inspect your gadgets An overview of STLCC’s Technology Resources

JACOB POLITTE Managing EDITOR

STLCC uses a variety of technology resources in order to make handling all college matters, from schoolwork to signing up for classes, as easy and seamless as possible. Also, as an STLCC student, you are entitled to free usage of all of these programs under your student account. These programs include:

Canvas

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Outlook

Banner Self-Service

… and others. In addition, Banner Self Service will be your primary tool to register and pay for your classes.

Canvas

The introduction of Canvas to the STLCC students and faculty had been in the works for some time, with the full implementation having begun in May 2022.

The vast majority of the time, your professor will attach a copy of the course syllabus and the tentative schedule for the course on the course’s Canvas page. Your instructor may also post discussion board topics that are mandatory to respond to; these are especially popular in online courses. While they’re often not worth that many points, they are important to do, as they may be the only interactions you’ll have with other students involved in the course. Often, they will have specific provisions attached, like a specific minimum word count, a certain number of students that you’ll have to reply to, and etc.

Microsoft Teams

In the past few years, STLCC adopted using Microsoft Teams. Teams can be used for a variety of reasons, including by your professors to hold meetings, host classes or even virtual office hours. Zoom is also a popular service to use, and some Professors may also use that program for the same purposes. Teams, however, is the preferred program for the college.

Microsoft Outlook

Another Microsoft program already in use by STLCC is your student “Outlook” email account, which was created the moment you signed up for classes here. It may be tempting to ignore it, but don’t… vital college information is sent through this particular channel. This includes updates from your Professors about class cancellations or schedule changes, in addition to important messages from members of the college’s administration, the Campus President and other department heads.

Banner Self Service

When it comes to handling other college business, Banner Self Service is a page that must be visited, but it can be a bit tricky to navigate if you’ve never used it before. “Banner” is where all of your STLCC information is stored for your convenience. On Banner, you can sign up for classes, check your grades and your transcripts, and either set up a payment plan to pay for your classes or just pay for them outright.

Banner is used by both students and faculty college-wide. In particular, your official final grades for each semester are uploaded exclusively on Banner; you’ll have to access the site and view your transcript to see how you ultimately did.

When signing up for your future classes, Banner also has an interactive class schedule that helps you search for the classes you’re looking for. You can use this interactive feature to search for the classes by professor, campus, time period, or the type of class (online, independent study, or in-person).

If you’re looking to address how to pay for your classes, especially if you don’t benefit from FASFA aid, Banner is your ultimate destination.

On Banner, you can either set up a payment plan that is the best fit for your financial situation, or you can pay for your classes outright.

If you are a paid employee of the college, it’s also where you will go to submit your timesheets for approval, find important tax documents and more.

For more important information on the technology services that STLCC offers, please contact the STLCC IT Help Desk (the district wide offices are conveniently located at Meramec in the Gymnasium building) by phone at 314-539-5113. You can also contact them by email at helpdesk@stlcc.edu, or through their Web Request Portal which can be found at servicedesk.stlcc.edu.