Student Credits are an inexpensive way to provide extra features for your students.  You don't need student credits to use the system, but they provide the following features:

• Account protection.  Student memberships on the site belong to them, not to you.  This means that if the student forgets their login information, you will have no recourse but to have them set up a new account.  This will result in some confusion, since you'll now have two accounts for the same students, and some reports under each account.  If you have applied a Student Credit to your student, you can do an "account recovery" operation, transferring all their student information to a new account, so nothing is lost, and there is no confusion.  If multiple teachers are working with the same student, only one teacher should apply a student credit to the student.  This teacher will become the student's primary teacher, and will be responsible for account recovery if it becomes necessary.
• The Virtual Classroom Toolbar will appear on every page of the site for your students, allowing them to access their next assignment easily, no matter where they are on the site.
• As an added bonus, this toolbar appears at the top left side of the site, effectively sliding the advertising slot to a less obtrusive location.

If you have purchased one or more Student Credits, click on the "Student Credits" link to assign these credits to students.  You will see a list of students who either have no student credit, or whose credit has expired.  Select students from the list by checking the checkbox next to each name, and then click submit.