When you decide to enroll in online classes, you must make a commitment to—and maybe even a financial investment in—the technology you will be using everyday. You’re not going to be able to access your online classes successfully if you have a dinosaur of a computer and a dial-up Internet connection that’s as slow as molasses. While you don’t need to have the fanciest computer, you do need to have a computer with a decently fast processor, enough memory and a dependable high-speed Internet connection that allows you to download large files in a short time span without freezing up your screen.

Each online college has slightly different computer requirements, so this article will provide a couple examples to give you a basic idea of what you will need. At the University of Phoenix, the basic computer requirements include: a 1.6 GHz or faster processor; updated anti-virus software; 256MB of RAM (memory) or greater; a 20 GB or larger hard drive; 56.6 kbps modem or high-speed Internet; a video card and a monitor with good resolution; a sound card with speakers; a CD-ROM; and a printer.

As you might expect, you will need to have an e-mail address set up, even though your online school will equip you with a college e-mail address. You will also generally need: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 or later, Adobe Reader 6.0 or later, Microsoft Office XP, 2003, 2004 or 2007 (including Microsoft Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Excel), and Adobe Flash Player.

At Kaplan University, PC computer requirements include the Microsoft XP, Vista or Windows 7 operating system, and Mac requirements include the Max OS X with the operating system’s minimum requirements for processor, memory and hard drive. Also needed is 10 GB or more of free hard-drive space, a 1024×768 monitor with a 16-bit or greater video card, a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM, and a sound card with speakers and microphone (for certain courses).

Software you’ll need at Kaplan includes AOL Instant Messenger, a recent version of Java for PC or Mac, Microsoft Office 2003 or later, antivirus software, Internet Explorer 7.0 or later, Adobe Reader 8.0 or later and Adobe Flash Player 9.0 or later.

It’s also best practices for online students to have a backup Internet source in mind—like a coffee shop or a friend’s house—in case you lose Internet connection at home. Back up all of your important files on a CD, external hard drive or flash drive. Finally, you may want to consider owning a laptop so that you can more easily access your courses from more locations.