Students spend their time reading, performing homework exercises, and taking part in online discussions. Students enter the program as cohort members. The cohort will consist of fifteen to twenty-five other students who will progress together through the program. This is particularly useful because students get to know the people in the program, thus adding to the richness of the experience. O nline does not mean that students proceed at their own pace.
Coursework is broken down into activity windows usually consisting of seven to fourteen days.
During this time there will be things that must be done. If there are discussion topics, students will need to take part in the discussion. In addition, there may be readings and homework assignments that relate to the discussion topic. Students have control within the activity window time period as to when to participate. This method frees students from committing to a certain day and time, but they are not entirely on their own.