This is a regular college course. I expect the same commitment to time and quality as I do in the classroom. The big difference is that Internet study is student centered rather than teacher centered. This means that you are responsible for your own learning and success. If you are highly motivated and produce high quality work – you will be successful. However, if you logon sporadically, participate minimally, or submit poor work – you will not. Online higher education is aimed at independent learners. If you require the structure of a classroom, this method will not suit you.

I expect the successful student will spend an average of about 15-18 hours per module on this course. Although that may seem like a lot – remember this: A traditional classroom-based course requires 45 hours of “seat time” plus 2-3 hours outside of class for each hour in class. It adds up to around 150 total hours.

Do you have a plan if you have a technical problem? If your computer crashes, or if your Internet connection fails – these events do not excuse you from your course responsibilities.You can access this online course from any computer that has an Internet connection. I suggest that you make a plan now for events such as these. If you ever have a technical problem connecting to your course, submitting work to your course, or any other course-related issue, call the SLN Student Helpdesk at (800) 875-6269. If the problem is with the SLN system, you will be granted a time extension for submitting assignments affected by the problem. However, if you do not report the problem to SLN, no time extension will be granted.