PALS
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- What is PALS?
- How does PALS affect me?
- How can I request a PALS Account?
- How do I access PALS?
- What are the hours of operation for PALS?
- What are Channels?
- How do I add new channels?
- Can I remove a channel?
- What is the difference between Personal and Campus Announcements?
- Do I have to be on campus to access PALS?
- PALS uses a Channel and Tab framework to display content. If I wish to request a channel for my department, what should I do?
- How can I look up my pay stub information?
- Can I access WebCT within PALS?
- What Browsers does PALS support?
- How do I clear the "Session Time Out" error when I login to PALS?
- PALS Tips and Techniques?
- Having problems connecting to PALS or WebCT?
- Is my access to PALS Secure?
- How do I disable the pop-up blocker feature in Internet Explorer 6 or 7?
- What is PALS?
Personalized Access to Learning and Services (PALS) is a web-based portal which can be modified by each user to meet his or her online needs and preferences.
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How does PALS affect me?
Every student, faculty and employee of the Alamo Colleges system will have access to PALS. This tool will be the primary gateway into many systems. Students and faculty taking or teaching internet courses on WebCT will enter via PALS. Faculty and support staff should know how system operates in order to serve and communicate with students. Faculty using other course management systems will also benefit from learning the additional communication features that PALS has to offer. PALS can serve as a starting point to your internet course no matter where it resides. Staff can take advantage of the group’s tool to collaborate within their department. This session will detail exactly what features are available to enhance the workplace.
- How can I request a PALS Account?
PALS accounts are automatically generated for Alamo Colleges students, staff, and faculty.
- How do I access PALS?
Go to www.alamo.edu/pals and click your school name under "Login to PALS." Under the password box, select "Click Here to obtain your PALS login User Name" and follow the prompts. Your password is the first 2 letters of your last name (in upper case letters) followed by the last 6 digits of your social security number.
- What are the hours of operation for PALS?
PALS is unavailable from 3 am to 4 am, all week. Administrative services such as (registration, class list, degree audit) are available at the following times.
7 am to 10 pm Monday- Thursday
7 am to 6 pm Friday
8 am to 1 pm Saturday
& unavailable Sunday. - What are Channels?
PALS provides informational content through channels. In general, channels provide at-a-glance information with click-throughs to expanded content or Web resources. Some typical channels that you may see include information like:
- Information about the first few messages in your e-mail
- Fragments of personal announcements that you have been sent
- Links to other online resources at your institution
- Access to course schedules or administrative services Each page (tab) is divided into sections arranged in columns. Each of these sections is called a channel. Channels can be permanent; others can be rearranged, deleted, replaced, or added, so that you see just what you want to see every time you log into PALS.
- How do I add new channels?
- Click on the Content/Layout link located on the upper left corner of the PALS page.
- Click on Add/Channel
- Select a category or use the 'select all' to look at all the available channels and click on Go.
- Select a channel from the list and click on Add Channel.
- Can I remove a channel?
There are some channels that can be removed. Each channel has three or four buttons on the upper right.
If the "x" button is bold, then the channel can be removed.
If the "x" button is grayed out, then this is a permanent channel and cannot be removed. Channels can be removed and replaced using the "add new channels" steps also found in this FAQ.
- What is the difference between Personal and Campus Announcements?
- Personal announcements are sent to you based on your role on campus (faculty, staff, or student). Announcements sent through your courses and groups are also delivered through the personal announcement channel.
- Campus announcements are sent out to everyone on campus.
- Do I have to be on campus to access PALS?
No, any faculty, student, or employee with an authorized account can access the system anywhere, anytime.
If you are on vacation, at home or in another office, you can login and use PALS.
- PALS uses a Channel and Tab framework to display content. If I wish to request a channel for my department, what should I do?
Your PALS College Content Administrators have special privileges to create and publish channels.
