Health Information Management -- Distance Learning FAQs

Courses with the HIM prefix are available on-line. Exceptions are the residency courses: HIM 392 (Technical-level Residency) and HIM 495 (Management-level Residency). In the residency courses, students are in a health-care facility for three weeks. Also, students take HIM 494 Specialty Rotation where they are in various types of non-hospital settings for ten half days. (Residencies can be arranged in the student's hometown area. Associate degree graduates of health information technology programs transfer the equivalent of HIM 392 and HIM 494.)

Other courses available on-line include all courses with the HSM (Health Services Management) prefix, MGT 318 (Human Resource Management), COM 306 or COM 308 (Upper-Division writing) and occasional arts and science courses.

Will I be able to obtain all the courses I need on-line?

Yes, SUNYIT offers all the professional courses on-line with the exception of introductory accounting. Students who want to do all their courses on-line can take introductory accounting from another SUNY college and transfer the course to SUNYIT. Students who need arts and science courses can use the same procedure.

When are courses offered?

On-line professional courses are offered during the regular academic year (August - May). Students who wish to take summer session courses can plan to do residencies at that time. In addition, students may wish to complete arts and science courses during the summer.

Can I be a full-time student with on-line courses?

It is possible to be a full-time student for most semesters. However, the distance learning course schedule is primarily designed for part-time students.

What is the SUNY Learning Network?

The SUNY Learning Network (SLN) is the distance-learning unit of the State University of New York (SUNY). Most SUNY campuses participate in SLN. The number of courses offered through SLN increases substantially each semester!

SLN is a web-based distance education program. Students will need to have access to the World Wide Web in order to take courses from SLN.

Learn more about the SUNY Learning Network.

How do web courses work?

Students and the professor interact with the course via the World Wide Web. Courses are divided into modules that usually last for about one to two weeks. In each module, the professor posts assignments, mini-lectures, and required discussions. Students read mini-lectures, submit their assignments and submit their discussion responses. Professors evaluate assignments and return them to students. Locations are provided in the course for students to ask questions just as they would in class or in the professor's office. There is a bulletin board area for items not related to the course and there is an area for the professor to make announcements. Of course, all of the above is done on-line!

SLN uses asynchronous learning. That means that students and the professor are not necessarily in the course at the same time. Students can work on the course at any time of the day or on any day of the week. Most professors check their courses daily (Monday-Friday) and students can generally expect that professors will respond to questions within one business day. In addition to SLN, some courses will be offered using CourseSpace. CourseSpace is similar to the SLN courses except that it is designed for hybrid courses. In hybrid courses there are on-campus classes as well as a distance-learning component. he on-campus classes provide in-person interaction with the professor. Distance learning students are exempt from attending the on-campus component of HIM courses offered in CourseSpace. The students are welcome to attend classes if they are able to make it to the Marcy campus.

Other disciplines may offer courses in CourseSpace. It is important to check with the instructor to determine the class attendance requirements in those disciplines. If a course is offered in CourseSpace and if the attendance requirement is excessive, the student should wait until the course is offered in SLN. This would generally be a wait of only one semester.

How do students obtain books?

Books are available in the campus bookstore. Students can visit the bookstore at the beginning of the semester or they can call the store and asked to have their books shipped to them. There is a small shipping fee.

Who are the professors?

The professors who teach the on-campus courses also teach the on-line courses.

Do on-line courses cost more than on-campus courses?

Please see the current college catalog for information regarding tuition and fees. On-line courses cost the same as on-campus courses.