Getting a Degree Online: 5 Steps to Academic Success

Pursuing a higher education with an online university or college is becoming more popular every year. According to the Babson Survey Research Group, the growth for online learning enrollment has outpaced traditional (brick and mortar) learning by nearly double digits. Their research also showed that nearly 70% of academic leaders agreed that online learning will continue to see increasing demand and growth in the coming years.

If you are thinking about pursuing your dream of obtaining an Associates, Bachelors or even a Doctorate degree from an online institution, there are some things that you should know. An online education is not a way to get an "easy" degree. In fact, quite the opposite is true.

After attending two traditional brick and mortar universities, I chose to finish my degree online. With my work schedule becoming more and more erratic, I decided that the flexibility that online learning offered was the best way for me to attend college on a full time basis and not "give up my day job!" Overall, online learning was an incredibly rewarding and challenging experience. In my opinion, online learning was actually more challenging and even provided me with a better learning environment than either of the traditional universities that I went to after leaving high school.

So before you sign up to attend an online university you should know that it is not going to be a walk in the park. But don't be scared! I am going to share with you 5 things that helped me to succeed during my pursuit of a degree online that I know will help you too! If you follow these 5 steps to success for an online education I am certain you will one day have the satisfaction of reaching your academic goals.

Step 1. Learn Microsoft Office - Online learning is all about technology and communicating electronically. That means writing reports with Microsoft Word, creating presentations in PowerPoint and submitting spreadsheets with Microsoft Excel. In my experience with the online learning, what separates those who are "average" students and those who really excel (pardon the pun) is the ability to work with the programs found in Microsoft Office. Most professors require Microsoft Office as the standard in online communication in regards to submitted assignments. (side note: Most online universities and colleges will mail you a full version of Microsoft Office as part of your tuition package but its a good idea to learn the programs before enrolling)

Step 2. Manage Your Time - By far one of the best things about getting an online degree is the level of flexibility that it offers. This is great for those of us who are working full time or have time constraints that would not offer us the ability to attend a traditional university or college. While this is a great benefit to online learning, it can be a double edged sword. In order to be successful in an online environment you must be sure to set aside enough time throughout the week to study and to work on assignments. The worst thing you can do is put off everything until the day the assignment is due. A best practice is to set aside an hour or so a day to either read your textbooks (some schools offer e-books instead of traditional textbooks) or work on assignments.

Step 3. Buy a Laptop / Notebook - The best investment that I ever made in terms of my online education was my notebook computer. Most households have a desktop, but not all people have a notebook. This might mean shelling out a few hundred dollars or so if you don't already have one, but is an investment that will save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run. With a desktop you are confined to one place in order to work on assignments, conduct research and submit your work. However, with a notebook you can work on assignments on your lunch break, in the park or even while you are on vacation. What a great feeling it is to be able to work on assignments anytime or anywhere. It will make your online experience much more enjoyable.

Step 4. Learn to Work in a Group - You might be thinking, "I thought online learning would be a very private way to get my degree." Well nothing could be farther from the truth. Most online courses require at least one group assignment per class. These are strategically placed into the curriculum in order to teach collaboration, teamwork and effective communication techniques. Group projects are not just part of the coursework, they are usually represent a very large portion of your final grade. They can count as much as 25% towards your final course grade. My best advice is to communicate early and often with your group members. With group work you can never communicate too much but you can definitely communicate too little.

Step 5. Attend the Live (or Archived) Classes - Many online schools do not require mandatory attendance to live class sessions. They understand that your schedules is busy and not everybody will be able to attend. After all, schedule flexibility is the great appeal of online learning. With that in mind, it is certainly best to attend the live class sessions so that you can ask the professor questions about content as it is covered, but if you can't, class sessions are archived for attendance at a later time. This is a tremendous advantage to the student that no traditional university or college can truly offer. That means that if you miss a class you can view it when it is convenient for you. There were times that I watched an archived class session several times in order to truly grasp the subject matter being covered. This is a resource that you must take advantage of if you want to succeed during your online pursuit if a degree.

Obtaining your degree is one of the most rewarding accomplishments you will ever experience. These 5 steps will help you to be well prepared as you embark on pursuing your online education. With some diligence, hard work and a lot of commitment, you will soon be able to refer to yourself as a college graduate!