Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Online student email list

The online student email list allows the Online Learning support staff to send emails to all students who are currently taking an online class. Our goal is to push information and reminders to online students at strategic times, to a place you are likely to check on a regular basis.

Emails are sent to this list on average about 4 or 5 times each term. Our list mailing schedule and content typically adheres to the following plan:

Before classes start

During the week before classes begin, online students have the opportunity to access D2L Brightspace, practice with the tools that will be used in their online classes, connect with their peers and our online learning support staff. All students who have registered for an online class receive an email approximately 1 week before the first day of the term that contains the following information.

  • How to access an online course in D2L
  • How to log in on the first day of class
  • D2L tutorials for new online students
  • How to find and use the Online Student Resource Center
  • What to look for on a Class Details page
  • Student support contacts
  • A printable “Be prepared” guide about what to do when technology fails

First day

The first week of the term is a crucial time for online students. Active class participation during this week can start you down the path to success and ensure your continued enrollment. There are also a number of important deadlines to note and tasks to accomplish. On the first day of the term, online students receive an email that contains the following information.

  • How and why to log in and participate ASAP
  • Drop deadline reminders
  • Financial Aid disbursement information
  • Textbook buying & borrowing sources
  • How to add a late class & waitlist information
  • Student help desk support contacts

Midterm

Around the time of midterm exams, there are a few services that online students find particularly useful. This email is typically sent prior to midterm exams and open registration for the following term to ensure that you are aware of resources around the time those services are relevant. This midterm email contains the following information.

  • Information about tutoring services on campus and online
  • Advising & Registration support
  • Counseling support
  • Instructor contact and support
  • Withdraw and grading options
  • Occasional surveys

Before finals

Prior to final exams is another time that we like to remind you of the important services you might need, as well grading policies, and upcoming deadlines. This is typically the last email we will send to our online student list and it contains the following information.

  • Reminders about tutoring services on campus and online
  • Grading guideline information
  • Tuition payment dates for next term
  • Reminders about how to share feedback and complete course evaluations

In addition to these regularly scheduled emails, we may also use this list in case of important updates about D2L downtime or outages, and other events that are likely to impact online students.

It is extremely important for all PCC students to check their college email regularly. In addition to the support emails we send, college email is used to communicate important updates about policies, deadlines, registration and financial matters. Be sure to log into MyPCC to check your email and announcements for any flags or notices that you need to respond to in order to keep your course registrations and avoid late fees, financial holds, or collections.