SURVIVAL TIPS 
for Online Students

	Allow Time. Most students are not prepared for the amount of time that an on-line course takes. Remember that you are teaching the material to yourself. Therefore, each chapter must be read carefully and two times. This takes time – more time than sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture.
	Stick With It! Distance Education courses require perseverance, self-discipline, self-motivation, and the ability to work independently – more so than face-to-face than on-campus classes.

Keep Up – Be Organized. This is a course that builds as it goes. Concepts learned in one chapter are combined with concepts in subsequent chapters as applications are developed. For example , if you fall behind or don’t learn the concepts in chapter 1, you will have difficulty with chapter 2.

Meet Deadlines. Do not get behind. Have each week’s assignments completed as scheduled.

Make Lists. Make lists of things that need to be memorized and study them while you are waiting in line at the grocery store or the bank.  Also, it is a good idea to read the material right before you go to bed so that you can sleep on the difficult concepts.

Use Your Printer. Print out anything that I write. My postings may be presentation notes offering additional explanations of difficult concepts, additional examples, homework assignments, and quizzes.

Keep in Touch. It is very important that you keep in touch with me and with  your fellow classmates in a distance education course. They cannot help you and you cannot help them if you are not around through e-mail, at the conferences, or at the Virtual Coffee Shop.

Keep Me and Your Classmates Informed about changes in your e-mail address. We cannot stay in touch with you if you are not available. We cannot learn from you if you are not available.

Don’t try to "Go It Alone!". In a distance education course, you must teach yourself. And you will most likely need some help – from me and from your classmates. So Keep in Touch.

Establish an E-mail list of Class Members or Study Groups that are  formed. This way you can easily send messages without having to logon to the system. Keep in Touch with them and me.

Don’t Drop the Course without talking to me first. Together, we may be able to find a solution to your dilemma.