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How to plan your course load
Most students in our online programs are professionals who work full-time.
The typical load is 1-2 courses per semester (3-6 hours), but this will
vary depending on their job and other commitments. As a general rule
of thumb, each 3-hour course will require 12-15 hours of time per week.
This may vary week-to-week during the semester, and may vary by course.
If you have a strong background and experience in a particular area,
it may not take you as much time in some courses compared to others.
In graduate
school, 6 hours is considered part-time for financial aid, and 9 hours
is considered full-time status. Students may take as few as one course
per semester, or as many as are offered and they can handle. Please
keep in mind that you must maintain a B average in your courses, so
do not overextend yourself to the point that you cannot do this. Your
degree must be completed within six years of entry. The length of time
to complete your program will, of course, depend on the number of courses
you take each term, but 2 1/2 to 3 years is the average.
Degree & Certificate Requirements
Requirements
for the master's degree and certificates in each respective program
are found in the program folder in your Online Community. Some programs
have a set number of hours with no choice for electives, and some allow
elective hours to be taken. Please become familiar with the program
requirements and contact your campus coordinator with any questions.
What classes should you take
Students should determine which courses are required
for their degree or certificate program, based on the information on
the program website and in the Online Community. For beginning students,
the first thing to do is to determine how many courses you want to take
during the semester, then decide which to take first among those that
are offered. Most courses do not have pre-requisites, though a few do.
For example the Financial Planning and Gerontology programs both have
capstone courses designed to be taken at the end of your degree program.
Any pre-requisites will be listed in the course descriptions, or as
a special note in the course worksheet in the Advising and Enrollment
area.
When planning
your schedule, be sure to look at the master schedule to see when the
course will be offered again. Some courses are offered every year and
some are offered every other year. If you have a particular graduation
date in mind, you will want to be sure to get the course offered every
other year in first, if it won't be offered again until after you plan
to complete your coursework.
Master
Schedule
This is a tentative schedule of courses for all Great Plains IDEA programs.
Please note the faculty meet once a year, and the schedule is subject
to change. This schedule is kept up to date in the Online Community.
Electives
Electives
will vary by program. If you are taking an elective course that is offered
as part of your degree program, you will not need to get this approved
in advance. If you find an elective in a different degree program, or
outside of the Great Plains IDEA, you will need to gain approval from
your academic advisor to use the course as part of your degree or certificate
program prior to enrolling in the course. The following sites may be
used to find distance education courses.
K-State's
Division of Continuing Education
Great
Plains IDEA Course Catalog
Program
of Study
All graduate students must complete a Program of Study (POS) by the
end of their second semester, or the completion of 9 credit hours. Guidelines
for preparing this form can be found under the Program of Study heading
in the GPIDEA online community in K-State Online. You will also find
a master schedule, course descriptions and requirements and a POS template
in the folder for your appropriate program in the modules area of GPIDEA
online community. Katie will be in contact with you regarding this process
as you move through the program. The courses in the financial planning,
and merchandising degree program are set, so filling out your POS will
simply require deciding when you plan to take the courses. The Youth
Development and Gerontology programs allow the use of some electives,
and the Community Development program has tracks from which you will
choose your courses. Please contact your advisor for suggestions and
approval on these. The committee for our distance learning master’s
students is generally assigned here at the university, unless a student
has a particular graduate faculty member they would like to have on
their committee.
When
do classes begin
Course dates generally follow the teaching institution's semester, with
the exception of the Youth Development program. This means you may have
courses starting and stopping at different times during the semester.
It is the student's responsibility to note these dates and access the
course at the appropriate time. If you have not received access instructions
prior to the start of class, contact your Campus Coordinator, or the
teaching institution's Campus Coordinator. Youth Development faculty
have set common start and end dates for Fall and Spring semester courses.
Final
Examination
The Great Plains IDEA programs are non-thesis degrees; however, you
will be required to complete a final exam during your last semester
of study. Information on what to expect on the exam, will be e-mailed
to students later in their program. The K-State GPIDEA Online Community
has links to graduation requirements. It is the student’s responsibility
to have their Program of Study on file at least one semester prior to
graduation, and to notify us when you enroll for your last semester,
so the proper paperwork can be submitted for graduation clearance.
Graduation
K-State holds two commencement ceremonies each year, one in May and
one in December. Summer graduates may choose to walk in December if
they wish. Students do not have to come to campus to participate in
commencement, but many of them do. For details and deadlines, please
visit the Graduate School website at http://www.k-state.edu/grad/guidelines/comminfo.htm.
Anti-Virus
Software
Free anti-virus software is available to K-State students. Visit http://antivirus.ksu.edu/
for information about viruses, and instructions for downloading your
free copy of anti-virus software. Your eID is required to access
this download. You are strongly advised to keep your anti-virus definitions
updated once you have downloaded this software, to scan your computer
regularly for viruses, and to scan all attachments prior to opening
them. Due to the serious nature and potential destruction of computer
viruses, students are subject to consequences imposed by the course
instructor if they transmit a virus to the instructor or other students
during a course.
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