Online classes are an option for students who are already attending BYU–Hawaii and live on the island, and students who are preparing to attend. Students can register for online classes in the same way that they register for all their other courses, but should note that the online classes are the 300 and 301 section courses. The online department is located in the back of the Mac Lab to the left of the library entrance on BYU–Hawaii campus. Mike Griffiths, Director of BYU–Hawaii Online, said, "Each semester we are building new classes. Our first priority is to create online general education classes for on-campus students, and online EIL classes to help students prepare to come to campus."
For current BYU–Hawaii students, one of the main attractions of online classes is flexibility, as the course can be completed early and students can get extra tutoring from online tutors. Some students on the US mainland and in Europe are only accepted to BYU–Hawaii Online and are not in attendance on campus. The online classes are often used to help students prepare to come to BYU–Hawaii. "The admissions department now tells students that do not qualify that they can take online classes, and if they pass with good grades, they will then qualify to come to campus," said Griffiths.
Other differences include the use of web cams and Skype for assignments. "Students watch video lectures, read materials, and submit some of the same assignments as in a normal class, but they also submit many assignments in video-mail format using webcams or video cameras," said Griffiths.
Scholarships are usually offered to the target areas, Asia and the Pacific; additionally, certain countries have lowered tuition to $10-$35 per credit for online courses. Most notably, students who are taking only online classes pay a reduced rate of $50 per credit.
--Photo by Monique Saenz