Online Courses Thrive At OCC

– Sponsored content from Oakland Community College.

From a single English class taught by Suba Subbarao through the Auburn Hills Campus in fall 1997, to 185 sections enrolling 2,684 students in fall 2012, OCC online courses have shown constant and spectacular growth and popularity since their introduction.

Well over 40,000 OCC students have enrolled in online classes since fall 2002 according to figures provided by OCC Interim Chief Information Officer Bob Montgomery. "Online sections are popular…tending to fill up very quickly, as soon as they're offered," Montgomery says.

The advantages of these courses, both for students and instructors, are many, including the ability to accommodate diverse work schedules and family obligations, accessibility, quick feedback from instructors and fellow students, savings in travel time and expenses and avoidance of the perils of highway travel, particularly during the winter.

"OCC is finding that our students are using distance learning to achieve their education anywhere and at any time," noted Chancellor Tim Meyer.

To be successful in an online class, however, a student must be disciplined, committed and well organized. "These are not 'college lite' classes," Subbarao says.  "Students and instructors must be prepared to work as hard, if not harder, than they do in regular on-campus classes."

For more information on OCC online courses, visit our Distance Learning site.