Online Community College courses could be the right solution for your educational needs if you’re not able to attend  in person.  Is your work schedule incompatible with your college schedule?  Do you need to travel for work and will need to miss too many class sessions to complete your courses?  Online Community College Courses offer the same course material in a flexible online solution.  Work during the time of day that you’re available, and work from any location with Internet access to complete your coursework.

Online Community College is a form of distance learning. There are several ways to take community college courses online and with other types of distance learning that takes place with the student not present in the classroom. Students can take online community college courses and other Distance Learning courses in a variety of ways.  Here are some of the more common:

• Online Community College Classes via the  Mail
• Online Community College Courses utilizing Video
• Online Community College Courses using Interactive or cable TV, satellite broadcast
• Online Community College Classes also use Internet technologies such as message boards, chat rooms, and desktop video or computer conferencing.

If you’ve never taken an online community college class or Distance Learning class you may be wondering how they’re different  from traditional classroom classes.  The difference is in the how, not the what of the class!  You’ll find that the online community college classes and other Distance Learning courses are comporable  to the regular classes when you compare  course content, textbooks, required assignments and study time. The main difference is in the method used to deliver the information and test your understanding.

If you don’t live near the community college that you plan to enroll in, you’ll need to find out if you’ll be required to attend any classes or come in to the university or college for exams.  If you’re not required to come to the campus for classes, you still may be required to take the exam in person, or find a proctor location.  A proctor location is a place that you can take the exam for your online community college course and be in a supervised environment.  A public library, school or government office might be available to proctor you.  You can contact the instructor for this information.  Your exam might be on paper, in which case it might be mailed to the proctor, or you may be able to take the exam online.  It would be a good idea to check ahead of time for the length of the exam and find out if internet access will  be required.  You’ll probably have to find your own procotor, so here’s a good resource.   Click here to find a test proctor through the National College Testing Association (NCTA).  If this list isn’t helpful, you can contact your local colleges or universities and ask if they have a proctoring program.  You’ll need to budget for this expense for your online community college class, usually about $20 to $30 dollars per exam.

Does your online community college offer  Internet, Audio Cassette, Video and Instructional TV courses?
Internet classes are offered over the Internet and require that the student have access to a computer connected to the Internet and their own personal email account.

Some classes are also available at scheduled times on your local public access television station.  You’ll need to have access to television, and you might want to consider taping the class.  You might also be able to check out audion cassettes, CD’s or DVD’s for the online community college class material.

What equipment/software do I need to take a Distance Learning course?

Recommended Computer Specifications – here is an example proved by Alan Hancock Community College.  Please check your local online college for specifics.

*Macintosh owners may not be able to make use of all capabilities of “Blackboard”; certain math courses are not accessible from Macintosh computers.

You’ll likely need an email account to communicate with the instructor.  If you don’t have one already, you can get a free one with hotmail or google.  You’ll probably need to include your name, or at least your last name, in your email address.

Need access to a computer?  Don’t have a computer at home?  If you live near your college you can see if there is a computer you can use on campus, in the library or computer resource center.  You might try your public library to see if they have any computers available.  Also check with your Employment Development Dept to see if they have a career resource center you could use. 

Do you need some resources for Online Community College?

Read more here about online classes at your community college: Online Classes Community