Scheduled Classes vs. Independent Studies

My policy up until now has been to offer my classes once a year. By popular request I am now leaving my classes open for enrollment 365 days a year. I will continue to schedule some of my classes for specific periods of time.

Scheduled Classes

When I schedule a class I close down the material during the enrollment period which is usually two weeks long. During this time you will only see the Welcome message for the class.

When the schedule starts I open one week at a time. I also have a once a week chat. During these chats people in the class can communicate interactively with each other and me. I always post Chat Transcripts following these chats.

Some people like the interactivity of these scheduled classes and the structured time periods.

There are no doors on my school and I realize that people have busy lives that don't always go according to plan. So I never close a class after the scheduled time. You can have access to all the material in a class for as long as you need it.

Independent Studies

As I add more classes it is getting difficult to schedule them on a regular basis. Also when people hear about my classes some want to take it right away.

So instead of closing enrollment when a class is no longer scheduled, I will leave the enrollment open 365 days a year. During this time all of the material for the entire class will be available. You can communicate with me and I will respond as quickly as I can to any comments or questions you may have.

You will get the same help from me that people get during scheduled classes. The only provision is that it might take me a little longer to respond. Especially if I have a scheduled class in progress.

When a class your are taking on an Independent Studies basis comes into the schedule you may stay in the class and participate with the other people taking it. However, the material will not all be available until each week is opened.

When you are taking a class as an Independent Studies there may be others taking it at the same time. If you post to a forum, the other peope will see it. You will receive the messages to the forum unless you opt out which you can do by clicking the "Forum" link in the class.

If you have any questions about this, do not hesitate to ask. I have three Yahoo Groups you may join. Or you may email me directly at Don@deofsf.com.