<p>DS is thinking about taking a 3 hour Fine Arts class that is online. Can anyone tell us how these online courses work and any advantages/disadvantages you have found in taking them online vs in a traditional setting?</p>
<p>The only online class my kids have taken is an engineering sketching class, but I think that class is now being changed to being both in class and online.</p>
<p>The specifics of how the class works really depends on the class. I’ve taken 3 online classes at UA, am taking 1 this coming semester, and also took many online Community College classes in hs. I like online classes because I can work on my own schedule (which usually means at night). Some classes require proctored exams, which can be done in Parham Hall right on campus. To me, the biggest difficulty with online classes is scheduling one’s time so you aren’t always doing things at the last minute before they’re due.</p>
<p>My son took seven AP classes online in high school, and he is currently taking three online classes through a local community college. Sea_tide is correct when he talks about time management of these classes. One cannot allow him or herself to get behind in those classes, because you do need time to set up, in some cases, when you can take midterms or finals – every school is different with this, so you need to check the policies of a school. </p>
<p>My son has spent the better part of the last three days working on his current classes to get caught up (his professors knew he would start a few days later because he was with the Alabama Action program in Costa Rica). Online is not for everyone, but he absolutely loves taking classes this way.</p>
<p>I was wondering about this also. Are the online classes included in tuition? Can son take 12 hours of traditional classes and a 3 hour online class without paying any additional fees?</p>
<p>I did my Masters Degree program as a Distance Education student (through University of Tennessee.) Time management is an issue if it’s an asynchronous course (i.e. assignments/lectures are posted on a certain date and you can login and complete during a particular time period) vs. the way my program was structured: synchronous meaning you have class at a certain time each week (say Tuesday night at 5:30pm-8pm) and you login and have a live, interactive class. In reality, I didn’t find much difference between an in person vs. distance synchronous class.</p>
<p>*Are the online classes included in tuition? Can son take 12 hours of traditional classes and a 3 hour online class without paying any additional fees? *</p>
<p>That should be ok. That’s only 15 credits.</p>
<p>M2CK</p>
<p>Yeah online tuition is the same/equal to traditional classes. I took 14 hours of traditional classes and the 3 hr REL 112 online section (they offered a traditional 112 section as well).</p>