Online courses can be quite varied in their overall approach to the teaching and learning process, but they often have certain characteristics in common. In most online courses, students use a computer to connect to a course site on the World Wide Web. Standard classroom books and printed materials are typically used in combination with online lectures, assignments, and supplementary course materials. Some courses have formal lectures, similar in length and content to lectures given in face-to-face classes. Online lectures may be entirely text-based or consist of some combination of text, graphics, sound and video. Other courses break the content up into smaller units or abandon the lecture entirely, instead relying on group discussion and others types of learning activities.

Regular online courses	In this case a student can take a particular period of study say 2 months to even 3 years according to one's pace to learn leisurely while they are already working. We provide the study material/ Reference books by courier along with the syllabus and model questions.
Fast Track online courses	where in, those with lot of experience in a particular field and yet do not have certificate can just enroll themselves , procure the syllabus, model questions and take up the exam as early as a week's time to a month or two and get the certificate and mark sheet.

You will communicate with your professor and other students via e-mail and electronic submissions. The course is designed so that you receive course assignments, complete them on your own time, and then return them as electronic documents. Your instructor will evaluate them and provide feedback. Many courses will also use, as an integral part of the course, a threaded discussion forum which you can use to share information, collaborate, and interact with other members of your class.

Depending on the course design, you may take your tests or exams online or come to a testing room on campus or at a local community college. Additionally, some courses and programs may require predetermined trips to campus, which you should plan for before registering.

You should expect to spend as much time for study, or perhaps more, as a classroom course since you are managing your own learning using the online information and materials. This requires that you be self-disciplined, motivated, and have some skills using a networked computer and a Web browser. The content and rigor of the online courses offered by BTEC is generally equivalent to the on-campus version of the same course. In fact, in some cases, on-campus and off-campus students are combined into the same course section.