We can help you offer graduate credit for professional learning or staff development opportunities at little or no cost to your district or organization.
As long as your course meets for at least 15 hours, it can qualify for credit. In some cases, we can offer 1/2 credit for shorter courses.
The approval process is simple. Just send us a completed Request for University Credit, along with the course description or syllabus and the instructor's resume, about a month before the class starts. We’ll take it from there.
Your class will be considered a contract course. This simply means that the course content belongs to you (i.e., was not developed by UCD), and that none of the revenue we receive for the credit is available to pay course-related expenses, such as the instructor's fee.
The cost of credit (tuition) ranges from about $50 to $75 per credit hour. If your district is a current member of the Front Range BOCES for Teacher Leadership, the course can qualify for a reduced rate of just $45 per credit hour.
Requests for UCD credit should be submitted at least one month in advance of the course start date; this lead-time is especially critical when we are paying the instructor.
Customized Courses and Programs
We can meet with you to develop courses, certificate programs, or even advanced degree programs at your location. In this type of arrangement, your participants receive high-quality instruction, credit, or a degree from an accredited institution in a convenient location and without on-campus student fees or parking costs.
Courses established under these circumstances are called "tuition" courses. This means that we expect to pay instructional costs from the tuition revenue we receive. Tuition costs will be comparable to current on-campus tuition rates. Click here for current tuition rates. Note: In Continuing Education, everyone pays the “in-state” rate, regardless of residency.
Please keep in mind that development of a full program requires substantial lead-time. Begin by completing and submitting a Course Request Form. For more information, contact Steve Jones at 303-556-2832.
Non-Credit Courses
These courses earn continuing education units instead of academic credit. Topics are not limited to the field of education. The cost varies according to services required. Examples of non-credit courses are test preparation seminars, personal enrichment courses, or short workshops that do not meet for enough hours to qualify for academic credit. Typically, we expect to pay instructors for non-credit courses, although we can set these up as contract courses, as well. Begin by completing and submitting a Course Request Form
Registration, Course Evaluation, and Grading
As soon as we set up the course, we’ll send registration forms, submission instructions and registration deadlines to you via electronic mail.
At the end of the term, we’ll send you an official class list. You send the grades to us, and within about two weeks, grades are available to students free of charge, either online or by official transcript request at www.cudenver.edu/registrar
At the final class meeting, instructors should allow students time to complete course evaluations in a way that ensures student confidentiality, and then return these to us as well. Visit our Instructor Page for more detailed information.
Available Services
We will set up your course, process the registrations and payments, and provide a free transcript to each student (on request).
Student questions about grade access, bills, or missing registrations may be referred directly to us so that instructors can focus on course content and delivery.
For tuition and non-credit courses, we can provide at additional cost:
Brochures and Flyers: Using your information, we can design and produce simple, one-page flyers or tri-fold brochures to publicize your course or program. We can provide copies or distribute your flyers electronically. This requires at least one month's lead-time.
Additional Marketing: We can place course announcements in Post Express, an online newsletter that reaches faculty, staff, and students on the Auraria campus.
With enough notice (up to three months), we can list your course in the Front Range BOCES catalogue of professional development opportunities, published three times annually and distributed to Denver area school districts and related professional organizations. (To download the latest edition of the catalogue, visit http://frontrangeboces.org.)
Frequently Asked Questions
My course ends two months before the university semester ends. Some of my students will need the grade sooner than that. What can I do?
In continuing education, it is common for classes to end before the term does. In some cases, we can work with the records office to get student grades on transcripts prior to the end of the semester.
We'd like to pay for the students' credit out of our staff development fund. How does that work?
Indicate on the Request for University Credit form that your district/organization will be paying the tuition. Once you turn in the completed registration forms from which we create a class list, we'll bill you. Keep in mind that we cannot release grades until the students' accounts are clear, so quick turn-around on the invoice keeps the process working smoothly.
Can I give Pass/Fail grades, or do I have to give letter grades?
We do not encourage pass/fail grades, because these are usually not to the benefit of the student. If students are applying to degree programs at institutions of higher education, classes bearing "P" in lieu of a letter grade are typically not counted toward a degree.
What is the minimum number of students that is required before I can offer credit for my class?
For a "contract" course, there is no minimum. It costs us very little to administer, and it is a service we are happy to provide, even if only a few participants want credit.
For a "tuition" course, the minimum enrollment depends on how much we are charging for tuition and how much we will need to pay for instruction. Contact the office for details.
If I offer the same course every year, do I have to submit new information each time?
The review process is simplified for subsequent offerings of a course. Basically, we just need current information on when and where the class is being offered. If the instructor is different, we will need a new resume.
Do I need to require my course participants to complete an assignment in order to earn credit?
As long as the course meets for the full 15 contact hours per credit, any assignments are up to you as the instructor. Occasionally, if a course's contact hours are just shy of the number needed to qualify for credit, we will approve it as long as the students have an additional assignment.
My district/organization is offering a series of short course modules, but none of them meets for 15 hours. Is there any way to offer credit for these? Can we offer partial credit?
We can now offer half-credits for certain courses meeting for 7.5-15 hours. For shorter workshops, you might consider allowing students to combine smaller modules to make up one or more full-length courses. Let us know your situation and we will work with you to find a solution.