What to Expect After You Register for an Online Degree Program

Each online university has their own style how they run their course. In general an online college degree will operate in the following manner.

After registration you will have access to your program's website. The instructor will post your course syllabus, weekly learning objectives, assignments, discussion topics and other pertinent information here. This site is also where you can expect to read and reply to topics on threaded discussion boards.

Some online college degrees are self paced and some are not. This is important to figure out prior to registration. A self paced program will enable you to take as little or as long as you would like. This can be beneficial to someone in the military or out in the field for their occupation for months at a time. However, online degree programs that are not self paced require you to participate in threaded discussions and complete assignments usually weekly or biweekly. If you fail to participate and/or turn in weekly assignments it could hurt your grade.

Most online college degree programs will grade you by a combination of quizzes, tests, participation, assignments and final exams. Some online education programs may require you to take tests and/or final exams at a testing center near you.

Walden University a respected online college degree program has a virtual course overview on their website. Click on the link below to see their example of how their online education program works. http://www.waldenu.edu/prospect/distance_learning/classrm_demo/index.html

Please note that the above information is a generalization of how online education programs work. For specific information on how a particular university runs their online university contact the school directly.