Four Steps From Online School Search to Online School Syllabus
Posted by Sharon Cece on January 12th, 2009
Once my desire question phased into “Yes, now is the time”, however, the rest of the enrollment process went quite smoothly. It took just a few minutes to inquire about a program, and a few minutes more to fill out an application. At this point, the Action step was engaged. Once I was ready, it was just a matter of gathering my information and submitting forms. I realize that for some people, filling out forms falls somewhere between the seventh and eighth circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno; yet for myself it was not too difficult and the forms were submitted fairly quickly. Which led me to the third step of the process, Reaction, or Response. This was the step whereby, once I was accepted, I had to submit additional information for the program in order to officially enroll. This included my prior test scores, SAT results, transcripts from all other colleges, etc, to my advisor. Let me point out, that locating all the other transcripts turned out to be an unexpected speed bump in this process since I had attended three other colleges by the time I enrolled to FSU’s online program. Yet, by taking one school at a time everything was submitted in a timely fashion.
Finalization was the last part of the enrollment process where I tied up any loose ends and worked on payment plans and logistics. At this point I knew where I was going, what program I would enroll in, and where everything was that I needed to turn in. Now, I had to find a way to pay for it. Next to Desire, financing was the more difficult part of the process since now I needed to fill out financial aid forms, both federal and local. I also had to decide how many classes I would take per semester and the costs associated accordingly. Give yourself a bit of time to get this part finished.
Which leads to time. A prospective student should give him or herself plenty of time from program search to program login, ideally one full year. This would allow for all of the steps above to be carried out without too much Sturm und Drang, with a moment left over to breathe between stages. Enrollment can be completed in less time of course, perhaps even a semesters breath, but there is certain to be rush and hassle on the part of the student which could lead to errors in processing and even placement in programs that might not be the student’s primary choice. A college education is important and getting the program you want is essential. So give yourself about a year if possible to work out all the details of online study, to turn in the all the required forms, to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there (and how to pay for it). Inevitably, unexpected issues will arise but you can address them in a fairly relaxed fashion and with time on your side to begin your online program exactly when you planned.
