Frequently Asked Questions

FSU follows a semester schedule. You can find important dates and deadlines for each semester on the Academic Calendar at the Registrar's website.

Before applying, pay close attention to the course or program's time and location requirements. Online courses fall into one of three categories: asynchronous, synchronous, and mixed.

• Asynchronous courses allow students to complete coursework at their own schedule within the parameters of the instructor's syllabus. In most cases, this means that course activities and assignments can be completed at any time during a given week of the course, rather than at a specific class meeting time. Most FSU online courses are asynchronous.
• Synchronous courses require students to participate in real-time discussions or lectures that require logging in at a certain time and day.
• Mixed courses require some face-to-face presence.

Unfortunately, no. Online students are required to have completed 60 or more semester hours of transferable credit as determined by the Office of Admissions. However, students can complete any necessary prerequisite coursework through Florida Shines.

To participate in an FSU online course, you'll need a computer and operating system that are as up-to-date as possible (less than 3 years old). Make sure you have a stable, high-speed internet connection and virus protection software. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are the recommended browsers for FSU's online courses. To optimize your learning experience, we also recommend you have headphones, a microphone, and a webcam. See Technology Recommendations for Learning Online for a complete list of recommended technology. Always consult your course syllabus and pay attention to communication from your instructor for any additional technical requirements.

Academic Advisors provide distance students a personalized degree roadmap; advise students on course selection, substitutions, prerequisites, and academic requirements; and monitor student progress.

Instructors teach the course content, providing clear instruction on the course's goals, a schedule for completing course activities, expertise in the content area, learning activities, and guidance for completing activities and assignments. Instructors teaching online courses frequently teach the same course in a face-to-face format.

Instructors may schedule specific telephone office hours or specific times within a chat room when groups of students may go online to have questions answered. They also respond through threaded discussions or individual email, and they make general announcements through the course website. Contact information is available in the syllabus or in the Contacts area of the course site.

Mentors act as online teaching assistants and learning facilitators. Mentors support student progress as learning coaches (clarifying course content and providing feedback) and as communicators (contacting students regularly regarding progress). Not all online degree programs use the assistance of mentors, but many do.

Students add value to the online experience, and student-to-student contact happens in a variety of ways, including group projects, discussion boards, chat rooms, and email.

Online courses at FSU are delivered through FSU's learning management system, Canvas. Course menus in Canvas usually feature links to the syllabus and course content like lecture materials, readings, documents, websites, discussion forums, and other learning tools. Online courses may require that some things be done independently while others be done in conjunction with the instructor or other students. Throughout the semester, instructors post assignment grades to the Grades page in Canvas.

Student assessment may be handled online in Canvas or via proctored exams at an external site or online provider. Proctored exams are at the discretion of the instructor. If your class requires proctored testing, your instructor will provide information in the course syllabus. If your instructor requires proctored testing, you may be charged for testing at a proctored testing facility or provider. For more information about proctored testing, see the FSU Testing Center website. 

If you're interested in an online program that may lead to professional licensure and you reside outside Florida, you'll want to make sure the program meets licensing criteria in your home state (or state where you intend to work). See the State Authorization & Licensure page for more information.

Yes. FSU is committed to providing opportunities for students to air concerns and seek resolution. If you have a complaint, FSU provides several channels for resolution. See the Complaint Resolution page for more information.

Many of our online courses meet general education and university-wide graduation requirements, but not all online courses are offered each semester.

Course offerings in the FloridaShines online catalog are updated each semester to coincide with the opening of the registration window. 

Yes. If you're currently taking face-to-face courses at the main campus, you can register to take online courses as well. Keep these things in mind if you're interested in registering for an online course: Main campus students can only register for online course sections built specifically for main campus students (i.e., not sections built especially for distance students). You can find out what online courses are open to you by searching courses in Student Central. When entering your search criteria, make sure the Campus field is set to Tallahassee, the Course Attribute field is set to Physical Location, and the Course Attribute Value is set to Online.

Additional fees apply when enrolling in an online course: Online course sections have a distance learning fee and, if proctored testing is required by the instructor, you may be charged for testing at a proctored testing facility or provider. Be sure to read the Notes section in Student Central when enrolling as it contains important fee information for the course. See the FSU Testing Center website for more information.

Yes. Please note, however, that if you're a main campus student, you can only register for online course sections built for main campus students. To find out what courses are open to you, search for courses in Student Central and make sure the Campus field is set to Tallahassee, the Course Attribute field is set to Physical Location, and the Course Attribute Value is set to Online.

Additional fees apply when enrolling in an online course: Online course sections have a distance learning fee and, if proctored testing is required by the instructor, you may be charged for testing at an approved, proctored testing facility or provider. See the FSU Testing Center website for more information and be sure to read the Notes section in Student Central when enrolling as it contains important fee information for the course.