Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enroll?

You can enroll any day the CE Office is open by phone or fax with either Visa/MasterCard; by mail with personal check, cashier’s check, Visa/MasterCard, or international postal money order payable (in U.S. dollars) to Oklahoma State University. Or you may enroll in person with any of the above mentioned. If you are a currently enrolled OSU student, you can use your student ID to charge courses to your Bursar account if you have no holds.

Can I talk to a CE advisor or counselor before enrolling?

CE personnel are not trained nor qualified to offer course suitability information regarding what will fit into a student’s plan of study. If students working toward a degree need academic advice, they are referred to their advisors by our staff personnel.

Is financial aid available for CE courses?

Financial aid is not available through CE. Contact your institution’s financial aid office for pertinent information.

How many courses may I take at once?

There is no limit to the number of courses you may take at once, but we recommend no more than two at a time. You should take into consideration your workload, activities, and other commitments.

How long does it take to complete an Correspondence Education course?

How long you take to complete a course depends completely on you—how motivated you are and how many other commitments you have. However, since CE courses are designed to cover a full semester of material, it normally takes a minimum of 12 to 16 weeks to complete a 3-hour course. Students may not complete a course in less than 30 days after they have submitted their first assignment.

What if I can’t complete my course in a year?

You may request one, three-month extension, which begins the day your course expires. The cost of this extension for year-long college credit courses is $35 per credit hour. Semester-based courses cannot be extended.

How do correspondence education courses work?

When you enroll, you receive instructions (in print, CD, or website form) that direct you on how to access discussions, explanations, and reading and writing assignments. These guide you through the course as a classroom instructor would. Some courses require that written “homework” be delivered by land mail and/or face-to-face delivery, while others permit email or web delivery. Suggested exam completion schedules are also provided so you can complete your course in a timely manner. When “homework” is received, the office records its receipt and submits it to the instructor. The instructor has two weeks to grade assignments, then sends them back to CE with a grade and comments. CE records the grades and delivers/mails the assignments back to you.

Why aren’t some of the courses listed in the paper catalog offered?

The paper CE catalog is printed once a year. Courses that are anticipated being available during the year are included at that time. If you have questions about availability, call (405) 744-6390. The courses you find on this website are always current. Courses close when they are undergoing revision, if a new edition of the textbook will be used in the near future, or if the instructors are unable to teach the course for the time being.

Does CE offer any courses via the Internet?

We have several courses that have been formatted for the web. Each of those is identified with a “W” at the end of the course number. These courses require a connection to the internet. CE is also part of NUDC and OCO, all of which offer courses via the internet.

If I take an internet course, where can I find help if I have a technical problem?

Contact the instructor of your course by whatever means they have indicated, or OSU-Stillwater Information Technology Helpdesk.

Can I earn a degree from OSU entirely through CE?

Not at this time; however, if you are an OSU undergraduate, you may take CE courses for up to one-fourth of the required hours for your OSU degree.

Can a high school student enroll in college-level CE courses?

High school juniors and seniors may enroll for college-level courses on a credit basis with the approval of their high school principal or counselor. For more information, see the subheading “Concurrent Enrollment as a High School Student,” found under “Entering the University—Admissions” in the OSU Catalog. Contact your high school counselor if you do not have a copy.

Can members of the Armed Forces and Veterans enroll in CE courses?

All college credit courses are approved for veterans and other eligible persons covered in the provision of the G.I. Bill. Military personnel interested in enrolling for courses should ask their education officer for information and application forms. Military Education Centers have copies of the DANTES Independent Study Catalog, which lists courses offered by regionally accredited colleges and universities, including OSU. Tuition assistance is generally available to military service personnel, although policy varies among the different services. The Veteran’s Administration will reimburse eligible veterans and service men and women for fees for CE courses. For more information, see the “Veterans” section under “University Services” on this website.

What do I do if my course has prerequisites I have not yet taken?

Prerequisites are geared toward OSU students, but they may apply at other schools. You should discuss the prerequisites with your advisor at your institution to determine if you have the needed foundation to complete the course successfully.

For military personnel, Army Regulation 621-5 (11 July, 2006) states that Tuition Assistance (TA) funds will not be authorized for “courses (at any level) when the Soldier has not satisfied the prerequisite course requirements. For example, TA will not be authorized for an upper-level economics course if the Soldier has not satisfied the lower-level prerequisites. TA can be authorized if the Soldier receives an official school waiver of the prerequisite course.”

How do I drop a course or don’t want to complete it?

With a year-long correspondence education course, as long as you do not take the final exam (or submit the final assignment if there is no final exam), the course will not appear on your transcript and you will automatically be dropped by the CE system. This procedure differs from semester-based (on-campus credit) enrollment.

With semester-based correspondence education courses, you must drop from the course through the Sectioning Office by the dates set forth in the University schedule. If you do not drop from the course and do not complete all work, you will receive an “F” in the course.

How and where do I take my exams?

If you are an OSU student and live in the vicinity of Stillwater, we request you come to the CE Office with a photo ID to do both paper-and-pencil and computer testing. Please allow enough time to complete your exam before the office closes.

To take exams elsewhere, you must secure a proctor who is approved by CE. Exams are mailed to the proctor. After the exam is completed, the proctor will send it back to our office.

What is a proctor?

A proctor is someone who supervises test administration if the student is unable to come to the OSU Stillwater campus to take the test.

I’ve sent my request for an exam, but my proctor hasn’t received it yet. What do I do?

After requesting an exam, allow at least two weeks for the exam to arrive. If that time period has passed and your proctor still has not received your exam, please call the CE Office and ask to speak with the Testing Supervisor. Exams are not faxed or emailed to proctors.

How long does it take to receive back my graded assignments?

Allow three weeks from delivery to the CE Office to receive your grade. We give instructors two weeks to grade your assignments and examinations. During vacation periods, grading will be slowed and students are advised to plan accordingly.

I need the credit to graduate; when are the deadlines for each semester?

For your final grade to be included on your semester grade report, you must complete absolutely all of your course assignments and exams by the last day of classes on campus to receive a final course grade for that semester. However, since instructors may still take two weeks to grade year-long courses, we recommend completing assignments and exams three weeks before the end of the semester.

Is OSU accredited and are earned credits transferable?

Accreditation is a system for recognizing schools that have achieved academic excellence. Oklahoma State University is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and is a member of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). Talk with the Admissions Office at your institution to find out if earned credits are transferable.

You may also consult the Department of Education’s Accrediting Branch, the governmental agency responsible for accreditation matters, or check to see if a school is listed with the CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation), the private agency responsible for accreditation. These agencies evaluate and publicly recognize the various accrediting bodies, which in turn accredit individual schools or programs. This list of recognized accrediting agencies and more information can be found at the following websites: Department of Education (http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/Students/file4a.html) and CHEA (http://www.chea.org).