New to College?

More and more adults are entering college. Whether it’s for career promotion, career change, or personal enrichment, if you are new to college and are considering distance education, the following tips will help you get started.

• What is your goal?
  It's a good idea to know where you're going before you start. Do you want to begin a degree program or are you looking to take a few courses for career promotion or change? Perhaps you want to learn simply for the pleasure of learning?
• Are you comfortable using technology?
  Because distance education courses are delivered via technology, such as the Internet, videoconferencing, and CD-ROMs/DVDs, you should be confident in your technical abilities.
• Are you an independent learner?
  Distance education students must be self motivated and comfortable working alone, because most of the learning is done independently.
• Learn higher education terminology.
  In order to conduct transactions or contact the right office, it's essential that you understand common higher education definitions. What is a registrar? What does a bursar do?
  • Glossary of Terms
• Get to know the people at your Home Institution.
  The staff at your Home Institution are your best resources for assistance as a distance learner. They are dedicated to helping you succeed, and can link you to useful campus offices or services to assist you.  
• Advising is essential.
  If you plan to pursue a degree, it is extremely important to obtain academic advising from your Home Institution before registering for any courses. The academic advisor at your Home Institution is an expert in your program of study and knows the courses you need to complete a degree or certificate. Without an academic advisor, you could easily register for a course that won't count toward your program. Your academic advisor may also be able to suggest alternative classes that you can take as replacements for degree requirements. If you need a specific course to finish your program, your academic advisor can approve your taking a class from another ICN partner, without jeopardizing your financial aid. 
  • Academic Advising
• You're not in this alone.
  Distant students have a variety of resources to help them achieve their educational goals. In addition to your ICN campus coordinator, your classmates and instructors, and ICN staff will walk you through registration and admission procedures, point you useful online resources, and direct you to a local learning center where you'll find coordinators who have experience helping distance learners succeed. 
• Is distance learning right for you?
  Only you can determine whether distance education is right for you. Successful distance learners are self-disciplined, self-motivated, and do not require regular reminders from the instructor or classmates to meet deadlines. Perhaps one of the following quizzes will help you decide.
• Is Distance Learning for me?
  How well will distance learning fit your circumstances and life-style? The above handy questionnaire was developed to help potential distance education students assess their chances for success and is used at Northern Virginia Community College’s Extended Learning Institute.  This brief quiz should help you to determine if distance learning is right for you, too.
• How well will distance learning fit your circumstances and life-style?
  Distance learning can be a wonderful alternative to students who do not have the time or ability to get to a campus classroom; but distance and online courses are not for everyone.   Before enrolling in an online course, take the quiz above developed and used by Old Dominion University to help you assess whether online learning is right for you.