Online Accelerated Programs

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Online Nursing Degree Programs - UNC Wilmington Online

Accelerated programs consist of short online classes. A traditional college course lasts 15 weeks, but an accelerated program compresses courses into shorter seven-week sessions. You literally earn your degree faster by studying faster. You take just as many courses to complete an accelerated bachelor's degree as a traditional degree. But you learn faster in an effort to accelerate degree completion.

Accelerated online programs adhere to the same high standards and personalized instruction as their on-campus counterparts, while offering the flexibility you need to achieve your educational goals while maintaining your current career. No matter where you are in life, we have a program that fits your needs. In the College of Health and Human Sciences there are three online accelerated programs:

Accelerated Online Courses

Accelerated Delivery time line that shows OAP 7 week schedule compared to a Traditional 15 week schedule.

Accelerated online courses are “condensed” courses that are shorter in length than regular semester-long courses. Accelerated courses in the OAP Programs are seven weeks long. Typically, students take either one or two classes per seven-week session based on their preference. In the summer term, your online courses will also be seven weeks in length.

It is important to note that the amount of coursework covered in accelerated courses is the same as that found in the semester-long 15-week courses. Since accelerated courses contain the same learning outcomes and the same amount of coursework as the semester courses, that means that students are expected to complete the same amount of coursework in half the time. It is also important to note that course availability will determine which courses you are registered for in each seven-week period as not every course is offered every seven weeks.

If you take accelerated courses five times a year, you’ve equaled a typical year of courses taken in a traditional year (10 courses), while only having to concentrate on two courses at a time.

What is expected of me?

Accelerated academic programs are not for everyone. They require a significantly larger investment of time and energy than traditionally-paced courses. While the promise of earning a degree fast is enticing, fast can quickly become frantic and frantic can lead to high degree drop-out rates. Before enrolling in accelerated courses, take a moment to consider whether this type of online education is appropriate for you. It is also important to note that while completing the degree program can be accomplished at your own pace this does not mean the individual courses are self-paced. Each course follows a seven-week schedule that is set by the instructor. So while you may pick and choose when to enroll in a program and at what pace to complete a program, you may not pick and choose the pace for completing a course.

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