Below are some of the frequently asked questions about VirtualSC PD and our services. To see the answer to any of the questions below, simply click on the question and the answer will appear. If you have additional questions that are not answered here, please navigate to the contact us page and email or call one of us and we will be glad to answer the additional questions that you have.
Follow the directions below to login to your courses:
- Go to www.virtualscpd.com (bookmark that page), click on the Dashboard Login button in the upper right corner of your screen (on a computer). Use three horizontal lines icon on mobile devices.
- On the Genius login screen, you will need to enter your username and password (use the credentials you received via email when you applied for an account, check junk and spam folders).
- Once logged in to Genius click on the course name linked under “Active Courses”
Please note that you should not try and login directly to Moodle, you will “break” the connection to Genius and cause issues with your account. Always login through Genius to get to your courses in Moodle.
If you have forgotten your username or password for Genius, you may use the username/password recovery tool.
On the Genius login screen, you will see a link that says Forgot your login/and or password? Click here (linked) to recover your password. You will need to enter your username (if you remember it) or the email address you supplied when signing up for an account with our program. Check your inbox, spam and junk folders for an email with reset information.
Many of our renewal (and all of our graduate level courses) have a course facilitator that you may speak to via the phone or email during their regular office hours. Many of our course facilitators are teachers in a classroom themselves, so please be aware that they may have evening office hours when you can reach them. All of our facilitators are experienced in online teaching, and possess the Online Teaching endorsement add-on, so they can easily guide you through the course and coursework.
If a situation arises where you can no longer participate in a course and you need to withdraw, please be sure to follow these steps:
- Contact your facilitator by email and notify them of your need to withdraw from the course. If you are nearly complete, the facilitator may be able to work with you to give you an incomplete and additional time to complete the course requirement.
- If you decide to withdraw from the course, login to Genius and complete the Withdraw from Course form linked off the left side margin on the Genius Dashboard.
You will be removed from the course within 24 hours of completing the withdraw form. Your facilitator will let you know if there are additional requirements to complete the withdraw. IF you are taking a graduate course, you may need to notify The College of Charleston as well, but your facilitator will help you complete the withdraw requirements with them.
All of our courses allow you some freedom to determine when you work in the courses; however, each facilitated course has a set weekly deadline for when your work for the session must be completed. Due to the nature of the courses and the discussions in the courses, you are unable to work ahead of the group and complete the course at a faster rate. Facilitated courses last a total of seven (7) weeks.
Our self-paced courses allow you to work at your own pace and not have weekly deadlines. The only time constraint is the set enrollment period of the course (found on the course description page). You may start these courses at any time and do not have to worry about set course schedules. Only courses marked as self-paced are available to take as self-paced courses.
Yes, you will receive a welcome email from your course facilitator the Thursday before the course begins. The welcome email will contain contact information for the facilitator as well as directions on how to begin your course and other important information for the course. If you have additional questions after receiving your welcome email, you may contact your facilitator to answer your specific questions.
If you took a course prior to Summer 2020, you may visit the Lost Documentation page and complete the form to have us research and retrieve your official document and send you a copy via email.
Take a look at our Course Costs page to learn more about the types of courses we offer, and the associated costs.
No. Any participant that holds a South Carolina teaching certificate qualifies to take a graduate course; however, the College of Charleston does require an additional fee for out of state residents. So, if you do not have a valid SC driver’s license, you will need to pay an out-of-state tuition fee.
Yes, we provide you with an official certificate of completion at the end of your renewal course. This documentation is required by the Office of Educator Services to renew your teaching certificate.
For graduate level courses, you may order a copy of your official transcript from The College of Charleston. In order to add the graduate level credits to your certificate, the Office of Educator Services will only accept the official transcript for the course. No other documentation will work in lieu of a transcript.
Yes, all of our renewal credit courses are pre-approved by the Office of Educator Services for renewal credits. The graduate courses are also pre-approved by the College of Charleston to offer graduate level credit toward your certificate renewal. You do not need to seek approval for our courses prior to signing up for them; however, we strongly recommend that you talk with the Office of Educator Services to find out what is required to renew your teaching certificate.
These courses are for professional development credit only. VirtualSC PD courses do not count towards any type of degree.
At the basic level you should have a computer and a solid Internet connection (DSL or cable, dial-up will not work with most of our courses). You will also need some basic word processing software such as Microsoft Word. Depending on the course you take you may also need additional software. Please check with your facilitator or read the course syllabus to find out the necessary software required for your course.
For the renewal level courses we have no set times that you must be online and working. As long as you complete all of your work by the weekly deadlines there is no set timeframe that you must login to complete your work. The graduate level courses do contain a requirement to attend two live sessions. The dates and times for the live sessions are set by the individual facilitator and are communicated to participants at the start of the course. These sessions are recorded and posted in the course in case you cannot make the live meeting.
No. Extensions are only granted in cases of emergency.
The asynchronous model of the courses allows participants to work on course activities at a time that is most convenient to them and their schedules. The courses are set up with a weekly deadline; however, the assignments may be submitted at any time during that week as long as the weekly deadline is met. If you have a scheduled vacation or the session runs through a holiday, make sure you can schedule time for your coursework around those plans, or wait to register for a course during a session that will not be impacted by those circumstances.
You should have a basic understanding of the Internet and the basic functions of your computer. We will help guide you through the course; however, we are not responsible for teaching you how to use your computer or the Internet. Additionally, some of the courses may have other technical skills that are required to complete the coursework. You should consult the syllabus for the course you are interested in or contact us to find out more information.
No, renewal courses will only count as renewal credit. If you are in need of graduate credits, then you must take a graduate level course.
Yes, we have no limitations on the number of courses that you may take at one time. The number of courses that you may take is completely based on your needs, your schedule, and the amount of time that you want to spend taking courses. We normally recommend that you do not take any more than one course if this is your first online experience, as you may need additional help. If you are employed full time, we normally recommend that you take no more than two due to the time needed to complete the courses.
Important Graduate Course Information: Due to The College of Charleston’s policy, participants may only take up to four graduate credit courses per session.
Both graduate and renewal courses contain a one week orientation session and then six additional sessions that last one week each, so the course will be a total of seven consecutive weeks.
Anyone that currently holds a current South Carolina teaching certificate or a South Carolina teaching certificate that has not been expired for more than 10 years would qualify to take courses with VirtualSC PD. You do not have to be employed by a school district, work, or live in South Carolina to take our courses.
Graduate Courses Note: Graduate courses have an out-of-state fee if you live outside of South Carolina.
Facilitated courses will show as overdue for a week after the last session as facilitators complete grading.