The student success rate and the students' responses say that the time was well spent. Simply having an online presence can bring new enrollments to an institution. For example, when PGCC students log onto the college's Telelearning BBS, they often peruse forums and file libraries for a host of telecourses and online courses. Online activities can raise faculty skills in using technology. While most institutions encourage faculty to gain new technology skills, workshops teaching these skills are usually of short duration and provide little opportunity for follow-up.
Online activities can raise the accessibility of campus support services.
When Web pages are designed for telecourses, they typically contain hyperlinks to resource centers around campus. These resource centers, such as counseling, registration, computer labs, technical help desks, the library, testing center, and bookstore, provide valuable services to distance learners who are geographically separated from the campus. Both the Web and BBSs can direct online users to these information repositories. There are many potential challenges, risks, and frustrations that go with implementing online activities and programs, but they can be avoided or at least minimized if some success strategies are taken into consideration. Thoroughly explore the available technology tools before selecting one or more for your purposes in order to avoid a potentially costly investment in a system that does not meet your needs.