A: When going to #3 on the Getting Started Checklist “Manage My Labs”, or going to the “Labs” button in the black toolbar and selecting “My Labs”, there are two different reasons why the “+ Create A New Lab” button may not be available.

The first is that the option may have been disabled for your class. When lab classes are created, school administrators/school users have the option to disable the ability for students to create their own labs. This could be because they’ve decided that only teachers associated with the class should be creating lab sessions for the class, which allows the teacher to set up the schedule of labs in the program and decide what happens when. If you feel this was done in error, you should probably discuss this with your teacher, as the Platinum Educational Group Customer Support Team does not have the authority to turn this option back on for a class.

The second reason why the “+ Create A New Lab” button may not be available, is that you may not be enrolled in a Lab class. When students sign up for the program they begin by signing up for their course. Once accepted into their course, they must then sign up for, and be accepted into, a lab class before they can begin lab documentation.

To see if you are enrolled in a lab class, move your mouse over “Classes” in the black toolbar on the student home page and then select “My Classes”. This will show you a list of all of the classes you are currently enrolled in. If a “Lab” class is not listed there, it could be that you have not signed up for a lab class yet. To enroll in a lab class, go back to “Classes” in the black toolbar and select “Enroll In A New Class”. This will give you a list of all of the classes associated with your course you have the ability to sign up for. Clicking the “Enroll” button to the right of a class will allow you to submit an enrollment request for that class, which will need to be accepted by a school administrator or teacher associated with the class before you can get going.

You can also check to see if you have requested to join a lab class, but the request has not been accepted yet. This can be found by going back to “Classes”, “Enroll In A New Class”, and then selecting the “Pending” tab. This will show you a list of any classes that you have submitted an enrollment request for, but that still require your teacher or a school administrator to accept. If you feel that your enrollment request has been “pending” for an unreasonable amount of time, you should reach out and discuss it with your teacher, as the Platinum Educational Group Customer Support Team also does not have the authority to accept students into classes.

If you have any additional questions/comments do not hesitate to call Customer Support at 616-818-7877. You can also chat or email us!