Going Back to school..need Info About Online Courses.

I never took an online course at TCC (I only went on campus at TCC), but I have taken 2 at Collin County Community College. Like previous posters have said, it all depends on the course and teacher. In sociology I had a quiz and lab due each week. Labs normally consisted of a 500 word essay on interesting topics, so they were super easy to write. (Well, at least for me. I love writing.) I also have to mention... I took these classes while I was 9 months pregnant! I ended up having my daughter in the middle of the semester and was still able to pass both courses with a 4.0 English was abit trickier. We had to post on the discussion board, grammar quiz each week (super easy), and several short writings and essays. I had a very specific teacher and it made our job a lot easier. FYI, don't sign up for ANY science class in the summer. It's a very intensive pace and it's hard to get a 3.0 or higher. I studied my tail off and only recieved a 2.0 in basic biology during summer II

Before you sign up for classes, go to www.ratemyprofessor.com
Most professors are on there, even the ones who do online classes. I always double check that site before I register for classes. :)

Feel free to PM me, I will tell you who I think are great teachers over at TCC

Oh, you are fully capable of taking 2 online class and one on campus. I AM NOT bragging here (seriously, I'm not) but I am working part-time on the weekends and I have two kids and a messy husband lol!! As long as you are familiar with time management (I'm not, I am still making the transition) and get into a routine, it will be good to go.

Good Luck!

I took a few online courses several years ago through DCCCD. I really liked it and plan on continuing once my toddler is a bit older.

I didn't find that the classes were very time consuming whatsoever. If I'm honest, I put in as little time as I could and still maintained As in all the courses. I can't remember the specifics, but I hardly had any of the busy work a previous poster experienced with hers.

Good luck to you!

Hi M., Congrats on going back to school! My mom has attended DBU the last 4 years, got her Bachelor's, and now 1 semester away from a Master's Degree. She has never set foot in the class room. It does still take time to do online classes but rule of thumb is take the semester hours and multiply by 3 hours to get the time it will take from you. Say, 1 class at 3 hrs/class x 3hrs study time/wk = 9 hours total/class. 2 classes would be 18 hrs/week (probably less depending on the difficulty of the class), but at least you are at home and not having to spend gas and time away from home! I took a class this semester online and it was fairly easy but a little time consuming. Online classes do tend to have more busy work required, it seems but not too bad. If you could possibly find a degree that had all ONLINE courses, you could apply for financial aid (even if it is loans) and help supplement your family's finances until you get out. You may also qualify for grants you never know. I know you don't have to repay loans until 6 months after you graduate(or decide to stop for whatever reason). It helped me this semester, we paid off some of our higher interest bills and now I am able to work less and focus more on home and school for now!
I did take an A&P class that was 4 credit hrs, but the classes with a lab are tricky because they are actually 3 hrs of lecture time and 4 hrs of lab time, so 7 hrs of class time per week along with study time so it was a little hairy working full time and having a 2 yr old, but I made it.
If you plan to just take a 3 credit hr class at the campus and a 3 credit hour course online, then you should be able to do it.
I hope I wasn't too babbly and confusing. if you have any other questions or need any other advice, just send me a message.

I'm a full-time working mom of 2 girls and I'm currently taking on-line courses through American Intercontinental University. It is an accredited school that offers an accelerated degree program - such as Associate's degree in 11 months, Bachelor's in 26 months.

I have been taking 1 class at a time, which is very do-able. It requires 2-3 chapters (about 30-35 pages each) of reading per week, depending on the class, one individual assignment per week(usually a 4-6 page paper) and a discussion board assignment each week in which you have to post a response to the professor's discussion as well as respond to other classmate's responses. I would say I typically spent about 10 hours per week or so. I start taking 2 classes per session starting in January, so wish me luck!

My sister is taking on-line classes through University of Phoenix and compared side-by-side as far as work load and content, they're very similar. But, AIU is cheaper and faster. I have achieved 12 credits since October and it's cost me about $298 per credit.

I hated it! Capella Unv. online....BAD I hated it! The program took forever to use. Always had problems with sending my work to my instructor.

My husband works an average of 60 hours a week and goes to school at TCC. He does Sociology on campus, and stuff like Theater Appreciation and Math (his strongest suit) online. We both agree that if you have a class that you've never taken (like I had to tell him what Sociology was), it's best to take them on campus so that you can easily ask questions/clarify without waiting for emails. His strongest classes, he just takes online to save time. As for Theater, it would have been great, except that the instructor he had (Stephen somebody) has EVERYTHING wrong with online grading. My husband would spend triple the time because he'd do his study, take the tests, and then have to go back and find which page and paragraph proved him right and email the instructor with corrections that the teacher screwed up on. A total pain!!! He got an A average on all classes, but he really earned the Theater Appreciation's A. I don't know if the teacher is an idiot, or if it would have been better to take on campus. It really just depends on your strengths and weaknesses, and who the teacher is. Unfortunately, if you're an adult and don't have a lot of friends in school, it's more trial and error when it comes to finding the instructors.

I've been taking classes at TCC since Fall '06. I've only taken one online class and that was this past summer. It was Child Growth and Development. We had to read 3 chapters a week, had 3 quizzes (one for each chapter) a week, and sometimes a short essay and/or about 10 short answer questions in addition to the other. It was more time consuming that I'd expected, but manageable. The only thing about online classes is you have to be responsible about them. If you get behind, you find yourself with a lot of work to make up on the last day of the week before your assignments are due. Our "mid-term" consisted of writing answering short essay questions, and our final was on campus at the testing center, again answering short essay questions based on the material.

I think it really depends on the teacher and the class you are taking. Many times online classes are just as much if not more involved than on campus classes (Like Anatomy and Physiology as one poster mentioned). But different online teachers do different things, just like on campus. So what to expect is really dependent upon the course and the instructor.

Good luck!! If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me. When I started college last fall, it was my first time ever in college and it had been almost 9 years since graduating high school, so I understand your search for information to prepare yourself. :)