Extended Studies, University of Nevada, Reno

Course Materials and Lessons

Course materials for open-enrollment courses
Your application for enrollment is processed by the independent learning staff. You will receive complete instructions for the preparation of assignments in a syllabus outlining the lessons for the course. All course materials, including textbooks, cover sheets, envelopes, video cassettes, DVDs, CD-ROMs and other aids that are needed to begin the course will be mailed to you with the syllabus. You will receive the first CD or video to begin your course; subsequent materials will be mailed to you when the original set of materials has been returned to the Independent Learning office. The initials "b.o." on your receipt indicate the material is back-ordered and will automatically be mailed to you once we have received it from the vendor. Used books are often available for each class at reduced rates. Please indicate if you prefer new books or used books when you enroll. We will accommodate your request whenever possible.

Course materials for semester-based online courses
Students are required to contact the Independent Learning office to request and purchase course textbooks and materials once they have completed the following steps, in order: (1) Contact Independent Learning for course call numbers and provide current mailing address, phone number and e-mail address. (2) Enroll for courses via the campus online registration system, ePAWS. To request course materials, call (775) 784-4652, or e-mail istudy@unr.edu.
Students enrolling in semester-based online courses will receive a welcome packet from the Independent Learning office, sent to the address on file. It is very important that you initiate contact with our office to ensure your course welcome packet is delivered to you via mail or e-mail in a timely manner. The packet contains important course information, including access instructions and deadlines. You may also order textbooks at this time if you wish.

Lesson assignments
If you are an average or better student, you will spend at least three or more hours per credit to complete each assignment satisfactorily, regardless of the method of delivery.

For print-based courses, all lessons must include a cover sheet, provided with your enrollment materials, giving your full name and address, R# or IL unique student ID #, syllabus date, the course name and number, and the number of the lesson. Please make sure that the address on this sheet is correct as it will be used as your address when mailing the lesson back to you.

All work you submit must be done independently. Students in residence study are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and integrity; similarly, as a student in independent learning, you shall not submit the work of another person as yours or work in groups on assignments.

For open-enrollment (print-based and online) courses, we recommend that you submit the first one or two lesson assignments to the independent learning office and then wait for feedback from the instructor before sending in further lessons. This is for your benefit as it helps you know whether you are answering questions or doing problems adequately before continuing with the course. However, if you like, you may proceed with the acceptable number (as determined under time requirements) of lesson submissions each week regardless of whether your previous lessons have been returned. This is acceptable with the independent learning office if you feel that you understand the material sufficiently to continue and your grades remain at the C level or better.

We recommend that you make a copy of your lessons. If your course work is lost in the mail before a grade is recorded, the lesson must be resubmitted.

How to prepare and submit your print-based lessons/assignments
You may submit your print-based lessons by mail, fax, e-mail or in person in the Independent Learning office. Preparation requirements for each method are described in your independent learning student handbook. If time is of the essence, remember that the “submission date” is the day we receive your lesson in our office; not the date you mailed your assignment.

How to prepare and submit your online lessons/reports
The University of Nevada, Reno uses the course software WebCT for its online courses. Students enrolled in online independent learning courses will need continual access to a computer with a printer and access to the Internet. Minimum system requirements are a computer running Windows 95 or higher or MacIntosh OS 10 or higher, as well as a supported Web browser. To see if your browser is functional with WebCT, visit: www.webct.com/tuneup/. For more information, see open-enrollment online courses and semester-based online courses.

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