Skip to main content

Registration

Course Types

MTSU offers a variety of course types to match students and faculty needs for instructional delivery.  The most common course types students will take are as follows:

Examples of other course types include Independent Study, Clinical, Practicum, and Research courses. When looking at your schedule or looking up classes in PipelineMT, you can identify course types by the location, section number, meeting type, or attributes of the course. See descriptions of each course type below for further information.  If you have any concerns about how a course will be offered, please contact the instructor of the course or the department offering the course. 

A few notes about course types:

  • The meeting pattern of the course when you register does not change unless the course is canceled. Required meeting dates or times cannot be added once a class is on your schedule.
  • Course types are not changed on courses once Priority Registration has started for a semester and students are registered in the course. Any changes to a course type would require the course to be canceled entirely. Students would then have to choose a different section of that course or another course entirely. Departments will send an email notification to enrolled students if a course has to be canceled for any reason before the semester begins.
  • Effective Fall 2023, out-of-state students seeking to take advantage of the eRate tuition must be in Asynchronous (Online) or Synchronous (Remote) courses only. Students in any other class types are not eligible for eRate for the semester enrolled. That includes not only in-person classes but also independent study courses, practicums, or research classes, even if they do not meet in person.
  • The Distance Education course fee is charged to all courses with a “D” or “F” in the section number, including Synchronous (Remote), Asynchronous (Online), Flex, and some Blended courses.  

On-Ground Courses

  • These are your conventional classes that meet in a classroom either on campus or at an off-campus satellite location. 
  • All instruction takes place on-ground and in-person at the scheduled times.
  • In PipelineMT these courses will have scheduled days/times and assigned classrooms.

Blended Courses

  • A combination of in-person and online/remote instruction. Students will meet on-ground for a portion of the course.
  • All Blended courses will be marked with a “B” or “DB” in the section number of the course.
  • The meeting pattern of the course will tell you exactly what days, times, and where you’ll meet in person and (if applicable) what days and times you’ll meet remotely.  All other instruction not listed in the meeting pattern will take place asynchronously online through D2L.
  • A course with a “DB” section number will meet less than 50% of the time on-ground and usually will only have a few in-person meetings during the semester. All scheduled meetings will be listed in the meeting pattern of the course when students register.

Synchronous (Remote) Courses

  • All instruction is delivered online via Zoom or other university-approved platforms (Microsoft Teams, etc.) and through D2L.
  • Instruction will be synchronous, meaning students will participate in instruction sessions at the assigned days/times of the course just like they would with an on-ground course. 
  • In PipelineMT the location will be listed as REMOTE to help you easily identify if the course is delivered this way.
  • These courses are designated with a “D” in the section number and the meeting type is listed as “SYNC” on your schedule.

Asynchronous (Online) Courses

  • All instruction is entirely online in D2L. Students will be able to work at their own pace, although instructors will have a schedule of assignment due dates in D2L.
  • Instruction will be asynchronous, meaning these courses do not have any scheduled days/times or assigned classrooms.
  • In Pipeline MT the location will be listed as ONLINE to help you easily identify if the course is delivered this way. 
  • These courses are designated with a “D” in the section number and the meeting type is listed as “ONLN” on your schedule.

Flex Courses

  • There are two types of Flex courses approved: HyFlex and Synchronous Flex. 
  • HyFlex courses are offered simultaneously on-ground, synchronously, and asynchronously.  Students choose how they will take the course and can change between the three instructional methods as needed during the semester.  For example, one week a student may choose to attend in-person, but the next week will have to join synchronously via Zoom because they are out of town. The choice of how to attend or complete work is the student’s in this type of course.
  • Synchronous Flex courses are offered simultaneously on-ground and synchronously only. Much like HyFlex, students choose how they will take the course and can change between the two instructional methods as needed during the semester.  However, there is no option to complete the work asynchronously, students must join the instructional period either in-person or via Zoom (or other university-approved platforms). 
  • These courses are designated with a “F” in the section number and have a meeting type of “FLEX” on your schedule. Days, times, and a room assignment will exist on the course for students opting to appear in-person or join synchronously.