UNDERGRADUATE COURSES — INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM

Correspondence and Online

Correspondence

Online

Correspondence
In correspondence courses, you receive your course materials and submit your lessons by postal mail. You have direct contact with your instructors by email, phone, or fax. All exams are administered face to face by exam supervisors. Correspondence courses may use such technologies as video and audio CDs.

Important: If you have limited access to required equipment for specific courses, please check to make sure you will have access to the necessary equipment before registering.

Computer Requirements for Online Independent Study Program Courses
The School of Continuing Studies offers more than 120 online courses through its Independent Study Program.

As a student in an online Independent Study Program course, you receive your course materials by mail, and you have direct contact with your instructors by email, phone, or fax - just as you would in a correspondence course. However, with online courses, you do not receive a printed learning guide; rather, you access your learning guide and submit your assignments using the the school’s course management system, Dragon. The guide contains all of your lessons, activities, and assignments. In addition, your course may feature online quizzes, as well as links to other online resources.

Important: Following protocols established by the software industry, we do not grant refunds for online learning guides if you withdraw from your online Independent Study Program courses.

Computer Hardware and Software Guidelines
You can take online Independent Study Program courses using a modern PC or Macintosh computer with Internet access via modem or broadband connection. You must have email. Essential software includes the Web browser Mozilla Firefox. You also need the Microsoft Office Suite (see below), which includes Word and Excel. Microsoft Works, which is included with the Windows operating system, is not an acceptable word processing program for our courses.

Students taking IU undergraduate courses can buy the Microsoft Office Suite at a reduced cost under the IU-Microsoft Enterprise Licensing Agreement. For more information, go to http://iuware.iu.edu/offcampus/.

Necessary Computer Skills
Here are some of the skills you will need to successfully take an online Independent Study Program course:

• basic skills in using a keyboard and mouse
• familiarity with your Web browser and Microsoft Word
• ability to save and find files on your computer's directories
• ability to enable cookies on your Web browser (please see your Web browser's Help files for specific instructions)

In addition, online courses containing multimedia learning exercises may require you to install such browser plug-ins as Shockwave or Quicktime, which can be downloaded off the Web. Information on our privacy and security policies and on downloading and installing plug-ins is included in the Help files for your online course.

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Registering for an Online Independent Study Program Course
When you register, be sure to indicate that you want to take the online version of the course. After registering, you will receive, by email, a password to gain access to your course.

Important: If you plan to take an online Independent Study Program course, you must include your email address on the registration form. Please print your email address clearly. We cannot give you access to your online course unless we have an accurate and complete email address for you.

Accessing Your Online Course
On the day we process your registration and you become officially "enrolled," you will receive, by email, a message with the following subject line: YOUR ONLINE IU COURSE. Do not discard this email message. It contains the URL for your course, as well as your course username and password. You cannot gain access to your course without this information. We recommend that you print this message out and keep it in a safe place for future reference.

Taking Your Online Independent Study Program Course
Work at your own pace. Our online courses are designed to allow you to work at your own time and place, so you do not have to log onto your course at designated times. While you have one-on-one contact with your instructor, you do not interact with other students.

The time needed to complete courses varies from course to course and student to student. You have up to one year to complete a course, and extensions are available.

You submit your assignments using your Web browser (assignments are not submitted using email). Easy-to-follow instructions for submitting assignments are included on every written assignment Web page in your course. In general, you may submit two assignments at a time unless otherwise notified by your instructor. If you have submitted an assignment, you will not be able to submit the next assignment until your grade for the previous lesson is posted.

In online Independent Study Program courses, as in correspondence courses, you take your exams on paper under the guidance of an approved exam supervisor. Your exam application form must be filled out online and is provided on your Web course exam page.

You can access your grades two ways: by clicking on Student Records on your course homepage, or by viewing your course's graded written assignment page.

Getting Help with Your Online Independent Study Program Course
For answers to your administrative questions, contact the School of Continuing Studies at 800-334-1011, scs@indiana.edu.

For questions about course content, requirements, lessons, and grades, contact your instructor by email.

Answers to many of your technical questions are provided in the Help files for your online course. If you have additional questions or need help, call 800-334-1011, or send email to drgnsupp@indiana.edu.

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