Academic Advising

Prospective students will work closely with an Online Enrollment Advisor through their entire program with IW Online. In the beginning, they will help you understand how your credits transfer into your chosen program and what courses you will need to take to complete your degree. Then they will help you register for your first semester. 

Once you have started your program, your Online Enrollment Advisor will continue to help guide you on your path to graduation. They will assist you in planning when to take the classes you need to in order to finish your degree on a timeline that works for you. They will also help you strategize how to be successful, whether it’s helping you develop a study plan, tutoring referrals, or providing support when you have a setback.

Textbooks

Information about required textbooks and other materials is available at the Iowa Wesleyan Bookstore. Textbook information is posted early so you have ample time to order and receive your materials before class starts. Most textbooks have a variety of purchase options including used, rental and eBook or eBook rental.

If you want to use financial aid to pay for your textbooks you may order them from the bookstore and select financial aid as a payment option.

Disability Services

Iowa Wesleyan University values diversity and inclusion; we are committed to a climate of mutual respect and full participation. Our goal is to create learning environments that are usable, equitable, inclusive and welcoming. If there are aspects of the instruction or design of this course that result in barriers to your inclusion or accurate assessment or achievement contact the Disability Service Office at (319) 385-6383 to discuss a range of options to removing barriers in the course, including accommodations.

How to set up a recovery email for your IW Gmail

The attached pdf contains instructions on how to set up a recovery email for your IW Gmail. Download Instructions

Online Classroom

IW Online uses Instructure Canvas to support support all online courses. The IW online classrooms can be accessed by going to https://class.iw.edu/.

All course content such as the class syllabus, lecture materials and assignment information is delivered in the Canvas online classroom. All student activities such as discussions, quizzes, exams and assignment submission take place in Canvas.

System Requirements

Browsers: All modern browsers are supported including Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer 11 and Edge. IE 10 or below is not supported.

Word Processor: All written assignments such as essays and research papers are required to be submitted as a Microsoft Word document.

Internet Connection: Access to a reliable Internet connection is essential for success in an online class. A high speed Internet connection is highly recommended.

Technical Support

Questions regarding the IW student portal, IW email account, or Canvas login issues, please submit a ticket to our IT department itsupport@iowawesleyan.zendesk.com. For any issues within your canvas classroom please use the ‘24hr live help’ inside the Canvas platform

What to Expect in an Online Class

Students taking an online course should expect to spend approximately 12 – 15 hours per week on course-related matters (per three-credit course). The time required for each course should considered when deciding how many credits to register for each term. Treat online classes the way you would other life commitments like your job, appointments, etc. Block time in your calendar for studying/working on class and do your best to always honor that designated time.

The online classroom is equipped with student resources including tutorials on how to navigate the classroom, strategies for success in an online class, library and research pages and a help forum. Classes are divided into eight weekly modules and each week’s content is delivered sequentially in order to guide you through the course. To help you stay organized you can add the course calendar to your personal calendar (Google Calendar, Outlook, etc.) and/or set up email and SMS notifications.

Writing Help

APA: All written work is required to follow the APA style rules of formatting and reference citations. The APA manual is available at the Iowa Wesleyan University bookstore and every online classroom contains resources for how to use APA.

TurnItIn: TurnItIn is a plagiarism detection tool that compares your work for similarity to other submitted documents in TurnItIn’s database. Some assignments may require submission to TurnItIn at the instructor’s discretion. TurnItIn is integrated with the online classroom. Students are not required to create a TurnItIn account and assignments designated for TurnItIn will be checked automatically upon submission in the online classroom.

Tutoring Center: Writing support is available through the Office of Academic Success and Inclusive Support (OASIS). Students may submit their work online and receive personalized feedback.