Graduate Level Extension Courses

Graduate degree-granting units may, with Graduate School approval, offer 500-level extension credit courses when there is a clear demand for such courses. In this context "extension course" means a complete section or part of a section in which students are enrolled through University Extension or the unit office of continuing education, beyond the state enrollment contract, and pay fees designed to recover the costs of serving them.

Graduate extension credit courses must be equivalent in quality to the unit's regular graduate course offerings. They must, therefore, meet all of the following conditions:

1. The instructor must be a member of the graduate faculty or qualified for graduate faculty status.
2. The instructor must receive at least his or her normal compensation and offer the course without long-term expansion of his or her regular teaching load.
3. All students seeking enrollment in the course must be evaluated by the graduate faculty in the unit for qualifications to perform graduate-level work satisfactorily. Enrollment is limited to admitted graduate students and nonmatriculated students who meet the conditions given in Memorandum No. 37, Enrollment of Nonmatriculated Students in Graduate Courses.
4. Credit earned in graduate extension courses is applicable toward degree requirements without limit for admitted graduate students. For nonmatriculated students, it is applicable under the same restrictions as credit earned in regular graduate courses (see Memorandum No. 37) and contributes to the total of 18 credits for which such students are allowed to register.
5. If extension credit sections of a course are attached to a regular graduate course, the extension students enrolled must pay at least the level of fees charged to state-supported students.

Approval of Graduate Level Extension Courses Graduate courses offered for extension credit must be approved by the Graduate School, as well as by the college or school involved and the Curricular Policy Board. Proposals for such courses must be submitted by the unit chair at least one quarter in advance of the quarter in which the course will be offered. The proposal should include the course description; estimated number of students; and sufficient information to show that all the requirements given above will be met. The Graduate School will notify the unit and the Extension Credit Program when courses are approved. Nonmatriculated students enrolled in extension courses must be included in the annual report to the Graduate School described in Memorandum No. 37.