FAQ for students in Dr. Nielsen's video courses

Video Course FAQ

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions regarding the video courses I teach.

I'm having trouble viewing the lectures. What should I do?

If you have trouble with viewing the taped lectures or anything like that, contact the Engineering Outreach office. They're the ones who handle all of that.

What schedule do I need to follow?

I do not assign specific due dates for homework assignments or exams. However, you should keep in mind the course completion deadline for the current semester, and should pace yourself so as to have all homework and exams completed by that date. During fall and spring semesters, that requires about 3 lectures per week. Summer terms are shorter, and you'll need to do 5 to 6 lectures per week to keep up in a summer term course. (If you're wondering about extending the deadline, see the last question in this FAQ list.)

How and when should I contact you?

Contact information is given on my home page. You should feel free to contact me with questions on course material, just as if you were here on campus.

I recommend you use email for most things. Please be sure I have a working email address for you! Whether or not you want to email me, I will need to email you to give you your scores and solutions.

How should I submit homework?

There are several ways you can submit homework:

The best method is to email your work (as an attachment). If you do this, please sent it as a readable, well-organized (pages in the correct order) PDF file. If you type your work in MS Word, you can save as a PDF file from within Word. If you create the PDF by scanning a handwritten document, set the scanner for text only black and white -- grayscale or color scans make for files that are too large. Don't send BMP, TIFF, or GIF files -- PDF is the only format you should use. Also, make each assignment a single multi-page document. Do not send me a whole raft of scans of individual pages as separate documents -- that makes it way too hard for me to grade.
You can post your scanned work to some web address and then just email me the URL.
You can fax it. The fax number you were given by Engineering Outreach is probably to their fax machine. Something sent to that number will eventually get to me, but it's slower than faxing it directly to the machine in my department. The number for that fax machine is (208) 885-5843. Be sure to put my name on the cover sheet. Note: I strongly recommend that you use email rather than fax. Faxes can be unreliable and difficult to read.
You can mail it in. This is by far the slowest.

I try to be prompt with grading. I will usually get things graded within a couple days of receiving it. I will email a score to you, along with solutions.

How should I prepare for exams?

First, arrange your schedule so that you allow time to get feedback on the homework (and look at the posted solutions) before you take the exams. The purpose of the homework is to help you prepare for the exams. That purpose is defeated if you take the exams before you've reviewed how you did on the homework.

Second, make use of the review materials for the exams given in the lectures or posted on the course website.

How do I take quizzes and exams?

Be sure that Engineering Outreach has a proctor on file for you. They will send the exams to the proctor, but you need to make the arrangements for a proctor and notify the Engineering Outreach office of those arrangements.

How do I view solutions to homework and exams?

I will send you solutions by email when I receive a homework assignment or exam. I recommend that you review the homework solutions carefully and use them in your study preparing for exams. This is especially important because I will not be reading every single homework problem, but usually a selection from each set.

Will I receive my graded work back?

Graded exams will be returned to you via the Engineering Outreach office. I generally do not return faxed or emailed homework, but instead will give you comments via email.

Can I get an extension of the completion deadline?

In some circumstances it is possible to extend the course deadline for students who have been making good progress but are unable for some exceptional reason to make the usual deadline. However, university rules do not allow me to grant such extensions to students who have not been making adequate progress in the course up to the time the request is made. In other words, if you have completed very little coursework and ask for an extension, I won't be able to grant it.