Earn cheaper and easier credits using a CD-ROM
A cheaper way to earn credit without having to pay student fees is credit by CD-Rom.
In the distance education department at USU, students can pay just tuition and class fees without paying extra student fees.
But, full-time student tuition does not merge with independent study tuition.
“At the current time it doesn’t fit in with the student’s plateau tuition on campus. That’s one problem we have had, because it starts over at the bottom again because it comes from two different tables,” said Vicky Larsen, the independent study coordinator.
“But they’re trying to fix that so we hope within this next year, that we’ve merged with main campus now, that they’ll take our tuition and merge it so it will be part of the tuition plateau.”
CD-Rom credit and WebCt is different from broadcast classes because it is “print based.” Print based means students turn their assignments in, on paper to the distance education office, and when they’re ready to take the test, they go to the testing facility in the same location.
About 500 students are enrolled in independent study courses, and general education courses are primarily offered.
Some examples of the classes the program offers are Math 1050, Statistics 3000, English 2010, U.S. Institutions, Biology and Introduction to Music.
Larsen said they are trying to add more breadth and depth courses for the students.
The CD-Rom or WebCt independent study courses last 52 weeks. Once that period is over, they can extend two different times for three months a piece. “If they don’t get done in time, they have the option to extend up to 18 months,” Larsen said.
Financial aid will pay for the “print based” classes, but the classes must be completed within a semester.
“The way we work that is a student will sign a contract stating that they will complete the course within the semester, and if they don’t complete the course within the semester, they have to take the grade they’ve earned. They can’t extend it at all, and they can’t get an incomplete,” Larsen said.
“It just follows normal campus policy, so extenuating circumstances like a bad accident they can get an incomplete for, but they have to complete it in that semester or financial aid will not pay for it,” she said.
Students can register at any time or exit at anytime within the 52-week period.
Not only can on-campus students register; students anywhere in Utah can sign up. But there is one catch. The tests are proctored, so if a student wants to take a class independent study and they do not live by a USU extension, they must get someone to proctor their exam, Larsen said.
The distance education department is located in the basement of the Eccles Conference Center.
For more information about independent study, students can visit its Web Site at distance.usu.edu or call its office at 797-2137.
-ranaebang@cc.usu.edu