Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Need assistance setting up your account on the new member system (implemented in August 2026)? Click here for tips.
Click on a category above to jump directly to the related FAQs.
Not finding what you're looking for? Contact the Encore Learning staff at 703-228-2144 or info@encorelearning.net
MEMBERSHIP HELP
Encore Learning welcomes all individuals over the age of 50 years of age, regardless of residence. Encore Learning does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
You can join online on our secure website with a credit card. Go to our Membership page and follow the instructions.
To Create Your Password for the First Time:
- Navigate to https://reg131.imperisoft.com/EncoreLearning/Login/Registration.aspx
- Scroll down to find "Forgot your username and/or password?" and select the link "Click here to reset."
- Enter your current email address and select the Submit button to receive an email message with the subject "Online Account Info."
- If the system displays “We do not recognize this e-mail address.”
- It may have been a keying error. Retype your current email address and submit again.
- You may have changed your email address. Email the office asking for an email update. Please include your full name and contact information. Staff will update your email address during office hours and send confirmation by email. Begin the password process again with the updated email address.
- If you don’t receive the Password Recovery email message immediately, please be patient: not all email processors are instantaneous. Consider checking your spam filter or repeating
the password request process. - Open your email. In the Online Account Info email message, select the link "click here" to reset your password.
- Type your chosen password in the password field and type it again to confirm. Then select the Save button below the passwords.
The process is the same if you forget your password.
REGISTRATION HELP (for Courses and Special Events)
Take action early. Get your password and review your account, updating contact info as needed. Email staff any change to your email address as this affects your account access. Temporarily jot down your password so you have it ready to go on registration day. Go through the membership renewal process to refamiliarize yourself with the system; if you don’t need to renew, logout before making payment. Contact staff with any issues well in advance of the first day of course registration.
Navigate to https://reg131.imperisoft.com/EncoreLearning/Login/Registration.aspx
Scroll down to find "Forgot your username and/or password?" and select the link "Click here to reset."
Enter your current email address and select the Submit button to receive an email message with the subject "Online Account Info."
If you don’t receive this message, please check your spam filter. Staff will be unable to assist in password resets on the first day of registration. We highly recommend verifying your password well ahead of this busy period.
You have typed in an email address or password that is not recognized by the system—it could be a typo or it could be that your email has changed since you last logged into the system.
If your email has changed, email staff using your preferred email address and include your full name and contact information. Staff will update your email address during office hours and send confirmation by email. Staff will not be able to process email changes on the first day of registration. We highly recommend verifying your email address well ahead of this busy period.
While you may log in to your account early on registration day, course registration is not available until 10:00 AM. After registration opens, refresh your browser to update the page so you may proceed with the registration process.
Once you add a course to your Shopping Cart, it will show as waitlisted if the course is already fully enrolled upon checkout. The course fee will display as zero as there is no cost to join a waitlist. You must complete the registration process even if you are not required to pay.
Please continue until your screen displays “YOUR REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE!” or you will lose your place on the waitlist. Encore Learning staff will notify you if space becomes available and you will be given a time to submit your payment.
Once you add the first item to your cart, you have exactly 20 minutes to complete payment before your cart is emptied and you must start over.
Note: This does not mean that once you put a course in your cart that you are enrolled in the course. Some courses sell out almost instantaneously. We recommend that you check out as soon as possible to help avoid being placed on the waitlist. You will not know if you are enrolled or on a waitlist until you complete checkout.
All memberships are individual. Each member has a unique email username and a password. To register for someone else online, log out of your account then log into their account. Note that payment may be made from anyone’s credit card (e.g., Jane Doe may pay for John Galt so long as the billing info matches Jane Doe). Transfers between members are not available so do not register for someone else under your own account. If you have trouble with the second registration, clear your cache and try again.
You can look up all your records online and print whatever you need. Simply log in to your account to access: your membership expiration date and contact info; invoices/confirmations for registrations, events, waitlists; your current class and event schedule (including waitlist status); course materials provided by your instructor, etc.
Once logged in, click on the drop down under your name to find the My Account page. Scroll down to view various tabs with different information. Your info is available 24/7 which is especially useful during tax season when you may wish to deduct membership fees and donations made to Encore Learning. Our Tax ID is printed on every receipt.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept paper registrations or checks. All registration and payment will take place online. Please call us at 703-228-2144 and we can assist you with the registration process.
