Has anyone gotten an A in the Rio sciences?

smileyperson · Oct 31, 2009

I got an A in CHM130 through Rio Salado. I took the 8-week accelerated class. I don't think you can post instructor's names here, so if you send me a private message I'll tell you her name. She was great!

Cid13 · Nov 18, 2009

I've taken Bio 205 (Micro), Bio 201 (A&P1), and am currently taking Bio 202 (A&P2).

I've gotten A's in 205 & 201. I'm sitting at an A after the midterm in 202. I have the second half of the class to go. All of these were taken online. None of these classes were accelerated.

smileyperson · Nov 19, 2009

Cid,

How would you say the online Bio 2xx compares to a traditional classroom? What are the labs like? How many hours do you spend per week on each class?

Cid13 · Nov 19, 2009

Smiley,

I don't live in Phoenix so I haven't taken any in-person classes at Rio. However, I have taken other science classes like chemistry in person (with a lab component). I would say that the labs are almost always less challenging and are NOT graded. I remember spending hours in the lab with my chem class but that isn't so online.

You have a separate lab book to follow and a lot of the time you can't complete the lab exercises since you aren't there. The directions say to skip them. The other parts you use a virtual cadaver dissection CD to follow along. Great CD with short videos as well.

Much of the material is self taught since you have no teacher and just a text book. I usually supplement with videos from youtube or UC-Berkeley lectures.

http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978375

Assignments are due by midnight AZ time Sat. You usually have 2 assignments a week which is a mixture of essays, lab quizzes, chapter quizzes, or lab practicals. Lab quizzes and lab practicals are timed. About 30 sec per question. Two tests - midterm and final. 80 multiple choice and 4 essays (which are taken from a pool that you are able to see ahead of time to prepare)

I probably spend 15 hrs a week - reading, studying, and assignments. Maybe more if there's a lot of material. I tend to spend as much time as it takes to feel confident about the material (i.e. I take my time). You have to put in the time to get a good grade!

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2009

I got an A in Microbiology from Rio. I will say an A from Rio is more difficult than traditional in-person classes. You actually have to understand and know EVERYTHING in your assigned reading, not just the core elements.