By Hunter Barrat
Senior Admissions Representative at American Public University
What’s the secret to enjoying the online college experience? Well, a good imagination and the ability to free yourself from traditional educational expectations definitely help.
After all, when you are taking classes online, you don’t stroll across a campus, sit in a classroom, or interact with your instructors and fellow classmates face to face.
But an online college is just as “real” as a traditional brick-and-mortar school. It has an electronic campus you can browse around, and virtual classrooms with classmates and instructors you get to know by things they write in discussion board postings. And though you can’t see them, the staff at online universities do similar jobs to those performed by staff at brick-and-mortar colleges.
At American Public University, for example, the admissions department has representatives who assist you from the moment you complete the application to the day you complete your first class. They do it all via email, phone, and live chat.
Here are just some of the things your admissions rep does for you:
- Help you begin the transfer credit process if you took classes at another college or have military or professional training to be evaluated.
- Explain how to use different funding sources, such as federal student aid, military tuition assistance and veterans’ benefits, employer tuition reimbursement, or self-payment options.
- Help you select your first classes, whether you are a brand-new college student or one with several college classes completed, and whether you are new to online learning or experienced in the virtual classroom setting.
- Email you updates about important steps in the process, such as deadlines for submitting transcripts, registration dates, and reminders to log in to your classroom before the session starts.
- Show you how to navigate the electronic campus so you can accomplish such tasks as changing your degree, accessing the E-bookstore, updating your personal information, and reviewing what documents you need to submit.
- Put you in touch with other university departments you may need, such as the Registrar, Student Affairs, Career Services, Classroom Support, Disability Accommodations, Transfer Credit, and Advising as well as the departments that help with federal student aid, military tuition assistance, and veterans benefits.
There’s no shortage of useful information that you can glean from your admissions rep. They are there for you at the start of your educational journey, and will continue to guide you as you start registering for classes. Take advantage of the useful information they’re offering you, and welcome back to school.
By Hunter Barrat
Senior Admissions Representative at American Public University
Comments are closed.