Accredited Online Schools

[Fingers-Crossed 2]

Does anyone know if the SMART scholarship can be used for online classes. I'm not talking about University of Phoenix types, but full-fledged brick and mortar schools that also offer online degrees. I don't live anywhere near a graduate school nor a potential supporting facility. I am really hoping that I can save the time and expense of moving twice by taking classes online and then just moving when I'm done. Since I have a family and a mortgage, moving is a lot more complicated than just packing up some clothes and going to a dorm.

[Nunya]

The SMART admins would definitely have the final say on this; however, a generic assumption would be yes. I don’t remember seeing anything that would preclude it anyway. Assuming you’re accepted to the physical university (buildings exist somewhere), and your degree can be obtained at distance then I don’t see why you couldn’t. The only issue I see is that most schools that have physical campuses don’t offer programs that can be completed completely online. They generally have several required courses that don’t have online options. Also, depending on what kind of learner you are, online only is going to kick your butt. Certain topics just don’t lend themselves well to online only. Another option for you would be to do as your last sentence said, “simply pack up some cloths and move into the dorms”. Obviously, this is hugely dependent on your situation, but you moving to campus alone for the term might be the best option. Good luck either way.

[Fingers-Crossed 2]

Thanks Nunya, that is my hope! In my case, I am going to school for Operations Research, which has a few options for online degree programs (masters only, PhD is still all on campus) from top-ranking schools. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

[Fingers-Crossed]

FYI to others who may be hoping to take online classes, the answer was a strict "no."

For my situation, I was hoping that they would allow me to take online courses for the first semester to give me a chance to sell my house and otherwise prepare for a move across country (I wasn't going if I didn't get the scholarship, so I couldn't start this process until awards went out). I thought this was reasonable considering awards went out just 6 weeks before classes start, but the answer came back very quickly that they "aren't authorized to pay for online classes." So, very disappointed...

[Guest]

FYI to others who may be hoping to take online classes, the answer was a strict "no."

For my situation, I was hoping that they would allow me to take online courses for the first semester to give me a chance to sell my house and otherwise prepare for a move across country (I wasn't going if I didn't get the scholarship, so I couldn't start this process until awards went out). I thought this was reasonable considering awards went out just 6 weeks before classes start, but the answer came back very quickly that they "aren't authorized to pay for online classes." So, very disappointed...

It probably would have been ok to just do it and act like you never considered there would be a problem.

[currentfed]

FYI to others who may be hoping to take online classes, the answer was a strict "no."

For my situation, I was hoping that they would allow me to take online courses for the first semester to give me a chance to sell my house and otherwise prepare for a move across country (I wasn't going if I didn't get the scholarship, so I couldn't start this process until awards went out). I thought this was reasonable considering awards went out just 6 weeks before classes start, but the answer came back very quickly that they "aren't authorized to pay for online classes." So, very disappointed...

It probably would have been ok to just do it and act like you never considered there would be a problem.

Assuming the paperwork is largely the same from year to year, that wouldn't be possible. You have to submit an educational plan, which includes a checkbox that asserts that none of the classes are online. Seems they're pretty strict about it.

[Guest]

It probably would have been ok to just do it and act like you never considered there would be a problem.

Yes, in the case of a scholarship where there isn't an insanely large financial penalty for falling on the wrong side of the SMART Program law, you might be fine to ask forgiveness later. But in the case of SMART, if you don't know yet, you should probably learn soon, it is ALWAYS better to get the blessing in writing before doing something that could eject you from the program. If your situation becomes dicey and they need to remove you from the program, you'd probably regret having given them any valid cause for removal.

[Fingers-Crossed]

Exactly, I did not want to run ANY risk of having to pay back the tuition and stipend if they weren't ok with me taking online classes.

After receiving my initial denial for online classes, I got this revised response from SMART:

We want to follow up with you regarding your inquiry about online coursework. The general requirement to be eligible for the SMART Scholarship is that the coursework funded by the program be through a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. As an awardee you are asked to complete a Draft Educational Work Plan that contains a question that asks “Is your degree primarily an online or distance learning degree” and this Work Plan is forwarded for review to the SMART Program Office (SPO) which is a separate entity from ASEE. Also, per http://smart.asee.org/about/eligibility ... n_of_award the SPO retains the right to approve your university/coursework.

In summary, in general online coursework is eligible to be covered by SMART Program funding but each individual case is subject to review by the SPO.

So, nearly a complete reversal of my first answer from SMART. Since I am only taking online classes for one semester, my response to "Is your degree primarily an online or distance learning degree" is still a "No," so I'm pretty confident I'm good to go. It does sound like they will consider full online programs if others out there are interested in doing so.