Self-Paced Online Courses

  IMPORTANT NOTICE

The University of Arkansas is phasing out Self-Paced Online Courses.
The deadline to request enrollment was June 18, 2023.

Applications for enrollment are no longer being accepted.


Student on laptop viewing the University of Arkansas Online website


Flexible. Affordable. Different.

 

Flexible

Earn college credit without semester boundaries. There are 20+ opportunities each year to enroll in Self-Paced Online   (correspondence) Courses (SPOC). Most self-paced courses run about 12 weeks, and most require proctored exams.

 

Affordable

  • Tuition is $135 per credit hour.
  • Fees are $30 per credit hour.
  • Textbooks are not included in tuition and fees.

 

Different

Self-Paced Online Courses are different from traditional, semester-based online courses.

  • You – not faculty – set the pace to study course materials independently. Be motivated, self-directed and self-disciplined, and note deadlines.
  • Self-paced courses normally do NOT fulfill requirements for students who must be enrolled in a specific number of hours for a semester.
  • SPOC courses are considered correspondence courses for enrollment and financial aid purposes. Most SPOC enrollment periods are NOT eligible for federal financial aid, loans or scholarships.

 

Required Equipment

All students must have...

  • reliable access to a computer with Windows or Mac OS
  • reliable access to the Internet
  • a webcam
  • a microphone
  • speakers or headphones
  • minimum 8 GB RAM

  Test your system for online exam proctoring compatibility.

Enrolled at the University of Arkansas?

Not enrolled at the University of Arkansas?

Tips for Success Video

Tips for Success Video

Tips Video 2:45

 

Good to Know

  • Self-paced courses allow students to take web-based correspondence courses at their own pace, rather than following a structure set by faculty and instructors. You are not required to be admitted to the U of A to take a self-paced course, and you cannot earn a degree by taking only self-paced courses.
  • Traditional online courses provide a structured learning environment that is led by a faculty member or instructor, who sets the pace for the class. Although you may not be required to meet online at a set time, you will have assignment due dates, structured interaction with classmates and other deadlines set out by the course syllabus. You must be admitted as a U of A student to enroll in online courses, and you can earn a degree by taking only online courses.
  • There are 20+ sessions per calendar year in which students may request enrollment. Session start and end dates and dates on which Requests for Enrollment may be submitted are outlined on the Enrollment page.
  • Three sessions per year will be reserved exclusively for students enrolling under financial aid guidelines.
  • With the exception of the summer “financial aid” session, all sessions will be just under 12 weeks in length.
  • Students will be enrolled on a space-available basis in the order in which Requests for Enrollment are received.

To qualify for an extension, students must do the following:

  1. Complete work in the course through a designated halfway point.
  2. Formally request an extension by sending an email to extend@uark.edu from their UARK email accounts.

Extensions are not available for any financial aid/scholarship enrollments or for 1000- and 2000-level Spanish courses.

  • Available for University of Arkansas students only.
  • Three financial aid sessions are available each year, and are reserved for students who will use any type of aid (including scholarships, loans, grants) to cover costs of their Self-Paced Course and/or students who need the credit hours from their Self-Paced Courses to maintain eligibility for any type of aid, including the Arkansas Challenge Scholarship.
  1. Check the Self-Paced course calendar to confirm whether the deadline to drop has passed. Go to the Enrollment & Calendar Information page, select your enrollment session start date (which was included on your enrollment confirmation) from the drop-down list, and look for Deadline to drop without “W” and Deadline to drop with "W."
  2. Provided the final deadline to drop has not passed, send an email from your UARK email account to drop@uark.edu stating your name and the self-paced course you wish to drop. The date of the email will be used to determine what, if any, fee adjustment will be made. Emails sent from other accounts (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo) will not be accepted.

Call 479-575-3647 or 800-638-1217 should you have questions.

 

Academic Integrity