Hints & Tips

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What do I need?

Here's what you need to start your online journey at DCC. Time: Students report spending an average of 14 hrs. per week on classes. The time you spend will depend on how fast you read and write. Computer: You will need a computer running Windows 2000, XP, or Vista; or a Mac OS 10.4.x or higher tol access the class sites. • Windows or Mac with minimum 1 Ghz processor • 256 MB ram • Webcam, microphone and headphones • Microsoft Office 2000/2003/2007 or Office Mac 2004/2007 • Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher; Firefox is recommended • Word Processor: Microsoft Word is recommended. Must be able to save in rich text format or Word format • Logos Bible Software

1. You must be enrolled in 6 hrs.(2 classes) to receive federal financial aid. Before a student drops a course, the financial aid office checks this. If a student goes below 6 hours per semester, financial aid is lost.
2. 30 of 42 Policy. Thirty of the last 42 semester hours must be earned at DCC.
3. Alternative Credit. We accept CLEP tests, DANTES tests, and help students with credit for life experience (CDC: Credit for Demonstrated Competency). Students need to be aware of two policies:
   1. A student can have up to 30 hrs. of alternative credit.
   2. The work for these alternative credits must be done by the semester preceding graduation.

1. Create a folder for each of your classes. You need to keep all your assignments for a class is one place, so you can always find them.
2. Be disciplined! Do whatever it takes to get into a weekly pattern of study that gets the work done.
3. Read the entire syllabus to start the class. Some classes have projects that go beyond the reading, study questions, discussion board, and journal. Identify those projects and plan for them.
4. Start organizing your final early. Even though the 7th week (6th week in business classes) of class is primarily dedicated to writing your final project, many students find it a challenge to do it all in one week. By the beginning of the 5th week you have enough information to begin organizing and writing your final.
5. Back up your assignments. Technology can fail. In the past students have lost all their work on a 10-page final and had to reproduce it. Emails with attached assignments have been lost in cyberspace. Floppy disks have failed. You need a backup.
6. Keep a master bibliography. Everything you write will require you to cite sources. As you move from class to class, some of those sources will be the same. Those sources will need to be listed and cited with correct MLA style. Therefore, you should make a master list of correctly formatted sources. That means you will only need to type and format the resources information one time. And adult students are all about saving time!

Get the Most from Your Classes

1. Respond to feedback from the instructor. Read the comments your instructor makes on your homework. If you have any questions about the comments or the grading, you should ask. This is a rich learning opportunity.
2. Communicate with classmates. Your fellow learners can be a great source of help and knowledge. It is not a breach of privacy to email a fellow student.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Losing work on the discussion board. If you don’t submit anything on the class site for 45 minutes or more, your session will time out. That means that you shouldn't read the discussion forum, for a long time and then take a while to compose your response online. If you do, your session could time out and you will lose your work. When composing a longer discussion board posting you should create it in Word. Then you can paste it into the forum.
2. Late books. Order your books as soon as you receive the notice. If your books are late, then you will get behind–and may not be able to catch up.