Deadline Nears for Students Using Financial Aid and Scholarship Funds to Pay for Self-Paced Courses

University of Arkansas students who plan to use scholarships and/or financial aid funding to pay for self-paced online courses offered through the university Global Campus must submit an enrollment request by Friday, Aug. 9.

Details about how to request enrollment are available at http://online.uark.edu/self-paced/ or by calling 479-575-3647. Students not using scholarships and financial aid funding may begin submitting enrollment requests on Monday, Aug. 12, 2013.

Colleges and schools at the university offer college credit through these self-paced online correspondence courses. A student must be enrolled in 6 university credit hours that are not self-paced online correspondence courses before he or she can enroll in self-paced online correspondence courses using scholarship and financial aid funds. Submitting a request for enrollment in a self-paced course does not guarantee successful enrollment in the requested course.

This summer the University of Arkansas redesigned the process used to administer and deliver correspondence courses. The name "self-paced online courses" replaced the program's former name "Independent Study (Correspondence) Courses." All correspondence courses now are offered online; paper-based courses are no longer available.

Self-paced courses offer the most flexibility of any university credit course, while meeting the same academic standards as face-to-face or traditional online courses. Self-paced courses allow students to set their own learning tempos, rather than following structured learning environments lead by faculty or instructors. Students are not required to be formally admitted to the university to take self-paced courses, but students should consult with an academic adviser regarding course selection to ensure courses will count toward their degree requirements.

The Global Campus also supports colleges and schools in the development and delivery of distance education offerings, including degree programs that are completely or primarily online. The Global Campus provides instructional design services, technology services, access to national distance education organizations, and assistance with strategic academic development.