Online courses are becoming an important part of the education process and if you are an adult learner looking to continue your education you will probably be taking one of many.  For those who are first timers to this type of instruction there may be some apprehension about the process.  Some of the typical questions are centered on the time involved, writing skills, and the lack of personal attention if needed. These are all valid claims however with the proper preparation you should have no problem being successful in your online class.

1. Set aside the proper amount of quiet time to complete your work.  If you are planning to take courses online, a four-hour course, should take up about 13 to 14 hours of your time per week. Considering the fact that you may have a full-time job, family responsibilities, and other things that you can’t anticipate which may take up your time, you need to plan carefully for the time you need to complete the weekly requirements. If you don’t manage your time responsibly you will end up waiting until the last minute to complete your work. This in turn can have a negative effect on your performance in the course.
2. Are you really prepared to take a college class? If you have been out of school for a long time, or you were not a good student in high school or previous during a previous college experience, you may be lacking the basic skills to successfully manage your way through a college program. Are you confident in the basic reading, math and writing skills that are required in a college-level class?  Before enrolling in the university the school will usually give you a basic competency exam in math and English. This test will give you a good idea if you are ready to enter into a college program. I suggest that you also have someone review your writing skills on a more personal level and give you an evaluation on whether you have what it takes to succeed in college.
3. You must be able to work independently. There will be a lot of nights when you will need to make decisions about with respect to fulfilling the requirements for the course. This means you must be able to accurately comprehend what you are reading in the text, student guides, university policies, and most importantly grading rubrics. Of course you can ask the professor or other students in the class if you have questions about anything concerning the course, but at a basic level you should be able to manage these issues on your own.
4. Develop skills to do independent research. When answering discussion questions or do when your assignments it is always better to be able to support your analysis with references. Learn to use the variety of sources out there that meet these needs. Most of the time the school or university you are involved with will allow you access to a multitude of databases with unlimited information you can use.

Are you ready to take this seriously? The professors who teach these courses expect you to give this course the respect it deserves. If you think a good excuse for not turning in assignments is going on vacation, you just didn’t feel like it, or any other reason which you should have worked around in the beginning, you are wrong. Treat your academic career as if it was your professional career because the rules are basically the same. Deadlines are as much a part of the learning experience as the theory or objectives learned in the course.