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Guides of Distance
Students
Registration for a
Course
Distance
Students are encouraged to register for distance education
courses on the web-based
registration
request form.
Questions regarding courses can be submitted via e-mail
at
dsuinfo@dsu.edu
or phoned to the Extended Programs office at 605-256-5049
or toll free at
800-641-4309.
No student
will be allowed to continue in a course unless officially
registered, whether for college credit or as audit, by
deadlines specified in the
academic calendar and posted on the
Extended Programs web site.
Students must meet course prerequisites.
DSU students
will register for distance education courses on Web.
DSU campus students must have written permission from
the instructor to register for the course.
Students who are probation or are conditional admits to
the University are restricted from taking online courses.
Registration
for the current semester will be taken until the first day of
class. It is highly recommended that you register by
the week before classes start to allow for enough time to
process the registration, process payment and procure your
textbooks and course materials. Any student
requesting to register past the drop/add period must do so
with agreement from the instructor and final approval from the
Academic Vice President.
Course
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Payment of the self support tuition is required by the established due
date (which in most cases is the first day of the semester).
Any student whose payment is not received by the established
due date will have his or her course(s) canceled unless
arrangements are made with the university cashier. Students
registering during the drop/add period must pay tuition and
fees upon receipt of the statement.
Procurement
of Course Materials
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Students may order their
course books and materials from the
DSU Bookstore A secure server is in place for credit card
transactions. Orders can also be made by phone at 800-641-4309
or (605) 256-5238 and fax (605) 256-7127. The following
information is needed to complete an order for texts and
materials:
Course Name
CRN number of the course
Title of the Book
Author
ISBN
Edition
Publisher
Student Name
Ship to Address
Credit Card Number (Visa, MasterCard, Discover)
Credit Card expiration date
A shipping and handling charge
of $5 for one book, $2.00 for each additional in the same
shipment is added . An additional 6% sales tax is added for
South Dakota residents.
Access
to Course Information
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Upon receipt of the official class roster, the instructor will
contact the students by e-mail. Instructors will provide the
students with the information to access the course through
Desire2Learn (D2L). If
the instructor has not contacted the student within 48 hours
of the course start date, please contact the Extended Programs office at 800-641-4309 or
dsuinfo@dsu.edu
to determine if there is a problem.
Drop and Refund
Policy, Class Schedule Changes, Class Withdrawal,
Withdrawal
from University and Student Refund Policy
Please refer to
DSU Catalog for
policy on Class Schedule Changes, Class Withdrawal,
Withdrawal from University and Student Refund Policy. Please contact the DSU
Bookstore for return of books.
Library Resources and Services
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Students
are provided easy and timely access to the resources and
services of the Karl
E. Mundt Library on its website . A library ID
number and password are needed to login to research
databases when off-campus. Obtain an ID, receive library
materials, and get research help by sending e-mail to
reference@dsu.edu or by phoning 800-641-4309 (between
8:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, CST) or
605-256-5203, or by faxing (605-256-5208). Full
instructions for accessing library information for distance
students are found on the
Library’s information page for
distance students.
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
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The
Dakota State University
Online Writing Lab
(OWL) provides writing assistance to DSU students and
faculty both on campus and in remote locations.
The DSU
faculty works hand-in-hand with the OWL to improve the
quality of instruction and learning in all DSU courses. In
addition, many faculty members who use writing in their
courses also provide copies of their assignments to the OWL
so that the tutors can provide appropriate help to those
requesting it.
The OWL
is a vital service for DSU's Extended Programs. Please
contact Maureen Murphy at
maureen.murphy@dsu.edu with any problems concerning the
OWL website.
Proctoring Examinations
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An instructor who plans to use proctored examinations in
courses will e-mail, and/or post on the course Web site, the
proctor verification form and guidelines to the student in
advance of the exam. The student is responsible for obtaining
a proctor for exams and for completing the proctor
verification form and returning it to the instructor.
Once the instructor has
approved the proctor the examination is sent to the proctor.
The student must take the exam in the presence of the proctor.
The proctor returns the exam to the instructor for grading.
Mid-term Grades
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Distance
Education course mid-term grades are processed by the
instructor. Please refer to the course syllabus for
information on course mid-terms. Students receiving
deficient grades (DEF) at mid-term will receive a notice via
email from DSU Enrollment Services and will be directed to
check grades online using WebAdvisor. Students are
encouraged to withdraw from the course(s) by the deadline
published in the semester calendar and posted on the
Distance Education web site.
Administration of Student Opinion Survey (SOS)
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The agreement between the Board of Regents and the
Council of Higher Education requires that students be provided
an opportunity to express their opinion concerning classroom
instruction through the Student Opinion Survey.
Students will be asked to
complete an electronic version of the Student Opinion Survey
(SOS) prior to the end of the semester. Students receive
instructions about completing the SOS and about returning the
form to the Assessment Office. All surveys remain
confidential.
Final Grades and Transcripts
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The final
course grade is available to students via
WebAdvisor,
WebAdvisor instructions,
Information on
requesting an official transcript.
All current and former students of Dakota State University
are entitled to official transcripts of their work at DSU
unless the student has an outstanding obligation to the
University. Students with outstanding obligations will not
be issued official transcripts until that obligation is
met. With a written request and signature, students may
obtain an official transcript of their academic record at
Dakota State University.
Grades for Your High School
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Please help your teachers, administrators, and parents
understand that by federal law final grades for college
courses can only be provided to the student. Questions
should be directed to the DSU Registrar at 605-256-5144.
As stated in Section I, you will receive midterm grade only
if you have a deficient grade. If you require a
marking period grade, please have your high school
contact the Extended Programs office. The Extended
Programs staff
will arrange with the instructor to determine and
release a marking period grade
Advising
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Online advising will help you clarify your academic and career
goals, and which courses you should take to fulfill those
goals. Online advising can also answer questions about the
courses that you are currently taking. E-mail your advising
questions to
advising@dsu.edu
and your e-mail will be answered as soon as possible. Online
advising can also be reached by calling 1-800-641-4309 or
605-256-5049 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
(Central Time), Monday through Friday.
How a
Distance Education Course Works
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Once your
registration has been processed, payment received and course
materials have been obtained, you will receive an e-mail
from your instructor. Please see our
step-by-step listing
and our
Distance
Education Checklist for more detailed information.
Your main communication with the instructor will be by
e-mail. Your online course(s) will be delivered via
Desire2Learn (D2L),
which is an online course management system.
On average you
will spend approximately 10-12 hours a week online to
participate in your college level course. If you are
using your school computer lab to participate in a course it
is important that you make arrangements with your school to
have additional access time in the computer lab. Three
to five periods a week will not be enough to review course
materials online and participate in online discussions.
Online courses
follow the DSU calendar, not your high school's calendar.
DSU may not recognize all the same holidays that your high
school does. Please consider the implications of this
before you begin a course. You are responsible for
turning in assignments on time. If a school computer lab
is mainly being used for a course and school will be closed,
arrangements should be made to complete the assignment before
the school closing time. Faculty are usually flexible if
an unexpected situation arises. In circumstances where a
student knows of school closure or a period of time away, it
is the students' responsibility to see that assignments are
turned in on time. Students should notify the instructor
if a situation like this should arise.
Our goal is for
every student to have a good experience in taking an online
course. Students must remember that online courses are
college level and work must be to that level. Students
must also be prepared for online learning. More time
will need to be spent on online courses than high school
courses. Assignments will be more challenging and
require more critical thinking than high school level.
Online courses require more independent work. All things
in mind, your DSU online course should be an enjoyable
educational experience. The Extended Programs staff is available for any problems that may arise.
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