How Does Online Learning Work?

UCC offers courses that are either fully online or blended. Our aim is to provide flexible learning opportunities to fit your learning around your schedule, so where practical, our programmes are designed with this in mind. You will be fully supported and have access to the same UCC facilities that campus-based students have, should you wish to come to the Cork campus.

Fully online courses mean there is no requirement for you to come to UCC. All content is delivered through UCC’s Virtual Learning Environment, Canvas. Students register and pay for courses as they would a campus-based programme and are then provided with login details for Canvas. When logged in, you will see the module content for which you are registered. Courses are typically taught in 6 to 8 week 5 credit blocks with an estimated workload of between 15 and 25 hours per week. Students are assigned readings to complete online. This is supported by a range of interactive online options, including but not limited to discussion boards, learning packages, wikis, blogs, video and audio recordings and course notes. Most of the time, content is delivered asynchronously, which means there are no set lecture times to attend. Activities have to be completed within a given time frame. You will upload written and recorded work through Blackboard or other systems, depending on each course’s requirements. In some cases, there may also be live lectures and/or tutorials.

Blended learning courses combine the best of online delivery with face-to-face components. Depending on the course, you may need to come to UCC to attend lectures, tutorials or workshops. The amount of time spent on-campus varies per course and is determined by the learning outcomes being covered.

Full programme details can be found on the course content homepages.

For answers to your questions you may have, view our frequently asked questions.