Frequently Asked Questions About Taking
Hybrid and Online Courses

• Hybrid & Online Courses Offerings: Winter 2012 | Spring 2012
• How to Register
• Hybrid vs. Online
• Expectations
• Computer Requirements
• View a Moodle Demo!
• About the Instructors
• Necessary Skills
• "Netiquette"
• Preparation
• Technical Support
• Advice by Students, for Students
• Purchase College Authentication Policy

Which hybrid and online courses are being offered?
The School of Liberal Studies & Continuing Education is offering the following hybrid and online courses:

SPRING 2012

100% Online Courses

Undergraduate Credit Courses:

Fundraising and Development in the Arts*

Arts and Entertainment Law*

*also available on a noncredit basis

Noncredit Courses/Programs:

Social Media Marketing: Using the Tools of the Trade

Nonprofit Management Certificate**

Integrative Nutrition Certificate**

Philosophy of Arts in Education

Teaching Strategies and Tactics

The New York Times Knowledge Network**

Hybrid Courses:

Noncredit Courses/Programs:

Facebook Marketing

Building Brands: Blogs—The New Web Site

**Online noncredit courses delivered by partner organizations:
The following programs offer online noncredit courses delivered by partner organizations. Students register directly through the partner organizations. These courses do not use Moodle, the College’s learning management system.

Integrative Nutrition

Nonprofit Management

The New York Times Knowledge Network

WINTER SESSION 2012 (3-week intensives, Jan. 2–20)
100% ONLINE COURSES; 4 credits each

Undergraduate Credit Courses:

Impressionism

Television Studies

History of the Hudson River Region

American History and Society Through Music

World Religions: An Anatomy of the Sacred

Short Fiction

Understanding Moral Problems

Basic Spanish I

Creative Writing Workshop

The Search for Life in the Universe

Intro. to Psychology

Behavioral Statistics

Personality Assessment

Microeconomics I

Research Methods

Crime and Delinquency

Health Issues in the 21st Century

Arab Cinema: Old Glories, New Challenges

Gender Expression in Film

How to Register for Courses

What is the difference between a hybrid and online course?

Hybrid courses are taught partially on campus (in person) and partially online. Credit courses meet 40% on campus and 60% online. Hybrid courses in the noncredit Social Media Marketing Certificate Program have varying times allotted to in-class and online learning environments (see course descriptions).

Online courses are offered entirely over the Internet. This format allows the flexibility to work at one’s convenience toward specified deadlines. Most courses use Moodle, the College’s learning management system. The following programs offer online noncredit courses that are delivered by partner organizations. Students register directly through the partner organizations. These programs do not use Moodle, the College’s learning management system:

Integrative Nutrition Certificate

Nonprofit Management Certificate

The New York Times Knowledge Network

The content and expectations in both hybrid and online courses are the same as traditional on-campus courses. In credit-bearing courses, the amount of work required in both hybrid and online courses is equivalent to 4 credits earned.

What will be expected of me?
Coursework includes readings, writing, posting on discussion boards, responding to peers’ postings, and working in groups and on other assignments and activities. This requires good time-management skills and the ability to work independently. Interaction with the instructor and other students occurs frequently.

STUDENTS WILL BE EXPECTED TO:

• For fall and spring online or hybrid credit courses:
  Have a minimum of 15 hours per week to dedicate per online course
• For three-week online credit courses:
  Plan to dedicate approximately 40 hours per week for each course.
• For seven-week online credit courses:
  Plan to dedicate approximately 20–30 hours per week for each course.
• Submit assignments by specified deadlines in the format requested
• Actively participate in discussions
• Understand that online courses are just as rigorous as face-to-face courses
• Obey the Purchase College Academic Integrity Policy
• Keep in frequent contact
• Manage your time effectively
• Ask questions if you do not understand
• Be prepared to work independently
• Be familiar with your computer
• Adhere to requirements and deadlines outlined in the course syllabus

What are the computer requirements?
Online and hybrid courses are offered through Moodle, the College’s learning management system. Students should have reliable access to a computer and the Internet, and should be able to easily view standard media files (i.e., PDFs, images, audio, and video) using up-to-date version of programs. Students are required to log-in with the user name and password for their Purchase e-mail account to access courses.

Courses require basic computer skills, including basic Windows, Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint), saving files, cutting, copying, saving, sending/receiving, and uploading/downloading files.

