when taking an online course, how much time should i plan to spend on it

by Craig Emmerich 6 min read

You should plan to devote a minimum of three hours per week per credit, plus an additional hour per class each week to review materials. For instance, for a three-credit online course, you will need nine hours of study time and one hour of review time each week.

Full Answer

How much time should I spend studying for my online courses?

The amount of time you spend studying for your online courses will also vary because of similar factors. Take into consideration the complexity of the courses you are taking each semester. It is a good idea to balance complex and challenging courses with less taxing courses during the course of a semester.

What are some tips and advice for taking online college courses?

If you’re considering taking online college courses (or you’re already enrolled in a program) the tips and advice below can help you address their unique challenges to get the most value out of your online program. 1. Treat an online course like a “real” course.

What are the benefits of taking an online course?

There are many advantages to online courses; they allow you to learn whenever, wherever, and however works best for you, making it easier to earn a degree while balancing work and family commitments.

How do I narrow down the duration of my online course?

To make it easier, we’ve come up with four universal steps for narrowing down your optimal online course duration. And the first one, as with anything in business, starts with your customers. This step begins with a couple of questions, such as: What are your students’ goals for this course? What are your goals for your students?

How long does it take to plan an online course?

It can take anywhere between 3 days to 2 months to create an online course, assuming that you are working on it full time. A mini-course covering a very narrow topic can be produced in only 3 days or less, while a complete in-depth 20h masterclass covering all levels can take several months to produce.

How many hours should my online course be?

The most profitable online course length Based on what we've seen at Thinkific, the most profitable course length on average is between 10–25 hours. Just below that, 5-10 hour courses are about 75% as profitable. And at the higher range, longer courses—25–100 hours—are slightly less profitable than those.

How many hours should you spend on a course?

The general rule of thumb regarding college studying is, that for each class, students should spend approximately 2-3 hours of study time for each hour that they spend in class. Non-science courses: For every 1 unit you are enrolled, you are recommended to spend approximately two hours outside of class studying.

How many hours a week should you spend on an online class?

You should plan to devote a minimum of three hours per week per credit, plus an additional hour per class each week to review materials. For instance, for a three-credit online course, you will need nine hours of study time and one hour of review time each week.

How long are online classes a day?

One of the many advantages of online schools is that they will require less time from you compared to traditional schools. But then again, it is highly dependent on the online school that you or your child is enrolled in. On average, students spend four hours online.

How long should I study a day?

Study Every Day: Establish a daily routine where you study in one place a minimum of 4 -5 hours each day. There are different kinds and 'levels' of study discussed below. What is important is that study becomes the centerpiece of your day and the continuous element in your work week. Do not wait for exam-time to study.

Is studying 2 hours a day enough?

The consensus among universities is that for every hour spent in class, students should spend approximately 2-3 hours studying. So, for example, if your course is three hours long two days per week, you should be studying 12-18 hours for that class per week.

How much time a week should I spend on a class?

Conventional wisdom holds that a B student should plan two hours of study each week for every credit hour and an A student should hit the books for three hours per week for every credit hour earned. This isn't necessarily bad advice.

Why do people take online classes?

Online Courses Make Fitting Classes into a Tight Schedule Easier. In the end, whether or not you have the time to take an online course depends more on you and your willingness to stick to a regular schedule and learn to study effectively than on any other factor.

Why is online study better than regular study?

Online study gives people the option to do things are their own pace and still maintain their lives with minimal disruption. When it comes to graduate school, the workload will be much more intense.

How many classes does Gail take?

Gail is taking four classes online. As stated, she has 76 hours with which to work. Budgeting her time, and shooting for an A in every class, she studies three hours per week for each of her credits. That adds up to 36 hours a week of study, leaving her with 40 hours for other things, which equates to a little less than six hours a day.

How to reduce time spent studying?

You can dramatically reduce the amount of time you need to spend studying by studying at the right time. Allow yourself a half-hour before each log-in to review your notes and downloads from previous classes and schedule a half-hour after each log-in to go over what you have just learned. This will trim hours from your weekly study schedule. Each week, review all online notes and downloads, personal notes and old tests or quizzes. Read your textbook as you go along. It will make it much easier to understand the work. Complete all assignments by the date on the syllabus, even if they aren’t due until the class ends. These steps will usually take much less than the traditionally recommended 2-4 hours of study each week. However, you will need to schedule in extra study time before tests and quizzes.

