Online learning has many advantages. It can be a great way to start or continue your education, whether you're working while in school, taking dual enrollment classes, pursuing a graduate degree, or working on a certificate.
But succeeding in online classes takes intentionality. Kim Ahlgrim, Director of The Cove, Cedarville University's academic enrichment center, has spent years helping students develop the habits and strategies they need to succeed academically.
Success in online classes starts with managing your time realistically, creating consistent study habits, staying engaged, and asking for help early. If you're considering online classes, here are nine practical ways Ahlgrim recommends preparing for success.
1. Start With a Realistic Plan for Your Time
The number one concept Ahlgrim focuses on with online learning is balancing life. Take a hard look at everything already in your life: work, school, friendships, ministry, community involvement, hobbies, and family responsibilities.
Ahlgrim often references Margin by Dr. Richard Swenson, a book about the pressure of living with too little time and energy and the importance of building more balance, rest, and room into our lives. Many good and worthwhile things can fill your time. But when you're taking online classes, you need enough margin to do your academic work well and do life well.
In The Cove, one issue Ahlgrim and her team often see is overcommitment. Students may have the ability and motivation to succeed, but they don't have enough time or energy because they're spread too thin.
Ask yourself: What could I put on hold for a season? What am I willing to let go of while I pursue my education?
Asking that question may be difficult if you don't want to give up things you enjoy. But if you already have a busy life, you cannot do it all. Students sometimes try to keep the same lifestyle they had before starting classes and find, a month or two into the semester, that they're struggling academically. The problem may have started before the class did: They're simply trying to do too much.
Of course, some responsibilities can't be set aside. You may be a parent or need to work full time. But after years of talking with students, Ahlgrim has found there's often something you can adjust for a season.
Be realistic about how many classes you take too. If possible, begin with a couple of classes and see how it goes. A successful start is better than being overloaded at the beginning of your online experience.
2. Create a Consistent Weekly Routine
Create a schedule for projects, studying, and reading instead of working only when you feel motivated.
In The Cove, Ahlgrim and her team often tell students to plan for approximately two hours of work outside class for every one hour in class. Students can underestimate how long it will take to prepare for an exam and wait until a few nights before it, only to realize they haven't given themselves enough time.
Figure out what system works best for you. An online calendar can help you block out study time each day, but you may prefer a paper calendar or planner. Use what works for you. Being consistent with your schedule will help you keep up with your academic work and avoid surprises.
And remember that your plan won't go exactly as expected. You may get sick, something may happen in your family, your car may have a problem, or your work schedule might change. Build some margin into your weekly routine so an unexpected event doesn't immediately put you behind.
3. Break Large Assignments Into Smaller Steps
Major projects, papers, and exams can feel overwhelming when you're focused only on the finished product. Ahlgrim recommends taking them one section at a time and, most importantly, just getting started.
One strategy is back planning: Start with the end in mind and work backward. Identify the main things you need to accomplish, break them into smaller steps, and set due dates so you can stay on task.
AI can be useful for this kind of planning. For example, you might ask an AI tool to back-plan a 10-page paper that's due in three weeks. Ask it to break the project into chunks, identify the first three things you need to do, or create a checklist and time frame.
Students often underestimate how long projects and papers will take. Back planning can help keep you from writing that paper the night before it's due.
4. Create an Environment Where You Can Focus
Have a designated place to study and make it a place that works for you. It can be simple or creative, depending on your space. A side room, part of a bedroom, or another place in your home can work well if it helps you avoid distractions.
Communicate with the people in your life about that space and time. Let family members or roommates know that when you're there, you're focusing and would prefer not to be interrupted.
Where you study matters — Ahlgrim learned that firsthand in college. She discovered she couldn't study well in the library because she would end up going on some fun adventure with friends instead. Her best study space couldn't be near her friends.
Your ideal study space may be completely different. The important thing is to discover what works best for you.
5. Learn How You Learn Best
Take time to discover who you are as a learner: what motivates you, what helps you engage with material, and which strategies work for you. A system that works for a friend may not work as well for you, so practice with different approaches and see what fits.
Think through some practical questions:
- How will you organize your course materials?
- Will you use digital materials or print some of them?
- How will you take notes?
- Which study strategies help you engage with what you're learning?
