Indiana University East

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving holiday. I hope everyone has a chance to relax and spend time with family and friends. I also hope you thank all of those people close to you who have supported you and helped you along the way. We will be closed on Thursday November 27th and Friday November 28th and will reopen on Monday, December 1st.

Hopefully you are already beginning to prepare for your final exams. To help you in your preparations, the IU East Office of Tutorial Services and Campus Life is sponsoring Exam Jam on Friday December 5th from 10am until 6pm. There will be review sessions and VIP Party with food, games and prizes. The Math Lab and Writing Lab will be open 10am to 2pm. While I realize that distance education students often are unable to make it to campus, you are always welcome at events such as this and I hope that some can take advantage of them.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Tom

Good Morning All!

First off, I need to congratulate the IU East Red Wolves men’s basketball team for winning the inaugural Homecoming Basketball tournament. This marks another great stride in building the IU East athletic programs and student life for our campus. As I’ve said here before, I really encourage those students who are able to take advantage of the great student activities that we offer. Remember, distance education students are IU East students!

I also need to remind you that if you are planning on taking online classes in the Spring, now is the time to be registering for those classes. Online classes will fill quickly and waiting until December to register reduces the chances of being able to get into the classes you want and need. Please contact your academic advisor or me for more information about online classes that will fit your needs and interests.

Finally, we have about a month left in the Fall semester. Now is the time to begin planning your study schedule for final exams and to be asking your instructor about any problems you may be having in your classes. Instructors will be much more willing and able to help a student when they have advanced notice of problems and issues.

Until next time, good luck in all you do!

Online students often have the mistaken notion that online classes somehow require less time dedicated to study, reading, and assignments than traditional in person courses. This is not the case. In fact, a good rule of thumb to follow is 3 hours of study for every credit hour you are enrolled. A 12 credit hour schedule would require approximately 36 hours a week for most students. This rule applies to both online and in person classes. So while online classes can help you save time commuting and offer flexible scheduling, you still need to plan time in your week to work on your classes. This can be especially challenging for online students since they are often juggling many responsibilities in addition to their class schedule. If you have any questions about how to effectively manage your time or how many credit hours your should enroll in, please let me know. We can chat about ways to better manage and plan your most valuable resource; your time.

I just wanted to let everyone know that the schedule of Spring 2009 online classes has been uploaded. It is available at this link:

http://www.iue.edu/online/courses.php

Also, priority registration begins on October 27th for continuing students. Please check Onestart to find out your priority registration date. Open registration begins on October 31.

Finally, our Student Records office has put together an enrollment guide for Spring 2009 semester. The link below will take you to this helpful document:

Spring 2009 Enrollment Guide

Have a great weekend!

Tom

Good rainy Wednesday afternoon! It seems like it’s been months since we’ve had such a dismal weather day here in Indiana.

I just wanted to post an update on what’s been going on in terms of Distance Education here at IU East over the past couple weeks. First of all, the Spring 2009 schedule of classes is now available on the Registrar’s webpage. All classes, including online classes, can be found in here.  Soon I will have a schedule of just the online classes posted as well for your convenience. Now is a good time to make an appointment to meet with you advisor as priority registration for Spring begins in less than three weeks.

You may have noticed that I did not post last week. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the National Association of Academic Advising conference in Chicago. Not only is Chicago a great city, but the conference was great as well. I was able to attend several sessions dealing with advising distance education students and hopefully I’ll be able to use some of what I learned to better assist you on your educational journey. It was a wonderful experience being around others who are interested in some of the same things. I would highly recommend going to a professional conference in your area of interest if you have the opportunity. Talk to your professors about good conferences to attend in your fields. They are great networking and learning experiences.

Until next time, good luck in all that you do!

I know, I know according to the calendar it’s not even Fall yet and I’m telling you to think Spring but that is exactly what you should be doing; especially if you’re a distance education student. Priority registration for Spring semester is a little over a month away and the schedule of classes will be available to students around the end of September. Now is the time to be reviewing your degree requirements to see which classes you still need to complete your degree. You may also want to call your advisor and set up an appointment in early to mid October to review your plan of study and the class schedule. Remember, when it comes to online classes, the earlier you can register the better as they often fill quickly.

