This differs from online courses which utilize software for real-time discussions to capture the feeling of a classroom. Many courses use multimedia software. Faculty are committed to helping you achieve your educational objectives. They evaluate your performance on written assignments and examinations and may also evaluate your participation in online or voice-mail discussions. You organize your work to meet course requirements, following detailed guidelines in the course syllabus.
Most courses require several major papers, projects and extensive reading.
All courses have a proctored final examination, and some have a proctored midterm examination, at a setting near where you live or work. In both types of online courses, the faculty member leads discussions and transmits assignments online. Students ask questions, offer responses, participate in online study and work groups, and submit assignments online. As a student in an online conferencing course, you use textbooks and other course materials to prepare assignments, and you are expected to participate frequently in online discussions. The most pleasing and helpful aspect of UMUC's website for a visitor is the distance education orientation modules.