What You Need to Know about Accelerated Online Courses
As an online student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, you'll find accelerated 8-week and traditional 16-week courses as you make your scheduling choices.
By providing 8-week courses, the University gives you the opportunity to start classes sooner and complete your degree faster.
Benefits of accelerated courses
A traditional semester is 16 weeks long. During Fall and Spring, the University offers regular courses as well as accelerated courses during Term A and Term B.
Two terms a semester means you can focus on fewer courses at one time. For instance, you could maintain a half-time, 6-hour course load by taking one 3-credit class in Term A and one 3-credit class in Term B.
What to expect
You'll complete the same amount of coursework as you would in a 16-week course but in half the time. As such, anticipate spending several more hours per week completing work in an accelerated course than you would in a full-semester class.
Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction graduate Samantha LaFleur says accelerated courses helped make earning her degree manageable while working full time.
“I used what I already had to fit the classes,” she says. “I never felt overwhelmed. I liked that it was two classes a semester, but the classes didn’t overlap so you could focus on one class at a time.”
That also means you should be cautious about how many courses you schedule. Talk to your advisor before scheduling more than two accelerated courses at a time and about how to balance accelerated courses with traditional 16-week courses.
How to succeed
Log in to Moodle the first day of class, look for any course announcements, and review the course layout and syllabus. Learn when weekly assignment deadlines are and set a schedule to make progress and complete assignments on time.
Check your University email and Moodle every day to stay on top of course announcements and interact with classmates.
Ask questions early and often. If you don't understand something about the course layour, your instructor's expectations, or a particular assignment, there's no time to take a wait-and-see or figure-it-out-later approach. Ask from clarification from your instructor.
If you're struggling in a particular course or subject, take advantage of 24/7 live online tutoring.
What to know for financial aid
Understand the enrollment status requirements for the type of aid you’re receiving and how many courses you’ll need to reach those requirements.
Students receiving Pell grants or loans should schedule courses for A-term and B-term at the same time to ensure they receive the financial aid they need for the entire semester.
Online students can submit questions about their financial aid to faonline@louisiana.edu. Include your ULID and the semester you’re asking about in your email.
If you encounter hurdles at any point as your time as a UL Lafayette online student, reach out to our Online Student Support Team. They can help answer questions or direct you to the right resources.
