Knights Online: What Do I Need to be a Successful Online Student?

UCF recognizes that completing a college degree in a traditional classroom environment doesn’t work for everyone. If you are looking for flexibility and convenience, taking fully online and blended classes means you can work toward a degree from practically anywhere. We are here to help you overcome the challenges you may encounter along the way so you can focus on your education. The following resources were created to help you succeed in your online courses.


Tips from Students

This module discusses the behaviors and habits that make a student successful in an online course. Students who are already registered for an online class might find this most relevant. There are five video testimonials from UCF online students answering questions like: How will I succeed? What can I expect? How important is communication in an online course? How often should I check my online course?

Screenshot of the Webcourses@UCF Discussion Tool. Discussions are often used in many online courses and can be implemented in a variety of ways. Your instructor may require you to interact with fellow classmates through the use of online discussions.

Tips from Online Faculty

We sat down five veteran faculty and asked them five questions: what can students expect on their first week of your course, what can students do to be successful throughout your course, how much time should students allocate to your class and how can they manage their time, what challenges do your students face and how can they overcome them, and what online university resources would you recommend to your students? Check out their testimonials and allow them to introduce you to their online courses and share expectations common to many other online faculty. Students who haven’t taken online classes will find this is the perfect place to start.

Screenshot of a course homepage within Webcourses@UCF. The course homepage is the first page you will land on when accessing your course. Instructors can customize the homepage, so they may vary from course-to-course.

Using Webcourses@UCF

This module will allow you to interact with the Webcourses@UCF user interface using the top five tools used by students in an online course. While navigating through this module you will experience firsthand how to complete the following tasks in Webcourses@UCF: Configure your profile settings, submit assignments, take assessments, view your grades, and manage your conversations.

Manage your time more effectively using the Webcourses@UCF Calendar tool. The Calendar tool will help you stay informed on which assignments are due for the month. This is one of many tools within Webcourses@UCF that can help you be successful in your next online course.

Take a Quick Tour of Webcourses@UCF

If you are new to UCF, you may want to consider viewing the Webcourses@UCF Student Tour. This tour will help you gain a basic understanding of how to navigate Webcourses@UCF. The tour will also provide you with some insight to basic features you may use in your online courses.


What's Next?

After reviewing the tutorials and testimonials, you should now have all the knowledge you need to be successful in an online course here at UCF. So what's next? Start by reviewing the technology requirements for online courses and ensure your devices meet these requirements.

If you wish to be a future Knight and are interested in a fully online program, start by exploring UCF Online. With 25 years of experience providing top online degrees, UCF is a trusted source for innovative education technology. Explore over 80 online degrees through UCF Online.

If you are current UCF student interested in taking an online course, start by searching online courses.

About Online Courses at UCF

It is important to note that not all online courses are alike. Your instructor may employ any combinations of tools within Webcourses@UCF or various teaching techniques that may not have been demonstrated within these tutorials.

You can enroll in online courses at UCF as a campus-based student or UCF Online student. Review UCF's course modalities to learn more about the various course modalities at UCF as well as the differences between being a campus-based student and a UCF Online student.