Members successfully registered in a course may choose between full refund of the course registration fee or transfer to an alternate open course in the following cases:
- The selected course is cancelled for any reason;
- The course’s published schedule or location is changed prior to the course start date, and the member is unable to attend because of the change; or
- Encore Learning receives an email (to info@encorelearning.net) with a withdrawal or transfer request from the member within 24 hours of the first class session start time. Withdrawal requests received more than 24 hours after the first class session start time but within five working days after the first class session of the course may specify either refund of the course fee minus a $10 service charge or transfer to an alternate open course; no refund or transfer is available after that period.
Courses that do not meet their minimum enrollment (at least 10 students) at least one week prior to the course start date will be cancelled. If withdrawals occurring after the course start date result in enrollment below the indicated minimum, the course may be cancelled.
Refunds are made to the payer’s credit card.
This information can also be found on our website under Registration Policy and Procedures.
For an overview of the Encore Learning Course Registration process, check out our Registration Familiarization video:
You may also email info@encorelearning.net or call us at 703-228-2144.
COURSES HELP
In-person courses are held at various locations in Arlington including at George Mason University's Mason Square campus in the Van Metre Hall building.
Virtual classes are held via the Zoom platform.
Visit this course location webpage to see classroom sites, parking, and transportation options.
For in-person coures at GMU's Mason Square, parking is available at a pay garage under GMU's Van Metre Hall (entrance on N. Kirkwood Drive). Metered street parking is also available in the area.
For more information on parking at GMU, please click here.
Note that volunteer class aides for in-person classes may elect to receive free parking as their class aide benefit. See the Volunteer page for details.
In-person classes are being held at GMU Van Metre Hall. Which is located at 3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington VA 22201.
Please see the orientation video for the Classroom Hearing Assistive Technology (CHAT).
Some virtual Encore Learning courses are recorded at the discretion of the instructor. Click here to see which courses are recorded. When applicable, recordings are available on the class webpage within two business days after each class session.
Class materials shared by the instructor are posted on the individual class webpage. The password for the class webpage is included in the course confirmation email sent after registration as well as two days before the first class session. If you cannot find the password, please email info@encorelearning.net and we will gladly assist you.
More details on accessing class materials can be found here.
Click here for more information on accessing class materials. Class webpages (from Fall 2024 onward) will remain on the class webpage.
You must be a member to register for a course. Click here to join Encore Learning today.
ZOOM HELP
Downloading and Using Zoom
To successfully participate in an online class, event, club, or meeting, you will need:
- Working computer (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED), tablet or smart phone
- Zoom application downloaded to your computer or device
- Familiarity with Zoom
- Course/event registration confirmation(s)
- The course or event specific Zoom login information
You can use a computer, tablet or smart phone.
The best user experience is with a computer. The information that follows pertains primarily to computers. Some items may appear in different locations than we’ve described below, depending on your device. Use of earbuds/headset with microphone is also recommended.
Yes, but a larger display on a computer monitor will provide a better viewing experience. Tablets work best when view is set to landscape mode.
Here is a link to “Getting Started with iOS” (Apple’s operating system) for more information: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362993- Getting-Started-with-iOS
Yes, but a larger display on a computer monitor will provide a better viewing experience. Tablets work best when view is set to landscape mode.
Here is a link to “Getting Started with Android” for more information: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/200942759-Getting-Started-with- Android
The app will download automatically when you start or join your first Zoom meeting (try to do this at least 30 minutes before the first meeting).
If your download is interrupted or you have any other issues with the automatic download, it is also available for manual download.
A Zoom account is not required.
Login to your computer as the administrator and accept the download, or use Zoom with your web browser instead.
Check your computer and your internet connection.
Your computer should meet Zoom’s minimum requirements. Make sure to close all applications but Zoom and your web browser.
If you’re having problems connecting, test your bandwidth by checking download and upload speeds. Go to https://www.speedtest.net/, click GO, then wait for the results. Compare your results with Zoom’s minimum requirements. If your speeds are too low, you will continue to have connectivity issues.
To ensure the best internet connection, find a spot close to your home near your router and make sure other household members are not using services that require a lot of bandwidth like streaming shows or video games. Make sure to stop your video to save bandwidth.
Instead of downloading the app you may join from your web browser.
If you log in via web browser instead of using the Zoom app, you will need to type in the meeting ID (and password if required) rather than just click on the link in the email you received. Make sure you select JOIN a Meeting (do not select Start a Meeting).
Limit the cookies to only those that are required to run the application. Type zoom.us in your browser and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Look for fine print at the end of the last line on the page that says, “Cookie Preferences” and click on that. A pop-up box appears (even if you have a pop-up blocker enabled, it will still appear) – in that box you should set the button at the top of the scroll bar to “Required Cookies / CCPA Opt-Out” then click “Submit Preferences”.
