1 Find the course in which you have enrolled. Make a list of the items you will need. Get those items. Go to the Bookstore if you need a textbook. Go to the library and get your library card. Check out tapes if you need them. If you use AOL, use a different browser like Netscape or IE for your distance work.  

2 Attend an Orientation. Take the Technology Self-Test, Fitness Test and Orientation Survey.

3 Contact your instructors. Email them or phone them or meet them during office hours. Whatever you do, make your contact before the end of the first week of classes.  

4 Log in to your Blackboard account on the first day of classes (May 19th). http://webed.vw.vccs.edu/distance (Blackboard button) Your username will be your first initial and your last name. There will be a series of four numbers with leading zeros after your last name assigned by the Utility. You can look up your user name here: http://who_am_i.vccs.edu/ For example, if your name is George B. Unconsciousness, your username will be: gunconsciousness0001. Your password is the month, day, and year of your birth. MM+DD+YY  This will be a six-digit number. If your birthday is January 5, 1995, your password will be: 010595.

5 Log on to http://webmail3.utility.vccs.edu, your webmail account, and make sure it is working properly.  Your user name is the same as the one for Blackboard except you will use your entire email address when logging on. You can find your email address here: http://who_am_i.vccs.edu/ Your password will be the same as the one you use for Blackboard. It is the month and day and year of your birth, MM+DD+YY.