Preparing Students for an Online Class

Many feel that retention in an online class is directly related to the preparation the student receives before attempting to take an online course. Unfortunately many of our colleges don't have the resources to offer this preparation. Geoff Cain, Director of Distance Education at College of the Redwoods has a blog spot on preparing students for DE. He's captured some aspects of that process that can be useful for instructors that lack college provided resources. Does your college have a program or process to prepare students for DE? What do you design into your course to address student readiness to take an online class?