Distance Education Requirements

Students are expected to have at least the following skills before taking distance education courses:

• Basic Keyboarding competence.
• Elementary knowledge of their computer operating system.
• Basic knowledge of:
  • Word processing.
  • Sending and receiving emails with attachments.
  • Using an internet browser and a search engine.

Students are expected to have at least the following hardware:

• Access to a modern Windows 10 or macOS computer. Don’t hesitate to contact IT support with questions about other operating systems.
• Internet access with a high-speed broadband connection.
• Internet service provider for home access or access from work (must have before starting the course).
• Access to the distance education environment for at least ten (10) hours per week.
• Students must be able to video conference in real time. Appropriate equipment may include:
  • Camera (could be built into the laptop).
  • Microphone (could be built into the laptop).

Students are expected to have at least the following software:

• Google Chrome internet browser.
• An office suite tool such as Google Docs, Microsoft Office 365, LibreOffice, or Apache Open Office.
• One or more courses may require special plugins to access streaming media, PDF files, or other web components.
• Antivirus software such as Microsoft Defender.
• A conferencing tool such as Google Hangouts or Zoom.