College Content Administrators:
SAC
Mark Goodspeed
Mike Alvarado
Dan Melgoza
SPC
Reese Hearn
David Gonzales
PAC
Steve Sosa
Duncan Perez
NVC
Shawn Harward
Frances Jenks
Sandra Chavez
DIST
Oscar Flores
Nico Morales
You will also need to submit a channel request form:
http://luminusdev.accd.edu/channelrequest
To request a new PALS channel, all fields are required. To expedite the request, we ask that you complete all the fields. If you have any questions about the channels, contact your college PALS content administrators via email.
- How can I look up my pay stub information? Login to PALS, click the “Employee” tab, click “Welcome to PALS Web Services”, click “Employee,” and place your cursor over “Payroll.”
- Can I access WebCT within PALS?
Yes, login to PALS, click the MyCourses tab, and click your course name. Once you click your course name, your WebCT course homepage will display.
- What Browsers does PALS support?
- Windows Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 and 6.0 SP1 Netscape
7.2 Mozilla 1.6 and 1.7
Firefox 1.x
- Macintosh
OS 9
Internet Explorer 5.1.7
Netscape 7.02
OS X v10.3
Netscape 7.1
Mozilla 1.6 and 1.7
Firefox 1.x
Safari 1.2 and 1.3
- How do I clear the "Session Time Out" error when I login to PALS?
Open Internet Explorer
Click the "Tools" menu
Click "Internet Options"
Click the "Delete Cookies" button; a screen will appear, click "OK"
Click the "Delete Files" button; a screen will appear, check "delete all offline content", and click "OK"
Click the "Clear History" button; a screen will appear, click "Yes"
Restart the PC and login to PALS via Internet Explorer.
- PALS Tips and Techniques?
Included are some helpful tips and techniques if you are having difficulty accessing PALS or WebCT from outside of the Alamo Colleges network. Further, if you need individual online assistance, please call Support Central at 210-485-0555.
Session Time Outs
Please check your system time from the following site: http://www.time.gov/timezone.cgi?Central/d/-6/java
Double clicking anywhere within PALS will log you out. PALS require only a single click for any action.
After you log in, please do not use the refresh button to refresh your screen, as this causes PALS to log you out.
Disable all pop-up blockers.
Browser Issues
After logging into PALS, if you are unable to open your WebCT course or you are getting a blank screen for your WebCT, you should:
Disable all pop-up blockers.
Configure your firewall to allow access to port 8900.
If you use a router, ensure that its configuration allows access to port 8900.
Finally, your Internet Service provider may block some internet ports for security reasons. You may wish to confer with them.
Additional Information
Access http://www.alamo.edu/it/pdf/support/portalissues.pdf
for additional information Contact Support Central at 210-485-0555 for online assistance.
- Having problems connecting to PALS or WebCT?
PALS Troubleshooting: Click Here
- Is my access to PALS Secure?
PALS uses frames to build pages & therefore you do not see the lock icon in the browser. However, PALS is secure.
This secure site allows you to check email, register for courses, communicate with other students and faculty, and take care of all aspects of college business.
If you're using Internet Explorer: Right click anywhere around the login username and password area and click Properties. Under Connection, you should find: SSL 3.0, RC4 with 128 bit encryption (High); RSA with 1024 bit exchange.
If you're using Netscape browser: Right click anywhere around the login username and password area and click View Frame Info. Under Security, you should find: This is a secure document that uses a high-grade encryption key for U.S. domestic use only (RC4, 128 bit).
- How do I disable the pop-up blocker feature in Internet Explorer 6 or 7?
The process of disabling the pop-up blocker is exactly the same in both versions. To disable the pop-up blocker:
- Click on the Start Menu and select Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel double click on Internet Options.
- In the Internet Options window, select the Privacy tab.
- At the bottom of the window, uncheck the "Turn on pop-up Blocker" check box.
- Click OK to exit.
- Internet Explorer will now start without the pop-up blocking feature.
If you are using the Google Toolbar, it is recommended that you disable the pop-up blocking feature. You can disable the blocker by clicking on the pop-up blocker button from the toolbar. When you click on it will say pop-ups OK.
