• Skip to main content

Bank of North Dakota

  • College Handbook
  • Blog
  • Video
  • Get Educated
  • Contact
  • bnd.nd.gov
  • Search

Nontraditional

Overcome the Challenges of Online College Courses

By Amanda Woidyla

Many nontraditional students choose to take courses online. This changes the college experience, but you have the advantage of fitting classes into your schedule. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you progress through your online studies.

online-college-courses
  • Become familiar with the college’s online platform. Before classes start, it’s important to understand the process for submitting assignments, watching lectures and using discussion groups. See if your college offers video tutorials or an online orientation course. Not every college uses the same platform, so if you plan on taking classes from more than one school, you may need to learn a variety of programs.
  • Organization and discipline are key. Because you are not physically in the classroom, it is essential that you keep up to date with deadlines and exams. Make note of important due dates in a planner and schedule time each week to work through online lectures and assignments.
  • You can’t afford to procrastinate. Computers have a bad habit of crashing just when you need them most. Don’t wait until the last minute to complete an assignment, otherwise you may miss a deadline while you don’t have access to a computer.
  • Leave time for questions. Since you won’t have a regularly scheduled class time, make sure you leave enough time when completing your weekly assignments to email or call your professor with questions.
  • A reliable, technically compatible computer is a necessity. Be sure that your computer has the programs necessary to view and complete online coursework and try to have a general understanding of how these programs work before the course begins.
  • It takes more time than one might expect. Many classes require online discussion groups which can get lengthy, especially when you have to go back through old posts to find the information that you need. Some classes may only require that you check in a few times a week, but others need daily attention.

Amanda Woidyla

Amanda Woidyla is the University and Student Development Coordinator at BND, which is a long title for “I help students plan and pay for college and plan TO pay for college.” She coordinates College Application Month, North Dakota’s branch of the American College Application Campaign and REALLY likes public speaking. Outside of work, Amanda likes to ride bikes, do yoga and pet other people’s dogs.

You will also like:

Resume-Building-Stand-Out-post
Housing-On-Off-Campus-post
Study-Abroad-post

Bank of North Dakota

Copyright © 2023 · Bank of North Dakota

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT