To support social distancing, colleges and universities across the U.S. are rapidly transitioning their courses online. Though roughly a third of college students today have taken at least one course online during their programs, many other students are joining virtual classrooms for the first time. And for students new to online learning, this transition may be challenging. To help those students succeed, we turned to WGU’s experts in online learning: our students.

Here are some tips and advice from WGU students:

• “Wake up, get dressed (comfortably), and brush your teeth. Have a meal and your morning coffee if you normally would. Schedule time on your calendar for when you would normally be in class and be at your workspace as if you had to be there physically. Go for a walk around the block between ‘class periods’ if possible. Schedule virtual hangouts with friends at the end of the day to connect and decompress.”
• “You can figure out how to study when your kids are home. You don’t have to watch one more tv show. You aren’t “busy” you are making a choice. Make the right choice to make progress!”
• “The most important thing for me was making goals to study every day. It was really easy to get home late from work, exhausted, and tell myself I would study tomorrow. Then tomorrow, the same thing would happen again. If you sit down for 15 minutes, you might only get 15 minutes of study done, or you might get a couple of good hours in. Just staying consistent will make a huge difference in how effectively you study.”
• “Don’t ignore the social aspect of school or work. Join as many scheduled live lectures or discussions as you can. If you are struggling learning remotely, reach out to your instructor early.”
• “Remember your WHY— write it down, take a photo, make it your screen saver. Positive actions day by day.”

What’s your advice to students new to online learning? Share your tips, tricks, and advice on WGU’s Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter using #onlinelearning.