I'm taking my second-to-last class in Riddle's online BSPA program. Your ideal courseload would really depend on how much free time you have. Do you have a family? Do you commute? Personally, I took six credits per term until my son was born, now I'm taking three. I'm a junior RJ FO, so I have little control over my schedule, but long overnights in boring places or maybe naps/standups/CDOs (if you're single) seem to provide a decent amount of time to catch up with school work. Most classes don't require too much of a time commitment -- as long as you don't have to write a research paper. Staggering classes may be a good option for you, since most of the work is concentrated toward the end of class -- I wouldn't want to study for four finals or write four term papers at the same time. If you need more credits than the 30 required for residency, you'll probably want to take Cleps/Dantes. An hour or two of studying for a few days should be enough to pass most tests. PM if you want any details.