What to Expect in Online Campus
Anytime, Anywhere
When you sign up for online classes, you are signing up for college—no questions asked. Our degrees carry the very same credibility as our on-campus degrees. Most of our online students are people who are busy—moms or dads with jobs, professionals with full-time jobs, or people (young or seasoned) who are looking to get ahead in life—or all three. We know you need the flexibility to focus on what is most important at that moment and that’s why we bring the learning to where you need it and when. Classes are held asynchronously, meaning that though you may have due dates, you are free to work on assignments at anytime of the day. Be aware, however, that even though you are able to work on your assignments anytime of the day does not mean that you can enroll at anytime and finish the class at anytime. Online classes follow the same enrollment and completion schedule for the semester as the face to face classes.
Welcome to the Virtual Classroom
You are not a lone student in the wilderness. With our Canvas learning management system (LMS) technology you not only have access to the learning material, but you can also interact with the instructor and other students via chat, asynchronous discussions via discussion board or video, online group projects, and document sharing.
Basic Technical Requirements
When you sign up for online classes, you will need a laptop or desktop computer, a good internet connection, and will need to get the required free updated browsers (Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox) and plugins (Adobe Flash, Adobe Reader , and Java) required for your computer to work well with Canvas LMS. If your class requires video recordings, an inexpensive set of earbuds with a microphone will help out with quality sound, and usually your desktop or laptop will already have a webcam. Make sure to check your course syllabus to see if there are more technical requirements.
Time Requirements
Because online degrees are every bit as credible as on-campus degrees, make no mistake--you should plan to spend at least as much time studying for your classes as you would for face to face classes. For example, if you have a 3 credit hour course, plan to spend 3 hours of time in that course, plus the additional work time, which would be approximately 2-3 hours for every credit hour. In this case, it would be 6-9 hours per week.
Student Success—Our Number One Priority!
Besides your academic advisor for personal support, don’t forget you will have access to technical help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you have access to free online tutoring provided by the college with Smarthinking. You also have access to our awesome online librarians who are available to chat and will be willing to help you with any of your research needs. Never hesitate to use the learning support! CSN has student success as our number one priority!