All learning takes place online, and students are expected to comply fully with the instructions in the course syllabus and to participate actively in required discussion forums by posting responses to questions and comments posted by Course Instructors and other students. Students are encouraged to seek clarification and assistance from other students as well as their Course Instructors to enhance the learning experience in each course.

New Student Orientation – UoPeople Undergraduate Preview

The University’s required student orientation mini-course, UNIV 0001, introduces new students to UoPeople Campus (in Moodle) as well as to the opportunities, responsibilities, and resources that exist for all students at the University.

Orientation is set up as a mini-course, and helps students to gain an understanding of UoPeople’s academic setting and study process.

Completion of the Orientation is required. If Orientation is not completed prior to the cutoff, admissions is deferred to the next term and will continue to be deferred (for no more than 5 terms,1 year) until completion.

The Term Schedule

Courses take place over a nine-week term. Each term has eight weekly learning units and a four-day period during the ninth week for preparing for and taking the final exam. Students are advised to check the course syllabus and the UoPeople Academic Calendar for the final exam schedule each term.

The University terms are divided into Learning Weeks and all work for a particular unit must be completed within that Learning Week except the Learning Journals, which are due at 11:55pm UoPeople Time (GMT-5 time zone) on the Thursday of the week following when they are assigned. Students decide for themselves when to complete their work during the seven-day period of a given Learning Week. There are no specific times when a student must be logged on to study, nor are students obligated to attend a course session at any specific time during the study week.

The Learning Week starts at midnight between Wednesday and Thursday [more precisely, on Thursday at 12:05 am UoPeople Time (GMT-5 time zone)] and ends on the following Wednesday at 11:55pm UoPeople Time (GMT-5 time zone). The weekly study units are made available one week at a time at the start of the new Learning Week and students always have access to the completed units. Note that all reference to time in the study process and schedule is according to University of the People Time (GMT-5 time zone).