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| Online learning is
new to most of our course participants.
Each course contains orientation material
to ensure you are adequately familiar
with the software in order to enjoy the
course. More details can be found at our Participant Guidelines page. |
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| To participate in a STEP Course, you need a computer (PC or Mac),
Internet access, and a browser. For video-based
courses, you need Windows Media Player
(along with speakers and a sound card)
to view the video lectures. Details are
on our Computer
Requirements page. |
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Courses:
Students who enroll in a STEP course
are required to pay for the course
prior to the start date of the course.
In the event of a late registration,
the use of a credit card by the student
is required.
CD orders:
When the order is paid with a credit
card, lecture CDs will be mailed as
the orders are placed. In situations
where a student wishes to pay by invoice,
the CDs will be mailed when payment
is received.
Supplemental CDs
Supplemental course CDs are mailed
two weeks prior to the course start
date if paid in full.
Courses:
A full refund will be given to students
who, for whatever reason, wish to
drop a course before it begins. No refund will be given after a course begins.
CDs:
Any defective CD can be exchanged.
A new one will be mailed as soon as
the student notifies STEP of the problem.
Refunds will be issued for those who
are not satisfied, for whatever reason,
with the CD. In order to receive a
refund, the student will be required
to mail the CD back to STEP.
For a variety of
reasons STEP may have to cancel a
course. Students enrolled in the cancelled
course will receive a refund. They
will be encouraged to enroll in the
next available session of that course.
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| If you have met the requirements to qualify for a certificate of completion for your course, a certificate will be mailed to you two weeks after the end of the course session. The end of the session is determined by the end date of the longest running course in that session. |
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| Approximately 85% of
our course participants identify themselves
as having "beginner" or "intermediate"
skills with regard to using the Web. Technical
support help is provided, and our staff
responds promptly to any questions participants
have about using the course management
software. Our courses contain online orientation
and Help features to ensure you are adequately
prepared to participate in and enjoy this
learning experience. |
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| Whether you've been
away from a classroom for 40 years or
four months, we are convinced that you
will benefit from the course material
and the opportunity for discussion and
shared inquiry with other adult learners.
Course participant education levels range
from high school to postgraduate degrees.
The only prerequisite for our courses
is a desire to learn and share with other
adult Catholics interested in faith seeking
understanding. |
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Most of our courses
are not for academic credit; rather
they seek to serve the continuing education
needs of pastoral ministers and adult
Catholics. Participants who complete
course requirements receive a Certificate
of Completion. Some of STEP's affiliated
dioceses use our courses as part of
their formal ministry formation or continuing
education programs. Some course participants
have been able to use our courses to
satisfy requirements for diaconate continuing
education or degree programs through
other institutions. Certificates of
Completion issued to those completing
an e-Course note the number of "contact
hours" associated with the course.
However, through STEP
services, Notre Dame's Master of Arts
Program in Theology offers online courses
for graduate level credit. For more
information, please visit the M.A. (Theology) Program Web site or contact Cheron Price
at 574-631-4254. |
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| Most course readings
are provided online, although some courses
require the purchase of a text (check
a specific course's description on the Course
List for details). |
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| Please visit the "Solutions to Possible Video Problems" section of the Computer Requirements page for fixes for common video problems. |
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Some
Windows Media files (such as the streaming
video in some courses) may not play correctly
on Mac OS X computers without downloading
the Flip4Mac player (free) from the Microsoft web site. After
downloading the free player, the course streaming video plays correctly in
the Safari browser.
Some
video files may not play correctly on
Mac OS X computers without downloading
the free DivX codec from the QuickTime Components page or the DivX web site. |
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| If you are using
a Mac, insert the CD-ROM, then double-click
the CD icon on your desktop. A window
should appear that contains several files.
Double-click the file called "start-name
of lecturer" (for example, "start-Cunningham,"
"start-Baxter," etc.) to open the welcome
page.
If you
are using a PC, insert the CD-ROM, then
double-click the "My Computer" icon
on your desktop. When the window containing
your computer's different drives appears,
double-click the icon for your CD-ROM
drive. A window should appear that contains
several files. Double-click the file
called "start-name of lecturer" (for
example, "start-Cunningham," "start-Baxter,"
etc.) to open the welcome page. |
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| To
download a STEP announcement for your
parish bulletin, click on a link for either
a .pdf file or a .gif file. If you do not have the Adobe
Acrobat Reader (which is necessary to
view .pdf files) installed on your computer,
please click here to download the free Reader. After opening the
.pdf file, you may be prompted to save
it to your computer automatically, or
you can click on the "save" icon on the
Adobe toolbar. To save the .gif file after
opening it, right-click on the image and
choose "Save picture as..." |
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| Yes, STEP uses
the TouchNet Payment Gateway to process
all transactions securely. The page
where you enter your credit card information
is a secure order form provided by TouchNet
that uses SSL (secure socket layer)
encryption. |
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| For assistance
with technical questions, course login,
or questions concerning STEP programming
and course content, please call STEP
toll-free at 1-866-425-7837(STEP), e-mail
us at stepnd@nd.edu,
or submit an online STEP Problem Report
(copy and paste this URL into your browser:
www.nd.edu/~stepnd/e-courses/step-problem.html).
STEP's normal operating hours are from
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET Monday through
Friday. |
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