THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

Outreach School
Laramie, Wyoming

Distance Learning Program

The UW Outreach School delivers the University's distance learning programs. The mission of the Outreach School is to extend the University of Wyoming's educational programs and services to people in the state of Wyoming and beyond. The School delivers more than 300 courses and complete degree and certificate programs to approximately 3,500 students per semester.

Delivery Media

The Outreach School launched Online UW, the University of Wyoming's virtual campus, in the spring of 1999 in cooperation with eCollege. In addition, the School delivers programs via correspondence study, audio-teleconference, and videoconferencing.

For more information, students can access the Online UW Web site at http://online.uwyo.edu. For a list of audio, videoconferencing, and correspondence study courses, students should visit the Web site listed at the end of this description. All correspondence study courses, a limited number of audio-teleconference courses, and all Online UW courses are available to students outside the state of Wyoming.

Programs of Study

Degrees, certificates, and endorsements are available to students through distance education. Certificate programs include land surveying (offered nationwide through audio-teleconference with videotaped lectures), real estate (available online), and family and consumer sciences/early childhood program director's certificate (available online). Endorsement programs include early childhood birth to 5 (available through online, audio teleconferenceing, and on-site) and the Wyoming reading endorsement literacy program (statewide). Graduate programs include an Executive M.B.A. (available online); an M.S. in education, with a specialization in instructional technology (available online); an M.S. in kinesiology and health (statewide, some courses nationwide); an M.S. in nursing, with an advanced practice in rural health/nurse educator option (online); an M.S.W. in social work (statewide); and an M.S. in speech-language pathology (available nationwide through audio-teleconference with videotaped lectures). Other available distance degrees are bachelor's degrees in business administration and family and consumer science (online); criminal justice, psychology, and social science (statewide, some courses nationwide); an RN/B.S.N. completion program (online); an M.P.A. (available through audio-teleconference and videoconferencing statewide); and master's degrees in education, with specialization options in special education, adult and postsecondary education, and teaching and learning (statewide, some courses nationwide).

Special Programs

The University of Wyoming's Internet campus, Online UW, currently offers more than ninety courses and nine degrees completely online. Courses are available worldwide via http://online.uwyo.edu. Online courses are available in the areas of adult learning, astronomy, biochemistry, business administration, child development, directing preschool and day-care programs, economics, education, engineering, family and consumer sciences, human resources management, instructional technology, nutrition, physics, psychology, real estate, religion, and statistics.

Student Services

All student services (such as admission, enrollment, tuition payment, grade reporting, financial aid, bookstore, and library outreach) are available through the UW Outreach School. The library outreach service is available at http://www.lib.uwyo.edu. Students can purchase textbooks and course packets online at the University Bookstore at http://www.uwyobookstore.com.

The University of Wyoming (UW), a land-grant university founded in 1886, is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The University of Wyoming was the first university west of the Missouri River to offer correspondence courses. In its outreach mission, the University of Wyoming is guided by the following vision: the state of Wyoming is the campus of the University of Wyoming. The University has one faculty and staff, one student body, and one set of academic programs. Teaching, research, and service are the missions of the University, regardless of location. The University recognizes that its "one student body" is composed of a wide variety of students whose needs differ.

Credit Options

Students may transfer courses from accredited institutions of higher education to the University of Wyoming. Credit is also available through AP, CLEP, portfolio assessment, and departmental examinations. Degrees require a minimum of 48 hours of upper-division credit, with a minimum of 30 credits from the University of Wyoming. Most degree programs require 120–124 credits for graduation.

Faculty

The majority of those who teach at the Outreach School are full-time faculty members at the University of Wyoming. A limited number of adjunct faculty members, who are approved by the academic departments, offer distance learning courses. In any given semester, approximately 75 regular full-time faculty members and 15 part-time adjunct faculty members teach distance learning courses for the Outreach School. The programs offered via distance learning are the same as the programs offered on the main University campus in Laramie, Wyoming.

Admission

Students not seeking University of Wyoming degrees may enroll in distance learning courses without being admitted to the University. Students can apply a maximum of 12 credit hours toward the requirements for a UW undergraduate degree prior to admission to the University. Degree-seeking students should apply at the admissions office. Undergraduate admission generally requires completion of at least 13 high school units in a precollege curriculum, a cumulative high school grade point average of at least 2.75, and an ACT score of at least 20 or an SAT score of at least 960. Conditional admission is available for adult learners who do not meet these criteria. Graduate programs require a Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 900. The University offers GRE testing through the University of Wyoming Testing Center. For more information, students can visit the Web site at http://www.uwyo.edu/ucc/utc/.

Students not seeking University of Wyoming graduate degrees who have baccalaureate degrees and are enrolled in graduate course must file a Graduate Enrichment Application and pay a fee if they plan to use course work for a graduate program at a later date. Up to 12 hours of course work taken during the graduate enrichment status may be used for a graduate program. Degree-seeking students may reserve up to 6 hours of graduate-level course work for graduate credit if it is taken within twelve months prior to completing a baccalaureate degree or during the last semester prior to completing a baccalaureate degree. To do this, students must complete the Request to Reserve Coursework for Graduate Credit form. Students can visit the Graduate School Web site at http://www.uwyo.edu/uwgrad/petitions@instructions.asp to download a copy of the form. Enrichment or certification-seeking students who enroll in graduate courses do not need to complete a Graduate Enrichment Application. Courses taken without graduate enrichment status cannot be used in a graduate program of study. Students must file a Graduate Enrichment Application and pay the fee if they plan to use the course work for a graduate degree.

Tuition and Fees

All outreach students are charged tuition at an in-state rate. Undergraduate tuition for outreach courses is $87 per credit hour, with an $11-per-credit-hour delivery fee or a $40-per-credit-hour delivery fee for Online UW courses. Graduate tuition for outreach courses is $147 per credit hour, with an $11-per-credit-hour delivery fee or a $40-per-credit-hour delivery fee for Online UW courses. Tuition for the Executive M.B.A. program is $500 per credit hour plus a $40-per-credit-hour delivery fee, and tuition for the land surveying program is $182 per credit hour.

Financial Aid

All forms of federal financial aid and other scholarship aid are available to Outreach students. The Outreach School also has a number of scholarships available to Outreach students. Information describing available aid and award criteria is available from the Office of Student Financial Aid, Department 3335, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming 82071.

CONTACT

Outreach School
Division of Outreach Credit Programs
Department 3274
University of Wyoming
1000 East University Avenue
Laramie, Wyoming 82071
Phone: 307-766-4300
800-448-7801 (toll-free)
Fax: 307-766-3445
E-mail: occ@uwyo.edu
Web site: http://outreach.uwyo./edu/occ

Applying

Non-degree-seeking students may apply through the Division of Outreach Credit Programs. Degree-seeking students should apply through the Admissions Office (telephone: 800-DIAL-WYO (toll-free) or 307-766-2287; Web site: http://www.uwyo.edu) or Graduate Admissions (telephone: 307-766-2287; Web site: http://www.uwyo.edu/uwgrad).