USF Online Spring 2006

Welcome to the Spring Semester at the University of St. Francis!
Hopefully by now you've had a chance to experience the online class venue. We trust everything is going well for you this semester. If you should need any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact us at 815-740-5080 or toll free 1-866-337-1497.

Meet the CID Staff

Jeanne Washburn, Director of The Center for Instructional Delivery (CID), began working for the University of St. Francis in January of 1999. She was hired as the administrative assistant for CID and was the first official full-time staff member. Jeanne was promoted to Online Program Administrator in June of 2000, Assistant Director in June of 2002 and to her current position as Director in June of 2003. Her main role is overseeing all the daily functions of CID. She also spends a great deal of time working with other academic areas of the university on policies and procedures as well as assisting students and faculty with any questions and concerns that they may have.

Jeanne's family consists of her husband Eric and two daughters Kaitlyn (13) and Brianna (11). She is an alumna from the University of St. Francis , graduating in December of 1999 with a BS in Applied Organizational Management and her M.B.A. in December of 2001. She is a member of Pinnacle, a national honor society for adult students and Delta Mu Delta, a national honor society in business administration.

The CNET website offers some terrific tips, product reviews and price comparisons in regard to today's ever changing technology. One may find an extremely helpful step-by-step tutorial, which incorporates video, on how to clean your computer. This tutorial includes a discussion on various cleaning supplies as well as strategies for cleaning the monitor, keyboard, fans and interior case. There is much more than meets the eye when it comes to caring for your computer, so be sure to check out CNET!

Every where you turn on the Internet you are being asked for a username and password. Who can possibly remember all of them and you certainly don't want to use the same one for everything as your security becomes jeopardized. The Password Profiler puts an end to all that. This free program allows you to manage your passwords efficiently, easily, and securely, safely storing all of your passwords and pin numbers in an encrypted file, which only you have access to. This is definitely a program worth looking into!

Do you ever notice that sometimes it just feels like your computer is getting slower and slower? Well, this problem can be easily rectified right within your own Windows system. This website shows you how to use the Windows Maintenance Tools that already exist on your computer to fine tune your PC and put it in premium running condition.

Why Antivirus Software is so Important
You receive an email from a friend, with an attached document. You are asked to look over the document and make corrections. Of course, you open it and " BAM !" your computer is infected with a virus. Your friend didn't mean to give it to you; in fact, your friend didn't even send the email. You received this because you happened to be a part of their address book and they were unknowingly infected with the same virus. See, a virus goes to work in the computer's registry files (where all of the computer settings are found). This crafty virus then attaches itself to all of the addresses and sends itself to everyone located in the book.

There is a way that you can protect yourself from computer viruses – use antivirus software! It may sound elementary, but many people either don't have an antivirus program or don't keep it up to date.

There are many products on the market, and sometimes it can be confusing trying to determine which program best suits your needs. Here are just a few:

Whichever antivirus program you choose, please remember to keep it updated as your antivirus is the only thing that stands between you and a crashed computer!

Upon arriving at the St. Francis webpage, there are a multitude of possibilities to look at. Academics, Athletics and Student Life just to name a few. But when you glance at the center of the page within a gold bar are the words NEWSCENTRAL. Therein lies the key to what is presently happening at USF.

Within NEWSCENTRAL you will find the History of USF. This multimedia account tells the story of how the University of St . Francis evolved from the establishment of a new order of nuns in 1865 by Sr. Alfred Moes, to the present , a four year university, under the direction of Dr. Michael J. Vinciguerra.

Included in this historical website are digital interviews with Sisters who have helped form USF, and digitally archived editions of The Encounter, USF's newspaper. This is definitely a must see for all St. Francis students, near or far.

Please check the Online Program webpage for the most up-to-date beginning and ending dates for your classes. Please remember that students will not have access to their courses until 12 Noon (CST) on the day the course starts.

A browser like Internet Explorer or Netscape, allows you to find, load, and view your course on the Internet. The directions for accessing your online course may specify not only what browsers you can use but also what version of these browsers are recommended. Be sure to find out what browsers and what versions of them that your college requires you to use in accessing your online course. If you have any browser problems, immediately contact your campus online administrator or technology help desk. Be aware that America Online may be a problem at your institution to access your online course.