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Frequently Asked Questions

An Internet course frees you from having to come to campus two or three days per week for several weeks. Instead, you access the course via a website on the Internet. You work through assignments that are posted on the website to accomplish the requirements for the course. However, you will have to take some exams at a campus location or arrange for a proctor through the office of Distance Learning.

After you have registered, you will be given a Website address that allows you access to the course. Of course, you must have access to a computer. If you have one at home, you will need to gain access to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider. You are required to activate and use your ������ email for online courses.

You also need to meet the prerequisites of the course you choose (see online course description for more information about prerequisites)

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Yes, you will need a textbook in most all cases. Please view the information concerning ordering your textbooks on the “How Do I Get Started?” page. Your textbook listing by course can be found on the . You can also contact the ������ online bookstore at 601-857-3462. Check our Online Classes Student Guides for further details about textbooks.

• Canvas supports the current and first previous major releases of the following browsers:
• Chrome 94 and 95
• Firefox 93 and 94 (Extended Releases are not supported*)
• Edge 94 and 95
• Respondus Lockdown Browser (supporting the latest system requirements)
• Safari 14 and 15 (Macintosh only)

• For best performance, you should access Canvas with a computer that supports the most recent browser versions. It is recommended to use a computer five years old or newer with at least 1GB of RAM.
• A method for saving data externally (jump drive, disk drive, etc)
• An Internet connection through an Internet service provider (ISP)
• Students must own or have permanent access to a computer with a consistent internet connection.
• Maintaining internet access is the student’s responsibility.
• Students must activate and use their Hinds email for college communications.

Canvas only requires an operating system that can run the latest compatible web browsers. Your computer operating system should be kept up to date with the latest recommended security updates and upgrades.

Along with compatibility and web standards, Canvas has been carefully crafted to accommodate low-bandwidth environments. It is recommended to have a minimum Internet speed of 512kbps.

You can receive financial aid for distance learning courses. Always check with the Financial Aid Department for details.

Online courses do not require that you come to a face-to-face orientation session. Your orientation will be conducted online on the Online Classes Orientation page. Short surveys will be asked in each course during the first week based on this information.

Generally speaking the answer is no. Some instructors may require a limited amount of synchronous chat (everyone online at the same time), but as you might expect this is quite difficult considering everyone’s busy schedules.

Yes. Online students who have seen an advisor at least once can web register through MyHinds. Please see the Registration page for more details.

We do not have a policy concerning how many distance learning courses you can take. However, you should be careful and not overload yourself. Many students realize that distance learning courses require more time than they expected when they first registered.

Since you are not attending class at specific times each week, you are supplementing that time by spending more time working at home on your assignments. In most cases, expect to spend three times the number of credit hours on your coursework. For Example, English 1113 is a 3 credit hour course. Expect to spend 9 hours per week working on this course.

Students can withdraw from an online course any time after drop/add period until the last day set forth on the (notice this differs from traditional courses’ date). Students can withdraw from single courses online through MyHinds. If you procrastinate and don’t keep up with the materials your instructor may suggest that you need to withdraw from the course or they may drop you with a penalty. Students who accumulate excessive absences will be dropped by the instructor.

Students can request classes from any college in the MSVCC consortium, however, there are some requirements that must be met.

• First, the course must be listed in the ������ current catalog with the same number of credit hours.
• Second, the instructor must be approved by Hinds faculty credential standards.

This process can take anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks depending on different issues.

No outside course requests can be taken during the last two weeks of registration in order to properly prepare outside course needs for our students. Hinds sections of any given course are filled before we allow courses from the other colleges to be “pulled in” for registration.