Award–Winning Online Experience
LEARNING ON YOUR SCHEDULE
Many students question if there is a difference between a Master of Science in Medical Informatics (MMI) earned online versus earning a degree by attending class on-campus. At Northwestern, students will benefit from participating in a prestigious program with no distinctions made as to whether the degree was an online or on-campus format. Regardless of the method of course delivery, the MMI degree and curriculum are identical and students are expected to meet the same admissions standards.
Students enrolled in the online format benefit from the flexible and convenient course structure. Depending on the course, the delivery method of the MMI online format is synchronous and therefore students must log on at an assigned day and time as indicated by instructors to participate in classroom activity. Similar to the on-campus programs, online courses require students to utilize textbooks that are part of the instruction for each course. In addition to textbooks, students have access to various e-learning tools such as a virtual classroom environment that includes discussion boards and chats.
Students also have unique peer study opportunities to interact with working professionals already in the health care or IT industries. This interface will reinforce learned skills and concepts from the curriculum.
All discussions are available on the course Web site and all classwork and writing assignments are completed and submitted online. Students simply log into the online classroom to view the course syllabus, assignments and other updates to help maintain pace with class studies.
Most exams are also administered on the course Web site, however, students are required to take four proctored exams throughout the duration of the program. These exams must be administered by an approved testing site. Students must submit a Proctor Approval Application to SCS’s Distance Education group prior to taking the exam. The fee for taking a proctor-administered exam is usually $30-40 per exam.
