- What is the tuition
amount per credit hour for this program? Are there other fees?
- How much does the
entire program cost?
- Is financial aid
available?
- What if I decide to
drop a course after I start the program?
- Can I take courses
without formally applying to the program?
- What if a family
emergency arises, and I need to take a few weeks off, but I don’t
want to drop the course?
- Is the entire degree
program online? Is it asynchronous or synchronous?
- What is the Great
Plains-IDEA?
- How is this program
different than others in economic development or community change?
- How do I apply at ISU?
- How do I apply at
other institutions?
- Who will be my
faculty advisor?
- Do all of my
committee members for my thesis/creative component have to be from
my home institution?
- How many hours of
courses do I have to take to get my degree?
- What is a thesis
versus a creative component?
- Will I have to do an
oral defense of my thesis or creative component? Will I have to come
to campus for that?
- Will I have to
physically come to campus from time to time?
- Can I take one course
a semester and still graduate within a reasonable amount of time?
- Who should I contact
with questions about the degree program?
- What sort of
technology requirements does this degree entail?
- Will I be able to get
to know my instructors? Other students?
- Is there any
possibility that more courses will be added later on? What about
courses in leadership or management?
- Will more
universities participate in this degree program later on?
- I have a lot of
family and cultural obligations. Will this be a problem as I move
through the program?
- If I’m taking courses
from all different university instructors, how will my transcript
look?
- What if I have never
taken a course online before? And, will we be switching between
different formats for every course?
- What will be the
actual title of my degree when I complete the program at ISU?
- Do the faculty
members at the participating universities know each other well?
1. What is the
tuition amount per credit hour for this program? Are there other fees?
$415 per credit hour (2008-2009
school year), and there are no other fees. You will need to purchase
your own text books.
2. How much does
the entire program cost?
The program consists of 36 credits;
$415 x 36= $14,940 (based upon 2008-2009 school year fees)
3. Is financial
aid available?
It depends. In most cases, students
must be enrolled in at least 4 credits to be eligible for a partial
scholarship, although some institutions are piloting projects aimed
at providing financial aid for distance education students. Graduate
assistantships are usually awarded to on-campus students, because
such assistantships require involvement in teaching on-campus class
or assisting a professor with on-campus research. If you decide to
go to SDSU, you will want to contact the financial aid office:
(605) 688-4695 or (800) 952-3541,
financialaid@sdstate.edu.
4. What if I
decide to drop a course after I start the program?
You can always drop courses, as long
as the dates coincide with your university’s schedule for drop
dates. However, dropping a course does not ensure tuition
reimbursement. You need to check the tuition adjustment schedule at
your home institution. Here is SDSU's as an example:
http://www3.sdstate.edu/ClassLibrary/Page/Information/DataInstances/18287/Files/45687/ScheduleAdjustmentSp07.pdf
5. Can I take
courses without formally applying to the program?
This is a university policy, so you
will need to check with the graduate college at your home
institution. At SDSU, students not meeting the above admission
requirements, and those not working toward a degree may be granted
admission and take courses as Special Students. Special Students may
not receive Graduate Assistantships, financial aid, or enroll for
thesis/dissertation credits. The Graduate Dean will act as advisor
for these students unless they are assigned to a department advisor.
No more than ten credits under Special Student status may be applied
toward a degree.
6. What if a
family emergency arises, and I need to take a few weeks off, but I don’t
want to drop the course?
Contact your professor immediately
to let them know you will be absent from class, and work with
him/her to find a way to make up the work. Professors understand
that family issues come up, and they are more than willing to work
with you to make the course a success.
7. Is the entire
degree program online? Is it asynchronous or synchronous?
It is all online and asynchronous,
meaning that you do not have to be online at any specified time
during the week. There may be synchronous chatting online in a
course if the instructor and students agree that it is needed for
clarification on a topic or more discussion time. Instructors are
extremely understanding if the time of the chat does not work with
your schedule.
8. What is the
Great Plains-IDEA?
The Great Plains Interactive
Distance Education Alliance was founded in 1994 and provides
multiple top tier universities the ability to combine resources to
offer distance education courses. Please visit
www.gpidea.org for more
information.
9. How is this
program different than others in economic development or community
change?
This program is different than
others because it is all online; you do not have to physically be on
campus. This degree program is offered by a number of top tier
universities, with renowned faculty teaching the courses. Other
similar programs often have clustered topics that are taught in
quick sessions, which may make it difficult to grasp all of the
important concepts. Our program offers semester long courses with
in-depth study of topics, like a traditional on-campus graduate
degree program would offer. Finally, the Community Development
online Master’s Program has a track dedicated to Working with Native
Communities. Most other graduate programs that are currently being
offered do not have any classes about community development in
Native communities.
