General eLearning Questions
eLearning offers you the convenience of taking your course fully online or partially online in our learning management system (LMS) called Canvas. Canvas is a Web-based online and collaboration portal that enables educators to create, add and manage course materials and communicate with students.
Canvas allows students to engage with the material, other students, the instructor and submit assignments and take quizzes online. Canvas is used by K-12, colleges, and universities. At North Seattle College we use Canvas for most classes: fully online, virtual, hybrid and campus face to face classes.
The classes are not easier than traditional on-campus classes. Often they require additional self-motivation and discipline. However, we will provide you with guidance through the eLearning aspects of your experience.
The number and requirement of on-campus meetings varies by course and is indicated under the class description; some eLearning courses have at least one on-campus meeting per quarter that is usually a recommended orientation meeting. Some courses may include proctored exams which can be taken on the North's campus or at another institution with the prior consent of the instructor.
Tuition rates are based/calculated on student’s status. Please refer to Tuition and Fees page. In addition, there are different fees apply to different type of class. Please refer to Fee Table page.
No. Unless the instructor grants you permission to participate in the course. If so, you can forward the email with instructor’s permission to eLearning north.elearning@seattlecolleges.edu along with your SID, full name, course name and course item number. We can manually add you in the course in Canvas. However, it is still student’s responsibility to follow through the enrollment/registration process.
If you are eligible for WA State Employee Tuition Waiver, you can get a permission from your course instructor to add you in to the class before you can officially register. Once you obtain the permission from the instructor, please forward the email to eLearning north.elearning@seattlecolleges.edu with your SID, full name, course name and course item number. We can add you in the class manually so that you can participate the course.
- Online: Classes are taught online via Canvas or another online learning management system (LMS). There are no required meeting times, and classes are available for engagement at any time via the LMS used. Students have the most flexibility but must meet due dates as outlined by the instructor, and you will be engaging with the content for a number of hours each week.
- Virtual: Classes are taught online via Canvas or another online learning management system (LMS) with regularly scheduled virtual meeting times using a web conferencing tool such as Zoom. Students are expected to meet virtually online as well as engage with other online content weekly. There is an expectation that you log in to the LMS on the date that the class starts (similar to showing up to class). These classes are listed in the online schedule with an instruction mode of "on-line," but show a specific meeting day/time and are noted as "virtual" in the room field.
- Hybrid: A combination of online/virtual classes and face-to-face classes. These courses are taught in a classroom or lab on campus with regularly scheduled meeting times as well as online via Canvas or another online learning management system (LMS). The online portion of the class may or may not include virtual meeting times using a web conferencing system. Any scheduled meeting times should be published in the online schedule.
- Face-to-Face: Courses are taught on campus with regularly scheduled meeting times. Safety protocols are in place for these programs. Some Face-to-Face courses may still Canvas as an additional learning platform. It is depending on how much the course instructors would like to use features in Canvas.
Online courses have the course name following by a D as distance learning. When you click to see the course detail, in the “Class Details” section, the “Meets” information is indicated “TBD” (as to be determined), "Room" and "Instruction Mode" are indicated "Online".
Course sections abbreviated as H are hybrid. Those classes have some required face-to-face meetings and some online components.
When you click to see the course detail, the “Meets" information is indicated clearly for certain day(s) and time for the hybrid course. Since it is partial in campus, the location is mentioned as well.
eLearning courses require access to computers and Internet connections. Students at North also have the option of coming to campus to use the two computer labs that are available. Students must have a current “MySeattleColleges Login” to use these labs.
All online, hybrid and virtual courses take place within the standard quarter time frame as regular campus classes.
Yes. Optional or mandatory campus meetings are listed under the class description.
It is recommended that you log-in at least once a day for the first week at a time that is convenient for you. After the first week, you should get a feel for how much time you will actually have to be logged-in to the class site verses how much time you will spend doing work offline, i.e. reading the text book, etc. In this case, you can log in when it is convenient for you, as long as you meet all assignment and testing deadlines. Some instructors may hold a live session and information in Canvas.
Most of the tests will be given online. If you instructor requires a proctored exam, you can either come to campus at the scheduled time if you are able or the instructor should have information in the syllabus about how to find a proctor in your local area. It is always a great idea to communicate with the course instructor in advance regarding a proctored exam somewhere else.
All the lab classes use some type of “virtual” lab so you can do the assignments at a distance. Some may require a field trip in your local area. You can check the syllabus on the first day of class for more details.
We recommend approximately 2 hours per day for every 5-credit course. Online courses are just as demanding, if not more demanding that on-campus courses. Log-in on the first day of class, read the syllabus, get started information and get familiar with the course site—then get started with the class.
If student has trouble with their ctcLink account and/or seattlecolleges login (school email or campus wifi/computer login), IT department would be able to assist.
There are two ways to contact your course instructor. One is via Canvas Inbox and one is locating the instructor’s contact in the People section on North Seattle College website.
Yes, students from all states and the District of Columbia are welcome to apply now.
Canvas Questions
It is available for new student to access after student successfully apply for the college.
Canvas can be used on browsers and mobile app. Canvas works on Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari. The least problematic browsers are Google Chrome and Firefox. Click here for more instruction on how to install a new browser in your computer.
Canvas mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices with limited features.
- Username: student ctcLink number (EMPL ID)
- Password: ctcLink password
Registered class will show on student's Canvas account two (2) weeks before the quarter starts if students registers before that day. This applies for both new and returning students.
If student registers after two (2) weeks prior to the quarter begins, the class will show up on Canvas within two (2) hours.
This could happen for several reasons below:
- Your class is not published yet: check your Courses/All Courses for the Published status of your class. The last day for the course to be published, if the course is conducted on Canvas, is the first day of the quarter.
- Your instructor does not use Canvas: if a registered does not show up on Courses/All Courses after two weeks prior to the quarter begins, it could mean that your instructor does not use Canvas for the class. Contact instructor or eLearning for more information
- You logged in to a different Canvas account: this could happen if student has another Canvas account at different college. Contact eLearning for more assistance.
Connection to the server can be intermittent sometimes. Try an alternative URL to login northseattle.instructure.com.
Some instructors would choose to prevent student from seeing the course content after the quarter ends. Contact your instructor if you need Canvas access to the past enrollment course.