How many hours do you spend in class?

You will spend roughly three hours in class per class each week. A standard load is 12 credits, which is usually four classes. That means that you will spend 36 hours per week in class, leaving you 76 hours for study and other things.

How many hours of study time should I do for every credit hour?

Figure two hours of study time for every credit hour for elective classes or classes in subjects that come easier for you. Plan four hours a week for every credit hour for difficult classes and three hours for the classes that fall somewhere in the middle.

How many hours should a B student study?

Conventional wisdom holds that a B student should plan two hours of study each week for every credit hour and an A student should hit the books for three hours per week for every credit hour earned. This isn’t necessarily bad advice. However, most classes don’t require that much studying, and some actually require more.

How many hours should I spend on online classes?

In total, a student should plan on spending from nine to 14 hours per week on an online class.

What is online class?

Clinton Community College in New York describes an online class as something that a student can work at her own pace, but not on her own time. Students in these classes have deadlines to meet just like they would in a face-to-face classroom setting. Moreover, these classes often present more demands on the student's time and workload; most online courses rely more heavily on reading to take the place of a lecture. As well, these classes demand that students have greater writing skills and expect the people in the class to do more writing than they would in an offline course.

How many hours does a 3 credit class last?

A three-credit in-person class meets for lecture for three hours a week. Instructors of these courses will then guide their students to spend another three to six hours of studying outside the class. A person taking an online class can expect to spend at least the same amount of time.

Do online classes require more reading?

Moreover, these classes often present more demands on the student's time and workload; most online courses rely more heavily on reading to take the place of a lecture. As well, these classes demand that students have greater writing skills and expect the people in the class to do more writing than they would in an offline course.

Is online coursework a convenience?

Studying is a fact of life for students, and while online coursework may offer a student many conveniences, these classes also come with challenges that their traditional counterparts do not.

Do everyone do well in online classes?

Not everyone will do well in an online class. The people who do possess a high amount of motivation. They have likely already achieved a great deal of academic success in their other classes and can apply the time-management skills they've learned in their offline classes to the online environment. Students who feel challenged by any of these requirements should think twice about taking an online course or work to develop the necessary skills and self-discipline it takes to do their coursework online.

What is an online course?

An online course is a lot like an office meeting. If people feel like it could’ve been handled in an email, you’ve probably overthought it, cut into everyone’s lunch hour, and need to go back to your talking points.

Is time a precarious resource?

Time is a precarious resource. We never get it back, and if we spend it unwisely -- especially other people’s time -- then we lose even more of it to regret.

Do two courses have the same time requirements?

No two courses will have the same time requirements, but by using these four steps to nail down your schedule and video length, they should have the same result — happy, successful customers. And that makes for a happy, successful creator, too.

How long should I learn online?

Everything depends on each student’s individual responsibility. If they are committed to learning, they will need at least two hours per day to finalize all the online school assignments.

Why do online schools spend less time?

Online school students spend less time learning than students at traditional school. It is because online education functions differently than traditional schooling. Many factors determine how many hours daily should students learn at an online school. We asked Education World Wide teachers to share their opinions on this topic, ...

How many hours should I spend in middle school?

Middle School – Grades 5 to 8. 2 – 3 hours daily. High School – Grades 9 to 12. 3 – 4 hours daily. These recommendations have a lot of sense with what happens in real life. The number of online learning hours increases as students progress to higher grades and engage with more complex learning material.

What do parents need to do to control their children's online activities?

At home, parents also need to up their tech-savvy skills and take control of their online environments by means of firewalls, parental control, and limit access to certain websites and online services/games during their children’s study time.

Is it normal to spend time on a screen?

Spending time in front of a screen is something that parents want to reduce in their children’s habits. Yet online school requires such screen time to properly fulfill its purpose. – Currently, it is quite normal to have students working on their assignments in front of a screen, whether it is a laptop, tablet, or even a mobile phone, ...

Should parents make sure their kids are learning online?

As much as teachers, parents should make sure that a child is actually learning while online and not doing something else – like playing video games or browsing the internet. The more student is dedicated and finalizes assignments on time, the less time they will spend at online learning.

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