10. How do I
apply at SDSU?
You can find information about how
to register at the following Web site:
http://www3.sdstate.edu/Admissions/Graduate/Index.cfm. Be sure
to mention in your personal statement that you are pursuing a
specialization in Community Development and that this is a Great
Plains IDEA degree program. We look forward to receiving your
application.
11. How do I
apply at other institutions?
Contact Susan Fey,
susanfey@iastate.edu for
more information. Or, contact the Graduate College at the university
that you are interested in graduating from.
12. Who will be
my faculty advisor?
You will be assigned a faculty
advisor from your home institution, or you may choose your own, as
long as he/she is from your home institution.
13. Do all of
my committee members for my thesis/creative component have to be from my
home institution?
No. Only your major professor will
need to be from your home institution.
14. How many
hours of courses do I have to take to get my degree?
This varies from institution to institution. You will need to
take 36 credits to graduate from SDSU. You will need to take all 5
core courses (15 credits) and 18 other credits from the tracks. The
last 3 credits will come from your creative component.
15. What is a
thesis versus a creative component?
A thesis is usually a long, written
paper that involves a lot of academic research. The creative
component is a more hands-on experience, such as a practicum or
intern experience. A report about your experience will still be
required, but it will not be as lengthy as a thesis paper.
16. Will I have
to do an oral defense of my thesis or creative component? Will I have to
come to campus for that?
This will ultimately be up to your
committee, but for most universities an oral defense is required.
However, this does not necessarily mean that you will have to come
to campus. There are a number of ways that you could use technology
to do the defense: videoconferencing, teleconferencing, Web cams,
etc. Your committee will help you set up a defense that works for
you.
17. Will I have
to physically come to campus from time to time?
No. That is the beauty of this
program—you can do it all online in a remote location, which works
well for working adults who have family and community obligations.
18. Can I take
one course a semester and still graduate within a reasonable amount of
time?
Yes. You should be able to finish in
3 and ½ years taking one course per semester.
19. Who should
I contact with questions about the degree program?
You can contact Lanida Czekus, Campus Coordinator of Great
Plains-IDEA programs,
lanida.czekus@sdstate.edu or
gpidea@sdstate.edu. You can also contact Meredith Redlin in the
Department of Rural Sociology,
meredith.redlin@sdstate.edu. Also, be sure to check the
SDSU GPIDEA web page:
http://gpidea.sdstate.edu.
20. What sort
of technology requirements does this degree entail?
You will need to have access to a
computer with Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher or the equivalent.
21. Will I be
able to get to know my instructors? Other students?
Yes. The 1-credit Student Success
Seminar will help you get to know the other students beginning the
program, and there will be lots of online asynchronous class chats
and discussion so that you can get to know your instructors and the
other students.
22. Is there
any possibility that more courses will be added later on? What about
courses in leadership or management?
Yes, there may be more tracks added
in a few years. These would include course on Administration,
Leadership and Management.
23. Will more
universities participate in this degree program later on?
It’s entirely possible that other
universities will participate later on, but we have no official word
on that now.
24. I have a
lot of family and cultural obligations. Will this be a problem as I move
through the program?
It should not be, as all of the work
you will do is online and asynchronous. As long as you turn
assignments in on time, you should have no problems.
25. If I’m
taking courses from all different university instructors, how will my
transcript look?
All of the courses are
inter-institutional, meaning that every course has a number at every
university. Your courses will all be listed with numbers from your
home institution on your transcript, even though you will take
several from other university faculty members.
26. What if I
have never taken a course online before? And, will we be switching
between different formats for every course?
One of the goals of the Student
Success Seminar is to help you become accustomed to online learning.
If you are concerned with taking online courses, you may want to
take that introductory seminar. If you are not able to enroll in
that seminar, you will probably get the hang of online learning
after a few weeks, and switching between formats will not be that
difficult. It may just take a few days to move from, for example,
Blackboard to Desire2Learn.
27. What will
be the actual title of my degree when I complete the program at SDSU?
You will have a Master’s of Science in Rural Sociology with a
specialization in Community Development.
28. Do the
faculty members at the participating universities know each other well?
Yes. They are on curriculum teams
with one another and meet regularly via conference calls.
They also meet face-to-face twice yearly.
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