Distance Education Program Information
NC State offers courses by cable, Internet, DVD, CD-ROM and other media, and facilitates on-site courses that may also be offered to remote sites by network connection. If you are undecided about which medium you should use, DE staff can assist in helping you determine which format best suits your teaching style and course content.
Cable courses are offered each semester to students through the Cooperating Raleigh Colleges Education Channel, offered to cable subscribers in Apex, Cary, Clayton, Four Oaks, Franklinton, Fuquay-Varina, Garner, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Pine Level, Raleigh, Rolesville, Selma, Smithfield, Wake Forest, Wendell, Youngsville, and Zebulon. Registered students “attend class” by viewing the televised lectures. These lectures are pre-recorded in a campus videoclassroom with on-campus students present, and include their questions and discussions. The broadcast schedule operates on an approximate one-week delay. School vacations are factored in the broadcast schedule, but class sessions do not air on any official University holidays. Students are encouraged to tape or DVR their classes and view/review them at their convenience. Recordings of currently aired cable classes are available in the D.H. Hill Library media center on the NC State campus by the same date as the initial broadcast.
Internet courses are web-based, computer-interfaced classes, created and updated by the instructors. These courses use Internet technologies for facilitating distance learning.
DVD courses use pretaped lectures that cover the entire semester’s course content, dubbed into a consolidated set of DVDs. Registrants rent a full set of course materials for the semester duration and complete the assignments, working with the original faculty member, who also provides the administration of the course and interacts with the student.
Other distance education courses may also be offered by NC-REN or other network communications, or on-site.
To assist distance students in selecting courses that meet their educational goals, the Distance Education office prepares a complete web catalog prior to the start of each semester’s registration. Included in each course listing is a link to the Course Details Sheet. The Course Details Sheet gives details about course objectives, number of exams and papers, textbooks and required course materials, and other details that prepare students for what to expect in the course. Course Details Sheets appear under the course listings at http://distance.ncsu.edu/courses.
In general, NC State’s Distance Education Credit Courses operate on the same fall, spring, and summer semester basis and vary only slightly from the semester dates of on-campus NC State courses. The DE program offers courses during all NC State semesters, including all Summer Sessions as well. Semester registration follows the on-campus calendar and students have two options for registration. They may either use the online Pack Tracks system or submit a paper application to Distance Education. In addition, DE is available to provide registration assistance to any student. Tuition and fees for DE classes are calculated on a per class basis and are not covered under or included in the on-campus rates.