Now back to Fall semester. Even though it seems like the semester has just begun, we are quickly approaching midterm exams. If you are experiencing any troubles or difficulties with your courses please talk to your instructor about them prior to the midterm. The midterm is not the time to realize you don’t understand something. If there is anything that I can do to help, please let me know as well. I will do anything that I can to help you be successful.

Tom

One of the best aspects of working at IU East is seeing all the new and exciting campus activities being added for students. As I’m sure many of your are aware, the athletic program on campus is growing as we joined the NAIA and the Kentucky Athletic Conference last year. We’ve also added several new sports including cross country and women’s golf to compliment the current sports of basketball, volleyball, and men’s golf. The Office of Campus Life offers many activities for students including last week’s Welcome Back Picnic and next Monday, September 15th, they’ll be showing the movie “Wanted” on an outdoor inflatable screen on the campus quad. The Graf Recreation Center offers a place to workout, unwind, have a cup of coffe, or just hang out with friends. We have many campus clubs and organizations for students to become involved with.  Soon, IU East will have a student council to be your voice and to plan more activities for and by students.

You may be thinking, “I’m an online student and I can’t come to campus very often so why is Tom writing about all these campus activities?” It’s because even though you’re an online student, you’re also an IU East student and as much a part of this vibrant growing campus as a student who comes to campus everyday. We want you to know that all of these activities are open to you and we’d love to see you take part in them when you’re able; even if it’s only once a semester or year. IU East is your university and we’d love to see you you having fun on our campus!

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday, IU East announced some very exciting news about the Fall 2008 enrollment. The number of credit hours taught by the University increased by 8.6% from Fall 2007 and set an all-time record for total number of credit hours taught in a semester for the campus. Distance education students played a  large part in this record as enrollment in online classes increased by 27%  over last Fall and credit hours taught online increased by 32% in the same time frame. I want to thank each and every online student for choosing IU East. I also want each and every one of you to know I’m here to assist you in any way that I can.  I realize that many of you may be new to online learning and it may take some adjustment over these first few weeks of the semester to get into habits of being self motivated and disciplined, but it is critical not to fall behind in the early part of the semester. If you find yourself falling behind, contact your instructor as soon as possible, or let me know. We’ll do whatever we can to help.

Tom

Last night, while watching coverage of the acceptance speech of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, I was struck by how much technology is being integrated into the campaigns of both major political parties, and into how reporters cover those campaigns. Reporters were writing blogs and responding on air to questions they were receiving through the blog. A person was interviewed who talked about how the internet has become the most important means of organizing, fund raising, and getting the campaign message out. Just a few minutes ago, while writing this blog entry, I received an email alert saying Republican Presidential candidate John McCain had selected his running mate. What was considered revolutionary four years ago is now an essential element of a successful campaign. Former Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neil, once famously said that All Politics is Local. The internet has turned all of that on its head in a very short time. It seems to me the amazingly quick level of acceptance of web based tools in our political process is a reflection of what’s happening with our entire society. People demand to be met where they are at; and right now that’s online. I think that bodes very well for the continued growth and acceptance of online education.

Hello!

While maybe it doesn’t feel like Fall outside, the Fall 2008 Semester is under way and it is an exciting time at IU East. One of many exciting changes is our brand new webpage. Part of this new page is the blog section you are now looking at. In the past, I have posted weekly Distance Dish updates on the Distance Education webpage and this blog is an exciting extension of that. What I really hope is that by doing a blog, I’ll have a chance to not only provide updates to you and but also to interact with our distance education students and hear what you think. I welcome your comments.

There are a couple things that I think are very important for online students to remember during the first week of class. One is to be to login in to Oncourse. Oncourse is your classroom for an online course. Most students wouldn’t think of not coming to class the first day when the syllabus is handed out and assignments are discussed. It’s the same way with an online class only rather than going to a classroom you’re logging into a virtual one. Second, please remember to check your IU Webmail. It is the official method of communication for your IU East classes and you should be checking it regularly.

As I said, it’s an exciting time at IU East. I hope you’re eager to begin your classes and excited about being a part of our growing campus. If there is anything that I can do to assist you with your online classes, please let me know.

Tom