You can play around with Zoom and test the settings on your computer ahead of time by using their test meeting functionality: https://zoom.us/test
To ensure best Internet connection:
- Test connection speed by inputting “speedtest” into your browser search engine (most links will provide a good tool).
- If connecting by WiFi and you get less than 10Mbps download speed, move to a location closer to your modem/router. Test again. If on a computer and speed has not improved, recommend getting connected by Ethernet cable to modem/router.
- To ensure the best internet connection, find a spot close to your home near your router and make sure other household members are not using services that require a lot of bandwidth like streaming shows or video games. Make sure to stop your video to save bandwidth.
- For phones and tablets, WiFi will be your only connection, being close to modem/router source is only solution.
Logging into your Course/Special Event/Club
The course-specific Zoom ID will be sent to you in the confirmation email sent after you register for a course and again two business days before the first class session. If you are unable to find the confirmation email, please message us at info@encorelearning.net and we will gladly assist you.
Zoom login information is also stored on the class webpage. The class webpage password is also included in the confirmation email. We encourage you to bookmark the class webpage and take note of the password for easy access on class days.
For clubs and volunteer meetings, you will be sent an email with the information.
For Special Events, the meeting link will be posted in the Special Events listing in the online catalog. Click here and filter by "Special Events" under Semester to see a list of all upcoming special events.
Some meetings may require Zoom registration. Click on the link. You will be taken to a Zoom Registration page. Type in your name and email (twice) then click the “I’m not a robot” box. Then Zoom will redirect you to join the meeting. You will see a pop-up box that says Enter Your Password.
Go to your email and look for a message from Encore Learning. The subject line will say “(Meeting Name) Confirmation”. Get the password from this email and type it into the Zoom pop-up box and hit enter. You will be placed into the meeting waiting room and you will see this message
“Please wait for the host to start this meeting.”
You will be placed into a virtual waiting room before the meeting begins. One of the moderators will admit you from the waiting room into the actual meeting. If it is five minutes past the meeting start time and you are still not seeing any video, please send an email to info@encorelearing.net.
- Turn off your Caps Lock and make sure your Num Lock is not on
- Clear your browser history/cache. How to do this depends on your device's browser and whether you are connecting via the browser or the Zoom app.
- Try logging in differently. If you were trying to login via the Zoom app, try logging in on the web browser, or vice versa
- Update your Zoom application
Yes, you may participate by listening to the audio only. Dial in with a regular or smart phone using the phone number provided in the email or event listing. You will be prompted to enter the meeting ID number to join the meeting via audio.
During the Zoom Course/Event
Make sure to mute your audio and stop your video before or upon entering the meeting. Meetings will vary. Follow the instructions given by the meeting moderator. Be courteous to your fellow members and remain muted with video off unless instructed otherwise by the moderator.
You may see the video and hear the speaker(s), but you will not be able to speak if you do not have a microphone on your computer. This is one reason we recommend using ear bud style headphones with included mic.
If you do not have ear buds or headphones with a mic, you may connect to the meeting with your phone and use that for audio including listening and speaking. If you do that, then turn off the speakers on your computer. Use the telephone number provided with the meeting details. You will be prompted to enter the meeting ID number to join the meeting via audio.
You are not required to have a webcam. You will not be able to transmit video of yourself. You will continue to be able to listen and speak during the meeting and view the webcam video of other participants.
Yes, please just remember to mute your audio and stop your video so as not to disturb the other participants.
Yes, just re-join the meeting using the same process you used initially.
You can change your name by selecting your name on your box in the video display bar and typing over the name.
If the speaker chooses to share slides, they will share their screen with you so that you can see the material and you will also be able to see them speaking.
Speaker view will show you one or more speakers. Gallery view will display all meeting participants. Generally, Speaker view is preferred unless you are meeting with a small group.
Earbuds or headphones solve most problems. If audio problems persist, you can dial in separately with a regular or smart phone and listen to the audio while watching the video on your computer. Use the telephone number provided with the meeting details. You will be prompted to enter the meeting ID number to join the meeting via audio.
Locate your name in the display bar. Click on the ellipsis (three dots) at upper right. Select “Hide non-video participants”.
Go to the bottom of your screen and click for the black tool tray to appear. Click on the Chat icon. A pop-up window will open and you will be able to type in your question at the bottom of the Chat window.
Additional Zoom Resources
Click here to view the slides for the Get Acquainted with Zoom Presentation Slides.
Click here for Zoom's resources on sharing a powerpoint presentation.
For more help, see the Zoom Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
MORE QUESTIONS?
Contact the Encore Learning staff at 703-228-2144 or info@encorelearning.net
Our office is staffed during the academic year Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., excluding posted holidays.