Success Online
How to achieve success in our online program!
- Develop good time management skills. Expect to spend at least 50 to 60 hours per course. During a regular semester, that is approximately 4-5 hours each week per course. Develop a weekly schedule in which you have scheduled that amount of time for each course.
- Use your time wisely. When working on your courses, keep yourself focused on the work that must be done.
- Keep up with your work; do not fall behind. The best way to accomplish this is to be about a week ahead of schedule. If something happens and you are not able to work for several days, you will still be able to submit your work on time.
- Life happens. Situations are going to occur that will prevent you from working on your course work for several days. If it is a scheduled event (business trip), then work to get ahead so that you will be able to submit your assignments before the event. If an unusual event occurs, such as a death in the family, contact the professor as soon as possible.
- Do not wait until the deadline to submit an assignment or take a quiz. If Moodle goes down, the professor may make arrangements for submitting an assignment late or to extend the closing date/time for a quiz. If you have a technical problem, such as the Internet is not working, you are still expected to submit your assignments on time and take the quiz within the allotted time period. Therefore, do not wait until the last minute. Submit assignments and take quizzes early.
- At the beginning of the semester, read and study the syllabus. Know what is expected of you in the course.
- Check your syllabus and Moodle several times each week for assignments and due dates. By doing this, you will not accidentally miss an assignment.
- Keep regular communications with the instructor.
- When you have questions, concerns, or maybe want a little clarification about an assignment, contact your professor via email.
- If you are having difficulties in a class, let the instructor know immediately. Don’t wait until it is too late to ask for help.
- What you get from a course is based on how much effort you put into it. In an online course, you may be given more flexibility into what you study. In these situations, you must put forth your full effort.
- When completing assignments, do not cheat. You are expected to do your own work. (WIU/SAU Policy on Cheating)
- When writing a research report, do not plagiarize. You are expected to analyze similar or opposing concepts and ideas of several authors that are found in the literature and express those combined concepts and ideas in your own words. Use direct quotes sparingly. Do not use a direct quote to make a point; use a direct quote to emphasize a point you have already made. Include proper source documentation on each paragraph. (WIU/SAU Policy on Plagiarism)
- Good attendance in any course is important. For an online course, attendance is measured by logging into Moodle regularly, participating in online discussions and submitting assignments on time.