The Office of Correspondence Studies is happy to work with Academic Advisors to improve service to students. To this end, we've compiled some basic information that is useful for Academic Advisors with regard to correspondence study.

All Texas State correspondence courses parallel courses offered on campus. The same amount of student time and effort is required as for semester-long courses. The abilities of students to "self-motivate" and "self-teach" play a major role in successful completion of correspondence courses.

A maximum of eighteen hours of correspondence credit can be applied towards a bachelor's degree.

A student on active suspension from Texas State is ineligible to enroll in Texas State correspondence study courses unless permission is explicitly granted in his/her suspension contract.

Enrollment solely in correspondence courses does not constitute official admission to Texas State.

Texas State correspondence study students are not entered into the main Texas State system until a final grade has been determined and forwarded to the Registrar for posting to the transcript.

Correspondence Studies students are required to be in compliance with the TSIP regulations.

All Texas State juniors and seniors must obtain academic advisor approval to enroll in correspondence courses.

The Office of Correspondence Studies does not provide academic advising and does not "police" prerequsites.

Enrollments are accepted throughout the year. There are no fixed deadlines for enrollment or completion.

The Office of Correspondence Studies encourages students to check with their academic advisors to determine personal deadlines for obtaining course grades, and then to complete the Personal Study Schedule, found in all correspondence study guides, to plan for meeting personal deadlines.

Students sometimes need, and are allowed, to re-take exams. If a student waits too long to take a final exam, there is often not enough time for a re-take before the enrollment period expires or to meet graduation deadlines.

The initial enrollment is for a period of nine months. A one-time enrollment period extension of three months can be purchased. No enrollment may go beyond twelve months. If a student fails to complete within twelve months, it will be necessary for them to re-enroll, make full payment, and resubmit all assignments and re-take all exams.

Final exams are not administered prior to the 45th day of enrollment. This policy helps to maintain the integrity of our courses and keeps students from "hurrying to fail."

Students must make payment of the full tuition amount at the time of enrollment in a correspondence study course.

The Office of Correspondence Studies returns incomplete applications to students. It is much more expedient if all paperwork arrives together; including the application with required academic advisor approval signatures, payment or billing information, tuition assistance information, and TSIP compliance verification (if needed).

If an advisor approves an application and faxes it to the Office of Correspondence Studies, the original should be discarded. When applications are submitted twice, they may be processed twice.

Correspondence courses count towards the Texas State GPA, overall GPA, and as a replacement grade for any Texas State course just as on-campus courses do.

The Office of Correspondence Studies works with the Office of Disability Services to provide adequate accommodations to students with special needs.

The Office of Correspondence Studies encourages first-time correspondence students to enroll in only one course. In general, our office does not encourage any student to enroll in more than two correspondence courses at a time, although some students have taken up to six courses at a time.

Correspondence students are responsible for adhering to the Texas State Honor Code as it relates to academic honesty. The Office of Correspondence Studies does not discourage students from enrolling with a friend or study partner, but our office does counsel them about doing their own work in their own words. Sending the same work, even though it may be the product of students working together, constitutes plagiarism. Students found cheating on assignments or exams will be held accountable.

Students are allowed a one-time transfer to another course within the first six months of enrollment ($20.00 fee + $10.00 per graded assignment). Texas State juniors and seniors must obtain Academic Advisor approval to transfer courses.

Instructors are allowed two weeks (10 working days) to grade and return assignments and exams to the Office of Correspondence Studies.

When dropping a course, a student may receive a refund if the request to drop the course is made in writing within sixty days of enrollment. The course fee is refunded minus a $25 drop fe, the nonrefundable $25 administrative fee, and a $10 grading fee for each assignment submitted. If an error is made by any Texas State personnel, the Office of Correspondence Studies will process a full refund if the drop request is accompanied by a memorandum from the department taking responsibility for the error.

Each student receives a grade report and an official transcript upon completion of each correspondence course for no additional fee.

Students who owe money will have a hold put on their transcripts until payment is made to the Texas State Cashier.

The study guides used in our courses are available for review in the Office of Correspondence Studies.