ADRE now requires a biometric-type “signature” to access newer or recently-renewed classes. This requirement was recently added by ADRE and applies to all schools.
To sign in to classes, draw your name in the signature box on your screen when prompted, using a mouse or touchpad. The system will check for characteristics in your handwriting to see if it matches the way you signed when you enrolled in the class. If it does not match, the system will log you out.
Biometric signatures are a new way that ADRE tests to see if someone is trying to illegally take a class for a licensee. It is like signing the roster in a live classroom class, only you are signing electronically. That said, this is not the place to get creative (nor to unleash your frustrations), for if the system flags your signature as a mismatch and school personnel cannot validate your signature, the school cannot give credit and it may result in you having to re-take all or part of the material.
The most common issues occur if you start to “shortcut” and use initials (or if you write fewer legible letters of your signature), if you get frustrated and your signature deviates from how it was originally signed, if you switch to a device which may center your signature within the box a bit differently, or you have momentarily dropped your Internet connection.
If you have problems:
Draw your name in the signature box slowly, carefully and deliberately
Use the same computer/device that you originally signed with and sign in from the same Internet location (IP address), which will require less accuracy to verify that you are you
Make the letters of your handwritten name legible, and place them in approximately the same spot within the box as you did when registering
Make the letters in your name a bit taller
If an issue first begins upon switching computers/device, try writing your name in a lower or higher part of the signature box, or start your signature a bit to the left or right
Log out in the extreme upper right corner of the HOME page of your school account and log in again at https://www.onlinecourselink.com
If when originally registering, you printed, scrawled, wrote illegibly, used initials or only a few letters, it will be extremely difficult for you to login consistently. If this applies to you (or if you don’t remember how you signed), please email help@onlinecourselink.com to reset your master signature and do so at a time when you can log out of the program, close your browser, and reboot your computer/device.
When re-setting your signature, remember these tips:
The biometric signature need not be your official signature but the school requires that it identify you; you may simply write your first and last name as it is on file with ADRE
Cursive (handwriting) works better than printing
More legible letters work better than fewer
Large signatures work better than small signatures... fill the signature box, to the extent possible, from top to bottom and left to right
Do note that every login attempt to digitally handwrite your name is photographed and kept as part of your permanent record for at least five years, in the event of audit or investigation. Your digitally-handwritten first and last name will also appear on your certificate(s) of completion, when required, attesting that you have met the requirements for credit.
Becky S. Ryan, Founder
Online Course Providers