VIEW A MOODLE DEMO!
Moodle is a flexible, open-source application, developed by colleges and universities around the world to support student learning. To view a Moodle demo, go to www.purchase.edu/studenttutorial and review the Moodle tutorial, designed to help you become familiar with how to use Moodle. Click the “Login as a guest” button when prompted for log-in.

About the Instructors
All hybrid and online credit courses at Purchase College are taught by instructors who have an established relationship and have taught in traditional classroom courses. They have all received extensive training and preparation by the College’s Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center to teach in the hybrid and online formats.

Am I a good candidate for online and hybrid courses?
Please review the following skill areas and questions to assess your readiness for online learning.

COMPUTER SKILLS

• Are you comfortable with e-mail, computers, and learning new technology?
• Do you have access to a computer and the Internet?
• Are you a good typist?

TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS

• Are you able to meet deadlines?
• Do you manage your time well, balancing school and personal responsibilities?
• For credit courses: Do you have 10 to 15 hours per week to devote online school work?

WORKING INDEPENDENTLY

• Do you work well independently?
• Do you work well alone?
• Do you work well independently with limited reminders for assignments and due dates?
• Are you good at assessing your own progress and taking responsibility for your own learning?

WRITING SKILLS

• Are you comfortable communicating in writing?
• Are your written communication skills strong?

READING SKILLS

• Are you comfortable reading lecture materials rather than hearing them?
• Do you have good reading skills?
• Can you learn by reading alone?

STUDY SKILLS

• Do you have good study skills?

INTERACTIVE SKILLS

• Are you comfortable discussing issues and asking questions in an open forum?
• Are you willing to share your educational, professional, and life experiences with your peers?
• Are you comfortable giving and receiving routine, written, constructive feedback to fellow online peers?
• Are you a team player who can work collaboratively with others?
• Are you comfortable asserting yourself in a group and asking questions?

"NETIQUETTE" GUIDELINES—Students must:

• Communicate respectfully.
• Provide constructive and relevant feedback to peers.
• Be clear, use standard English, and do not abbreviate. Spell-check, revise, and edit before posting. Use appropriate subject headers.
• Be polite and careful. Do not use all UPPERCASE LETTERS or multiple exclamation marks, as they are difficult to read and sometimes it is difficult to understand the tone of the message.
• Avoid sarcasm and irony, which can be misinterpreted by readers.
• Be inclusive: send group messages to all members of the class and the instructor.

What do I need to do to prepare?

1. To ensure your success in credit courses, we strongly advise that you have a minimum of 2.0 GPA and enroll for no more than 12 credits during one academic semester.
2. Your Purchase student e-mail account must be activated and working. To activate your account (or to reset a password), go to “E-mail Activation” at studentservices.purchase.edu.
3. Go to https://moodle.purchase.edu and log in to Moodle with the user name and password for your Purchase e-mail account: Your user name is firstname.lastname (do not include "@purchase.edu"); your password is your Purchase e-mail password.
4. Go to www.purchase.edu/studenttutorial and review the Moodle tutorial, designed to help you become familiar with how to use Moodle.
5. To view and purchase or rent your required texts, visit the Purchase College Bookstore: www.purchasebookstore.net
6. Your instructor will make the course available to the students; notification will be sent to your Purchase e-mail account.

What if I have technical questions?
Please contact the Helpdesk in Campus Technology Services (CTS):

helpdesk@purchase.edu
(914) 251-6465
Mon.–Thurs., 8:00 a.m.–9:45 p.m.
Fri., 8:00 a.m.–6:45 p.m. when classes are in session

 BY STUDENTS, FOR STUDENTS

Advice on Taking Online Courses

1. Time management is key. Keep current on readings and assignments to avoid backlog of work, as the work is intense.
2. The workload is heavy, but you are told that up front. You must be prepared to commit yourself.
3. Don’t take very many other credits.
4. Make sure you are working on the coursework throughout the term—don’t just save it all for the end.
5. Become familiar with the teacher’s expectations.
6. Pace yourself, do the assignments, and the course will run smoothly.
7. Most of all…make use of communication via Moodle or online. You can never ask too many questions.
8. Be prepared to work in a group setting online.
9. Keep a calendar to remind you of upcoming assignments and when they are due
10. Have time set aside each week for each course you take:
    - 10–12 hours per week for each 15-week course
      (fall and spring semesters)
    - 20–30 hours per week for each seven-week course
      (summer sessions)
    - 40 hours per week for each three-week course
      (winter and summer sessions)
    
11. You [the college] told us it would be a lot, it’s up to us to listen!

Updated Oct. 26, 2011