The type of courses you take will depend on your student status and degree plan. It also may affect your schedule and how you interact with your instructors.
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Before you begin
All of Mizzou's online courses fall into one of two categories: semester-based or self-paced.
Most courses are offered as semester-based courses available on Canvas. Many of our self-paced options are at the undergraduate level and help on-campus students fulfill degree requirements, but there also are options for graduate and nondegree-seeking students.
Note: Whichever course you enroll in, you are responsible for making sure you’ve taken any prerequisites ahead of time.
Semester-based courses
A semester-based course will be a little closer to a more traditional experience. The start and end dates will align with the regular 16-week or 8-week semester. As with other online courses, you may need to take a proctored exam, but you also are expected to take online quizzes and exams.
An added bonus is more structure and interaction with your peers. Instead of going at your own pace, your instructor will provide weekly assignments, course work, quizzes and exams. Throughout this time, you also can engage with your instructor and peers via a discussion board.
Semester-based courses are either asynchronous, meaning you can log on anytime to participate, or synchronous, meaning you are required to log on at a specified time.
Next steps for semester-based courses
Self-paced courses
Mizzou offers two types of self-paced courses, a 16-week course that follows the semester calendar and a 19-week course that allows additional time flexibility during the session interim.
Self-paced 19-week max to finish
The start day for the self-paced term is the first day of the regular term and extends for 19 weeks in the fall and spring terms. The session will end on the Friday prior to the start of the next term. During Fall and Spring terms, students will be able to add a self-paced course up to 9 weeks into the term. Students cannot register for a self-paced course with less than 10 weeks to complete.
Self-paced 16-week courses
Self-paced 16-week session courses start date and end dates are the same as those of the regular 16-week session.
An advantage of these courses is the extended enrollment period, but you still must finish the course by the session end date. Therefore, these courses may be best for those who need to finish their course work within a semester time frame.