should be prepared and engaged in your coursework, especially on the first day of class. Take a few minutes to explore and familiarize yourself with your online course when you enter it for the first time. Read the start here page and the syllabus thoroughly. Ask yourself, “Does this look like a course that I can be successful in?” Then, if you have questions, contact your instructor.

Understand that a course syllabus is a contract between both your instructor and you, and that a course syllabus is subject to change with prior notice. If a schedule is provided, print it off, or save it to your computer. As an online learner it is essential for you to know at a glance what and when things need to be completed in your online course.


Be Involved

If discussion boards are used in your course take the time in them to develop thoughtful responses to discussion topics. Do not just say yes, no, or I agree. Use your textbooks, along with other sources, back up your point, and always cite those sources you do use. One benefit of taking an online course is that you are given time to consider what you will say and how you will say it. Make your contributions meaningful.

Make an effort to connect with your fellow classmates. They can be as important of a resource to you as the instructor of your course. Plan to check your online course and Bay College email account at least every other day. Doing so will help you stay active, involved, and on track for success in your online course. Additionally, you will frequently receive important announcements via your email.


Be Careful

Save your work early, often, and before you submit it. This way you will have a record of your work, and you will be able to resubmit your work in the event of any technical mishap. Always put your first initial and last name on any document or file you submit in your online course.


Reach Out

If you start to fall behind in your online course do not wait. Do the next assignment/activity in the course. Make an effort first, and while you are doing that, talk to your instructor to discover how you can best catch up. If you are having an issue, be it technical, or otherwise, contact your instructor immediately.


Be Honest

This is especially important in an online course. There are software programs that detect plagiarism (copying others work). Also, IP address can be traced, test times can be compared, and questions can be easily evaluated to detect cheating in online exams. If you are not sure what would be considered plagiarism or cheating, please ask your instructor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Online Learning
HUB 800 (Escanaba Campus)
(906) 217-4276
onlinehelp_FROM_BAY_COLLEGE

Monday - Friday: 8:30 AM - 5 PM (EST)

How to Login to myBay
  1. Locate your username and password included in your acceptance letter which was delivered to your home
  2. Your default username is firstname.lastname (For example,  john.doe)
  3. Your default password is comprised of the word Welcome (capital W), followed by a comma, then your ID number. For example, if your ID number is 12345, then your password will be: Welcome,12345
How to Setup Your myBay Account
  1. Access the Password Manager webpage on myBay.
  2. Login with your default username and password.
  3. Review and accept the security policy.
  4. Setup 3 secret questions.
  5. Change the default password.
  6. If you struggle to remember your account information you may want to save your username, security questions, answers, and password on paper for future reference

​Yes. In order to better prepare you for online learning courses, all new online learning students (or anyone who has not completed an online course successfully within the last 3 years) will be required to complete an orientation course in Blackboard online. This course will take approximately 1.5 hours to complete and must be completed in order for you to have access to your online courses. As soon as you register as a new online student you will automatically be enrolled in the Online Learning Orientation course in Blackboard. After you complete this course it will take 24 hours to log your completion status and give you access to your online courses. Do it ASAP before the semester starts. Follow the steps below to access and complete the Online Orientation course:

  1. Go to the Blackboard login page
  2. Login with your user name and password
  3. Click on the course title, "Online learning Orientation" and to enter the course
  4. Proceed to complete the "Online learning Orientation" course

Your single username and password are used to login to Blackboard, myBay, and Bay’s e-mail. If you can login to one of these three services, but not another, then there may be an issue with that service rather than with your username and/or password. Follow the steps below to reset your password:

  1. Access the Password Manager webpage on myBay.
  2. Click Forgot Password.
  3. Enter your username and then click submit.
  4. Answer the security questions which you created when you first setup your account
  5. You will be given a new generated password. Copy generated password onto paper.
  6. Click continue.
  7. Enter your username and the generated password.
  8. Enter new information to create a new password. Be sure to follow the password requirements that may pop up if you do not create an acceptable password.
  9. Login using your username and the new password that you just created.

The college runs a integration process. This process takes 1 hour to run Monday - Friday 8 AM - 6 PM (EST)

Cookies are files stored on your computer or device that allows a web site to store information and then access that information every time you go back to a site. One of the many items a site stores in a cookie file is login information. If you have encountered one of the issues described above you may need to delete this cookie information that is being stored in your browser.

How to Clear Cookies in Mozilla Firefox 
  1. Open Firefox
  2. Click on the hamburger menu located on the right side of the browser
  3. Click "Options"
  4. Click the "Privacy" tab
  5. Click "Clear Your Recent History"
  6. Set Time range to clear to: "Everything"
  7. Click the checkbox next to "Cookies"
  8. Click the "Clear Now" button
  9. Click "OK"
How to Clear Cookies in Google Chrome 
  1. Open Google Chrome
  2. Click the menu drop down button
  3. Click "Settings"
  4. On the upper left side click "History"
  5. Click "Clear Browsing Data..."
  6. Change the field next to the text “Obliterate the Following Items from” to say “The Beginning of Time”
  7. Select "Delete Cookies and Other Site and Plug-in Data"
  8. Click "Clear Browsing Data"
How to Clear Cookies in Internet Explorer 
  1. Open Internet Explorer
  2. Click the gear in the upper-right corner
  3. Click "Internet Options"
  4. In the "General" tab under browsing history click "Delete"
  5. Select "Cookies"
  6. Click "Delete"
  7. Click "OK" and close the Internet Options pop-up window

Not all features and content are accessible using mobile devices. In some situations you will need access to either a computer or laptop in order to successfully complete an online course in Blackboard.

Yes. If you are taking a class that uses Blackboard, you can use the Blackboard App!

Blackboard App for Students

The Blackboard app is Blackboard's mobile solution designed especially for students. The app provides an intuitive way to interact with courses and content. The Blackboard app can be used throughout a student's academic journey to stay on top of coursework and plan ahead. The Blackboard app for students is available for iOS at the Apple App store, Google Play store and Windows App store now for FREE. You can access Blackboard Learn, get grades, and participate in discussions on your mobile device. Download the Blackboard app today!

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Blackboard App for Instructors

Blackboard Instructor gives instructors a simple and intuitive way to manage courses, interact with students, and view content. The Blackboard Instructor app for Instructors is available for iOS at the Apple App store, Google Play store now for FREE. You can manage your courses, send announcements, and connect with students on your phone or tablet. Download Blackboard Instructor today!

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Online Course Design Standards

Bay de Noc Community College is committed to implement the Quality Matters standards for the design of online and hybrid courses, and we are systematically building and evaluating our courses based on these rigorous, research-based standards. The Quality Matters standards assure that the online components of these courses promote learner engagement and provide students with all the tools and information they need to be successful learners.

QUALITY MATTERS
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