You might try typed notes, handwritten notes, sketch notes, Cornell notes, or another method. You can even ask an AI tool to show you several note-taking options with samples and then practice with them.
Ahlgrim also encourages students to develop a system for college reading. College reading is different from simply reading words on a page. You need to slow down, identify the main ideas, and think about what you're learning as you read.
The Cove often recommends SQ4R: Survey, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review. This approach helps you engage with the material instead of just moving your eyes across the page. It can also help you prepare for class discussions, quizzes, and exams.
Another piece Ahlgrim often finds missing when talking with students is critical thinking. Many students begin with memorization: vocabulary, basic points, and facts. Memorization matters, but college and life require higher-level thinking.
Ask yourself: Could I teach this material to someone else? Do I understand the connections between the ideas I've memorized?
Bloom's Taxonomy can be a helpful framework for thinking about the progression from remembering information to understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
AI can be a helpful study strategy, too, when used thoughtfully and in ways acceptable to your professor. For example, you could give an AI tool your syllabus and notes and ask it to quiz you with higher-level questions rather than simply give you answers. The goal is to use AI to help you think about and practice what you're learning.
6. Stay Engaged With Your Online Course
Online classes can feel different from taking classes on campus. You need to intentionally build course engagement into your daily or weekly routine.
Once your course is open, explore your university's learning management system. (At Cedarville, we use Canvas.) Read through the syllabus, review the modules, pay attention to how the course will be graded, and become familiar with how everything is organized.
Then keep up with the reading and course material. Participate in discussions. Connect with classmates, whether it's required or not. Communicate with your professor when you have questions.
Procrastination can quickly become a pattern of simply getting work done rather than truly learning. Staying involved and engaged with your course is a good sign that you're moving forward.
7. Ask for Help Before You Fall Behind
Asking for help can be difficult, but Ahlgrim encourages students not to wait until things feel impossible.
Know your own warning signs. If you haven't been in your Canvas course, aren't reading, aren't keeping up with projects, or are procrastinating and avoiding your work, those are red flags. It's time to connect with someone who can help you get back on track.
Sometimes the issue isn't the course content. You may need to look again at your life and how you're managing your time. You may need a different study strategy, support for something difficult happening in your life, or simply some accountability.
Even something as basic as sleep affects your body, thinking, and emotions. Taking care of yourself can affect your academics too.
Whatever is getting in the way, you don't have to deal with it alone. Resources such as tutoring and academic coaching can help you identify what's happening and determine your next step.
8. Give Yourself Time To Adjust to Online Learning
Starting a new program or experience can be challenging. There's change, there's the unknown, and there may be questions running through your mind: Will I fail? Will I succeed? What will I struggle with?
Give yourself time to adjust.
You may need to manage your time and priorities differently. You may need to add new study strategies or strengthen ones you've used before. You may even need some time to build your confidence.
Students who have been away from learning for a while often worry that they've been out of school too long and won't do well. In The Cove, Ahlgrim and her team consistently find that many of these students do very well when they return to academics.
They've lived life. They've worked. They've thought about priorities. They may feel anxious at first, but once they start, they often succeed.
Be encouraged as you begin this new adventure.
9. Know How The Cove Can Support You
The Cove provides resources and services for Cedarville University students, including online and dual enrollment students as well as undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.
Two of the most-used services for online students are tutoring and faculty academic coaching.
Tutoring provides support with specific course content. Faculty academic coaching goes beyond the content of an individual class. Sometimes students need help with reading, study strategies, test-taking, motivation, goals, or the many other things surrounding learning.
In a 30-minute coaching session, a faculty academic coach can listen to what's happening and help identify ideas or interventions that can help you move forward.
Ahlgrim often sees students come to an academic coaching appointment stressed because they aren't doing well in a class or are frustrated by what's happening. After talking through the situation, they leave with a plan and hope — a sense that they can move forward and know where to begin.
That's what The Cove wants to provide.
Whether you're beginning your first online class or returning to school after years away, successful online learning doesn't mean figuring everything out by yourself. Start with a realistic plan, develop strategies that work for you, stay engaged, and ask for help when you need it.
The Cove's goal is to meet you where you are, help you identify what you need, and support you as you take the next step.
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