Frequently Asked Questions About Taking
Hybrid and Online Courses

• Hybrid & Online Courses Offerings: Summer 2012 | Fall 2012
• How to Register
• Hybrid vs. Online
• Expectations
• Computer Requirements
• View a Moodle Demo!
• About the Instructors
• Necessary Skills
• "Netiquette"
• Preparation
• Technical Support/Complaints
• 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:

SUMMER 2012

Online registration is available for the Summer 2012:
How to Register for Courses

100% Online Undergraduate Credit Courses:

Session I (3 weeks: May 21–June 8):

Creative Writing Workshop

Basic Spanish I, Sec. A

Sports Films: Underdogs, Champions, and Gutter Balls

Popular Music in America: Evolution and Revolution

American History and Society Through Music, Sec. A

The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany, Sec. A

Behavioral Statistics

Understanding Moral Problems, Sec. A

Psychology of Aging

North African Societies

Session II (7 weeks: June 11–July 27):

Microeconomics I: The Principles of Human Action

Marketing the Arts*

College Writing

History-on-Hudson: The History of the Hudson Valley Region*

The Search for Life in the Universe

Racial Inequalities

Global Media, Local Cultures

*Also available on a noncredit basis

Session III (3 weeks: June 11–29):

Impressionism

Exercises in Digital Video*

Basic Spanish I, Sec. B

Television Studies

*Also available on a noncredit basis

Session IV (3 weeks: July 9–27):

American Art

Introduction to Arts Management*

The Family on Film

American History and Society Through Music, Sec. C

The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany, Sec. B

Short Fiction

Mathematics for Contemporary Life, Sec. B

Should I Eat That?: The Science of Food Safety

World Religions: An Anatomy of the Sacred

Developmental Psychology

*Also available on a noncredit basis

100% Online Noncredit Professional Certificate Courses:

Introduction to Arts Management

Marketing the Arts

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:

Health Care Training (formerly named Holistic Nutrition)

Nonprofit Management

Hybrid Noncredit Professional Certificate Courses:

Search Engine Marketing

FALL 2012

Online registration is available for the Fall 2012:
How to Register for Courses

100% Online Courses

Undergraduate Credit Courses:

Intro. to Arts Management*

Marketing the Arts*

*Also available on a noncredit basis

Noncredit Professional Certificate Courses:

Intro. to Arts Management

Marketing the Arts

Social Media Marketing: Using the Tools of the Trade

Philosophy of Arts in Education

Teaching Strategies and Tactics

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:

Health Care Training (formerly named Holistic Nutrition)

Nonprofit Management

Hybrid Courses:

Undergraduate Credit Courses:

The Internet and Business*

Arab Cinema: Old Glories, New Challenges*

Social Psychological Theory Applied Through Film*

*Also available on a noncredit basis

Noncredit Professional Certificate Courses:

Social Media Marketing: Strategies and Tactics

Facebook Marketing: Leveraging the Power of Community

Micromarketing: Short But Tweet

Search Engine Marketing

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:

Health Care Training Certificate

Nonprofit Management Certificate

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 email 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 with the college 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 email, 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 email account must be activated and working. To activate your account (or to reset a password), go to “Email Activation” at guest.purchase.edu (for new students) or my.purchase.edu (to reset your password).
3. Go to https://moodle.purchase.edu and log in to Moodle with the user name and password for your Purchase email account: Your user name is firstname.lastname (do not include "@purchase.edu"); your password is your Purchase email 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 email account.

What if I need technical support or general assistance, or if I have a complaint?

• For assistance with your Purchase user account (including email) and computer-related troubleshooting, please contact Campus Technology Services (CTS) at helpdesk@purchase.edu or (914) 251-6465.
  CTS office hours are Monday–Thursday, 8 a.m.–9:45 p.m. and Friday, 8 a.m.–6:45 p.m. when classes are in session.
  
  
• For assistance specific to Moodle, please contact the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (TLTC) at tltc@purchase.edu or (914) 251-6450.
  
  
• Please direct general concerns regarding online courses to the School of Liberal Studies & Continuing Education at conted@purchase.edu or (914) 251-6500 (press 1 to speak with a representative).
  The school’s office hours are Monday–Thursday, 9 a.m.–7 p.m. when evening classes are in session. On all other weekdays, the office hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
  
  
• In case of complaints, students are referred to the Student Handbook. In addition, out-of-state visiting students may also refer to the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) document for information on filing formal complaints in their home state.

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 May 16, 2012