Here is some information about outside electives you should consider before choosing these courses.
- Outside electives are outside the IST major, so you cannot go to another Educational Technology program and take a course in their program. Typical options include: Business, Computer Science, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, Adult Education, Library and Information Science, and Telecommunications.
- Most of the time, it is important that your outside electives are relevant to your major and your career goals. They should complement the other areas of study in your Program of Studies.
- Outside electives must be at the graduate level.
- If you take outside electives outside of Indiana University, you will either need to make a minimum of a B, or if the course if Pass/Fail, you will need to be prepared to ask your instructor to provide a memo saying your work in the course was equivalent to a B or higher.
- If you take electives at another college or university, be sure to check whether they are using a semester system or a quarter system to count course credits. A 3-credit course taken under a quarter system will only count for 2 credits on tranfer into an IU program.
- Even within Indiana University, the distance education tuition rates are not all the same. Check the rates before you enroll in any courses. In addition, most programs have additional requirements for enrolling in their courses, so you should check the prerequisites as well.
- Your advisor needs to approve any courses you bring into Indiana University from another institution. If the course is from an accredited institution, it is most likely to be approved. Workshops, unaccredited institutions, and courses with varying credit hours should be approved by your advisor PRIOR to enrolling. You should leave plenty of time for your advisor to review the course before it begins.
You do not have to take outside electives at Indiana University, providing you still have room in your program to bring in 6 hours. Most people make a search on the web looking for things that fit their interests, time, requirements, cost, etc. You can visit this site with a list of Accredited Online Degrees and Distance Learning as well.