When you go to school online, it's too easy to miss deadlines. You don't meet people in the hall and get reminded of tests or projects. Many online universities have announcements to keep you on track, but often it's not enough. Every student has his or her way to be on track and not miss any deadlines. But if you feel your method is no longer working for the online environment, below are a few suggestions:
Review the syllabus of the class
Usually the syllabus contains all projects and tests with dates. If not, check out a "schedule" screen. Print that out and put it on a binder, so that you can find it easily. Highlight all the due dates. You could also file the syllabus in your computer, just in case and keep it there. However, if something happens to your system, you may not have access to the file until the problem is fixed.
If you travel a lot or if you plan on doing school projects at work, it's a good idea to keep this information online -- you could email the syllabus to yourself, so that it's available wherever you have Internet connection.
Add details
When you make notes about the deadlines, also include details, such as the manner the project or test is to be delivered - could be via internal email system, a drop box, posted in a discussion forum or submitted through the system Turnitin. Depending on your school, a class may require that you first ran the paper through Turnitin and then put it in a drop box, a two-step process.
In the case of online tests, you could add the web address of the test and any details about it. Some tests are take-home and in this case, you may set up one date to obtain the test and another one to submit it.
Obtain a monthly calendar and colored pens
You could print out a monthly calendar with a month per page. Based on the due dates highlighted in the syllabus, mark the calendar using one color per class. Keep this calendar on a wall or in other visible place. You could do the same using your computer, but again, if your system goes down, you won't have this important information.
You could save this file in the cloud, such as with dropbox.com or mediafire.com, free services that keep your documents online, so that if you have Internet service, you can access and update the file online. Since this is a dynamic file, one that may change depending on your situation, it's better not to send it to yourself, or you may not know which file is the latest.
Consider online reminder services
Many students use online reminder services, such as memotome.com, which automatically sends you reminders. You could also use existing alarms embedded in many systems, but these may not work if you're not at your computer. Online reminder services may allow you to add details and other information - be sure to take advantage of them. One of the benefits of these services is that you can set them up to send you reminders days in advance, so when the deadline arrives, it's not a surprise and you have had time to tie in all lose ends.
Sheila Shanker CPA, MBA is based in Southern California, a consultant with over fifteen years of solid experience in many industries, including nonprofit organizations. Her book, "Guide to Non-profits" has received GREAT reviews at Amazon.com. She writes online self study CPE courses and her articles have been published online and in national magazines, such as "Journal of Accountancy", "Veterinary Economics", "Architecture Business and Economics", and "Teachers of Vision". You can contact her at her website www.webshanker.com.
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