Online Education

Online Courses

AAP students can integrate online courses into their graduate study. Some programs offer their entire degree online; others provide online courses but require in-person course work as well. Check your program’s homepage for more information about specific degree requirements. Learn about the benefits of online education, the time commitment, thetechnical information need to take online classes, the support services available, and how to register for an online course.

Why Online?

Online courses offer the busy student several advantages.

• Flexibility

Online students don’t commute to a physical classroom. Instead, they work inside a course management system to complete assignments and interact with instructors and classmates. There are due dates for course work, but students can log in to the course management system at their convenience.

• Excellent Instructors

All AAP courses are taught by highly-accomplished instructors, known for the scholarship and practice of their disciplines. Online courses allow AAP to expand our faculty pool beyond the DC/Baltimore area, offering students the chance to work with excellent instructors from all over the country and the world.

• High levels of interaction

Online students communicate with their instructors and classmates through discussion boards, group assignments, and the occasional live online event. Students often say the online environment allows them to learn as much from their classmates as they do from their instructors and assignments.

While online courses offer many advantages, students should consider the following before registering for their first online course.

Time Commitment

Online graduate courses require between 12-20 hours of work per week. AAP online courses are NOT self-paced—students are expected to complete course readings, group projects, and assignments by their scheduled due dates. Most instructors require their students to log in and participate in the online forum at least 2-3 times a week.

This report from Educause Quarterly magazine describes how successful online students make the most of the online learning experience.

Technical Information

AAP provides an online student orientation to train students on specific technologies used in online courses. However, students should have a reasonable knowledge of basic personal computing before they take an online course.

Specifically, students should be able to:

• Navigate a web browser
• Compose and format documents in commonly used software programs
• Upload and download files
• Work within a file/folder structure on their computer

Hardware/Software Requirements

Online students should have the following minimum hardware and software. (Information about supported web browsers will be provided in your student orientation.)

Windows Users:

• Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2.

Mac Users

• Mac OS X 10.2 or later (10.3 or later recommended).

Students will need speakers and a headset, plus headphones and a microphone.

IMPORTANT: Students will need administrative access to the machine(s) they will be using for their course work in order to download safe third-party software like RealPlayer, Adobe Connect, Adobe Reader, and Flash Player. Also, students should be aware of any firewalls or other restrictions associated with the machines and/or locations they plan to use for their studies before they begin their course work.

The Course Management System

All AAP online courses are available in the Blackboard (Bb) Course Management System. This web-based software includes areas for you to read and view course content, communicate with your instructor and classmates on the discussion board, upload and download course assignments, take online exams and quizzes, and monitor your grades.

Support

Online Orientation

Students who have not previously taken an Advanced Academic Programs online course will be automatically enrolled in an online orientation course as soon as they register. They will have until the start of the term to complete it.

Students will receive instructions via email about how to access and complete the orientation. The orientation course will prepare them to use all the tools in the course management system and reinforce the study skills and communication strategies that make an online student successful.

Students should complete the orientation successfully so that they can participate fully in their graduate online course.

Help Desk

Online students have 24/7 access to Help Desk support: 866.311.6658,https://supportcenter.embanet.com/jhu.

Disability Services

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to providing reasonable and appropriate accommodations to students with disabilities.  Accommodations in the online environment usually require a lot of lead time to complete, so submitting your request early is helpful.  Visit our Disability Services page for more information on how to request accommodations.

Finding and Registering for Online Courses

Online courses are designated as such on the program’s course schedule and are marked with a section number of .81 - .89.http://advanced.jhu.edu/registration/schedules/index.html. 

To register for an online course, students follow the same policy as registering for a face-to-face course. http://advanced.jhu.edu/registration/index.html