Course Procedure

Getting Started

Your enrollment date in a self-paced online course is confirmed by email to your Texas State email address by our office when you are successfully registered. You should purchase the course materials within 30 days of your registration. All course information is found on the course site in Canvas. Start your course by reading the online self-paced course orientation information at the beginning of the course. Then, carefully read the Introduction or Syllabus, making note of all course objectives. Once you are familiar with what is expected of you in the course, you may begin Lesson One. When you reach an assignment to be submitted for grading, follow the procedures listed at the beginning of your course and in your course's Introduction or Syllabus.

You will submit assignments online, via Canvas. It is recommended that you wait for your assignment to be returned with a grade before submitting the next assignment. Some students—either because of deadlines or because they have an excellent understanding of the course material—may wish to submit assignments at a faster rate. Unless the course website states otherwise, you may submit no more than two assignments per week. Be sure to retain a copy of all work you complete and of all assignments, you submit. On rare occasions, completed online work may be lost because of technical difficulties. The best protection you have against delays and extra work is to retain duplicate copies of your work.

Grades

Keep in mind that online self-paced courses are taught by faculty in addition to their regular teaching load. Instructors are given up to a week to grade assignments.

Unless the course study guide states otherwise, you may submit no more than two assignments per week.

Assignments will be graded by your instructor and either returned to you or made available for your review online, with an accompanying grade and any comments from your instructor. Pay close attention to the professor’s comments on graded assignments. This practice is one of the primary ways that learning takes place in online self-paced study.

All assignments must be completed, and all exams must be taken for you to receive credit for your course. Letter grades of A, B, C, D, and F are used for final grades except for MATH 1311.

You may obtain an official Texas State transcript from the Registrar’s Office, 111 J.C. Kellam Building, and may be requested on the website of the Office of the University Registrar. 

Exams

Most Texas State online self-paced courses require a student to take one or two exams. Because exams are the primary indicator of your mastery of an online self-paced course, most exams must be taken in an approved, supervised location.

If your course has a cumulative final exam, you must score 60 percent or higher on that exam to pass the course. For courses in which the final exam is not cumulative, the average grade on all exams must be at least 60 percent for you to pass the course. For an explanation of a specific course’s grading criteria, refer to the Introduction or Syllabus of your course. If you are taking a final exam, you are acknowledging that your coursework is complete as submitted. All assignments received by your instructor to date will be factored into the computation of your final course grade, and no further submissions will be permitted.

Course Drops

You may withdraw from a course at any time by accessing Texas State Self-Service. Please note that in order to receive a partial refund, you must withdraw from a class within the first 30 days. Refer to the Withdrawal Refund Schedule for refund amounts.

You may not drop a course after taking the final exam, or for courses that do not have a final exam, after submitting the final assignment. Please note that in order to receive a partial refund, you must drop a class within the first 30 days. Refer to the Withdrawal Refund Schedule for information on partial refund amounts. 

If you drop a course before your six-month or nine-month enrollment period expires, no grade will be reported to the Registrar, the course will not appear on your transcript, and the course will not be included in attempted hours calculations.

Course Non-Completions

If you do not drop or complete your course prior to your course expiration date, an “NC” (for "Not Completed" online self-paced course) will automatically be applied to your transcript. Courses with an “NC” will be included in attempted hours.  

The financial aid implications of an “NC” applied to your transcript are detailed on the Financial Aid web page under the “Maximum Hours Limit” drop-down paragraph.

Additionally, as stated on the Student Business Services web page under the “Academic Progress for Waivers and Exemptions” paragraph, hours considered excessive under the Texas Education Code may not be eligible to receive the exemption or waiver.

Academic Honesty

The Texas State University Honor Code establishes the following:

  • Instructor Responsibilities
  • Student Responsibilities
  • Procedures for cases of academic misconduct (including rules about hearings and appeals)

The university expects both faculty and students, including online self-paced students, to respect and follow the Honor Code.

As stated in University Policy and Procedures Statement 07.10.01,

Violation of the Honor Code includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion, and the abuse of resource materials.

"Cheating" in general, but not limited to, means engaging or attempting to engage in any of the following activities:

  • copying from another student’s test paper, laboratory report, other report, computer files, data listings, programs, or from any electronic device or equipment;
  • using, during a test, printed, audio, or electronic materials not authorized by the person giving the test;
  • collaborating, without authorization, with another person during an examination or in preparing academic work;
  • knowingly, and without authorization, using, buying, selling, stealing, transporting, soliciting, copying, or possessing, in whole or in part, the content of an un-administered test, or other academic products (i.e., study guides, etc.);
  • substituting for another student or permitting another person to substitute for oneself in taking an examination or preparing academic work;
  • bribing or coercing another person to obtain an unadministered test or information about an unadministered test or other academic products;
  • purchasing, or otherwise acquiring and submitting as one’s own work, any research paper or other writing assignment prepared by an individual or firm. This section does not apply to the word processing of the rough or final versions of an assignment by a professional service;
  • submitting the same essay, thesis, report, or another project, without substantial revision or expansion of the work, in an attempt to obtain credit for work submitted in another course;
  • falsifying data.

“Plagiarism” in general, but not limited to, means the appropriation of another’s work and the inadequately or inappropriately acknowledged incorporation of that work in one’s own written work, oral work, visual work, or the performance of an original act or routine that is offered for credit.

“Collusion” in general, but not limited to, means the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing any work offered for credit.

“Abuse of resource materials” in general, but not limited to, means the mutilation, destruction, concealment, theft, or alteration of materials provided to assist students in the mastery of course content.