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Department of Nursing

FAQ's About Online Learning

  1. What should I do to prepare for online course work before the semester begins?

    • Review ASU Online Materials. Familiarize yourself with links and documents on both the ASU and the Department of Nursing web sites. Of particular interest will be the Undergraduate Student Handbook.
    • Assess your basic computer skills. Review skills such as e-mail, attaching files. The link below will summarize some basic computer skills that you will need in order to excel in online classes.
      Basic Computer Competencies
    • Approximately two weeks before the semester begins, you should open your ASU e-mail account.
    • Complete the Blackboard student tutorial. See more information on Blackboard below.
    • Complete the Nursing Library Tutorial
      Note: You will need an e-mail user name and password to do some of the exercises in the tutorial and to fully access library databases and search engines.
    • Purchase your textbooks.

  2. How do I open my e-mail account?

    The university provides an e-mail account to all current students. The Department of Nursing will exclusively utilize university e-mail addresses in communicating to students. Your e-mail account is also important because you will need your username to log into Blackboard and to access online library search engines and databases from off campus. Students must also have an e-mail username and password to activate their ASU OneCard, which is the official student identification card for ASU students.

    Student e-mail accounts are created in any of the computer labs on campus.

    Distance students: If you are a distance student and need assistance in obtaining your university e-mail username and password, fill out the Technology Access Account Agreement and fax to the nursing office at (325) 942-2236. The nursing office will then notify students of their usernames and passwords. When you receive your e-mail account information, please immediately change your password.

  3. How do I find out what textbooks will be required for a particular course?

    Books are currently listed in two places. A preliminary book list is available on the Nursing web site - Current Undergraduate page. The official booklist is available from the ASU Bookstore. From the ASU Bookstore web site, click on "textbooks" in the top menu bar. Keep book receipts, should you need to return a book.

  4. What is Blackboard?

    Blackboard is the educational technology tool or course management system (CMS) we use to design and present each online course. A CMS is a web-based "frame" through which instructors can communicate with students, distribute information, and facilitate the exchange of ideas, information, and resources. Blackboard offers students easy and immediate access to discussion forums and chat rooms, course materials, assignments and resources, announcements and a course calendar. Please visit the Blackboard website at ASU. Please note that there is no "www" in this web address. You may want to save or bookmark this website because you will use it frequently. Please take some time before the semester begins to peruse through the information on this login page - especially the student tutorial.

  5. Once I am registered, how do I get started in an online class?

    The courses in which you are registered will be available on the first class day. Go to the Blackboard web site and login. Your user name for Blackboard is the same as your e-mail user name. Your Blackboard password is your RAMS pin number (your birth date expressed in 6 digits - MMDDYY).

    Once you login, you should see a Welcome Page with the list of course(s) you are registered for. Click on the course title to enter that course.

  6. What will I be doing during the BSN clinical experiences?

    Three BSN courses include a clinical practicum experience: NUR 3101 Health Assessment Practicum; NUR 4201 Community Health Nursing Practicum, and NUR 4302 Management in Nursing Practice. These clinical experiences can usually be completed in the student's city of residence, under the supervision of a qualified preceptor - provided that a Contract of Association is in place with the clinical agency. Please keep in mind that setting up a new clinical site can take up to three months. For more information on clinical experiences and the student's responsibilities, review pertinent links titled BSN Clinical Experiences and Clinical Contract Instructions on Current Undergraduate Student page.

  7. How can I do online university library searches from home?

    The university library provides a variety of resources essential for nursing student projects and formal papers including an extensive nursing collection of monographs and professional journals, online databases, Tex Share Loan Program, and Interlibrary Loan program just to name a few. In order to check out materials from the library, you must have an ASU OneCard.

    Nursing Library Tutorial - It is important that you become familiar with resources available to you through the university library at the beginning of the semester by completing the Nursing Library Tutorial.

    If you are a distance student, you will need your e-mail user name and password to access library databases from off campus.

  8. How do I attend an online class?

    Weekly attendance to online classes is expected and critical to the successful completion of the course. Online classroom attendance is evidenced by timely participation in the discussion assignments and other assigned activities. Failure to contribute in a timely fashion to any weekly discussion is considered an absence and could also result in an evaluation of the student's ability to meet course objectives and may result in failure of the course.