NDC Catalog 2007-2008 - Notre Dame College

Online Programs
Notre Dame College offers a variety of courses and,
in some cases, entire degree programs in an online
format. Online courses use the internet to deliver most,
and often all, of the course to the student, increasing
flexibility and removing geographic and time barriers
that sometimes make it difficult for students to
complete courses or programs. The delivery of
educational content using the internet has improved
markedly in its ability to help students achieve learning
outcomes. In fact, a recent study conducted by the
U.S. Department of Education concluded that “…on
average, students in online learning conditions
performed better than those receiving face-to-face
instruction.” Understanding that the delivery of
education can greatly enhance the quality of learning at
Notre Dame College (NDC), the college is expanding
the opportunities for students to participate in online
learning experiences.
Distance Terms
Online courses at NDC are offered in eight week
accelerated terms designated “D” terms. There are
six “D” terms in an academic year. Within the fall
semester, online courses are offered in terms D-1 and
D-2 where D-1 courses run the first part of the
semester and D-2 courses begin midway through the
semester and run for the second half of the fall
semester. Similarly, within the spring semester the D-3
term runs during the first half of the semester and D-4
begins midway through the spring semester and runs
during the second half of the semester. Term D-5 and
D-6 are summer online terms.
For students taking online courses along with
traditional semester courses, it is important to bear in
mind that if a D-2 or D-4 course is scheduled, the first
part of the semester will seem relatively light since the
online course will not begin until midway through the
semester. Several weeks prior to the start of a D-2 or D-
4 course, students will receive email reminding them of
the upcoming course. Students should be prepared for
the increased workload the online course will create
during the remainder of that regular semester.
What is an Online Course Like at NDC?
Online courses at Notre Dame College are accelerated
and intensive, covering in eight weeks the same
material the course normally covers during a 15 week
semester. Most students find online courses more
challenging than regular classroom courses because of
the accelerated nature of the online course. The same
ONLINE PROGRAMS 43
objectives and academic content are taught in the
online course, but the time in which one completes the
workload is accelerated.
Most online courses are designed and scheduled as
eight (8) week term courses. A student can expect to
engage in the course, online, a minimum of 1 ½ hours
per credit hour that a course earns, per week. The
average student should plan on spending a minimum of
8-10 hours per week of work (inside and outside of an
online course) for a three credit course (not inclusive of
field or lab work).
Student Engagement: Online courses must engage
students in as much contact time as equivalent face-toface
courses. An eight week online course must engage
students for about 4.5 hours per week in Moodle, in
addition to reading textbook material and crafting
assignments for submission.
What counts toward course engagement?
• Time reading lesson lectures in the course outline.
Additional fees may apply
• Time spent participating in surveys, quizzes and exams
that are contained in the course
• Time spent posting in forums
• Time spent in synchronous activities such as live
classrooms or chats
• Group work that normally would be conducted
in-class
What does not count toward course engagement
but is required activity of courses?
• Reading required materials (textbooks, articles, etc.)
• Composing written assignments
• Work on projects
• Group work that normally would be required outside
of face-to-face class
Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
Online courses that have activities requiring students to
be logged into a course at a specific day and time are
referred to as synchronous. Most commonly, the
synchronous activity in NDC courses is a virtual
classroom that allows real-time voice, text, and in some
cases, video chat between instructors and students.
Most online courses in the Division of Education contain
synchronous activities and students should plan their
schedules accordingly. In the course schedule booklets,
courses with synchronous activities will list the days of
the week and times students are expected to log into
the online course.