Registering for a course at North Carolina State University can be simple; or it can be complex. The complexity comes from history and budgeting. Historically, the summer school received no state funding and had to be self-sufficient. Funding for on-campus courses and distance education comes from two different budget sources. With these differences, the need to keep monies separate led to different registration procedures and different fee structures. The registration process was not designed to be complex, it just evolved to be that way.

Registering for an on-campus course (if you are not enrolled in the Graduate School) - To enroll in an on campus course, you should go to the Non-Degree Programs registration web site -- http://www.ncsu.edu/nds/application/ and follow the directions. The phone number is 919.515.2572

If you have been admitted to the Graduate Program, contact your advisor or Gary Moore (gary_moore@ncsu.edu 919.515.1756) for assistance in registering.

Fees: As with most things in life, tuition and fees keep rising. The North Carolina constitution calls for higher education to be kept as affordable as possible. A study conducted several years found only one state in the nation (New Mexico) to have lower fees than did public universities in North Carolina. While the course fees are not low, they are certainly less expensive than most states. Last year we compared the cost of a NC State distance education course for a student paying out-of-state fees with the cost of a 3 hour graduate course at the state university in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Washington and found that an out-of-state student could take a 3 hour graduate course at NC State cheaper than taking the same course from their home institution. Education is not cheap but ignorance is.

Distance Education - To find the cost of a distance education course, go the the NC State distance education web site (http://distance.ncsu.edu/) and click on course catalog; then click on the distance education course offerings for the semester in which you are interested. The cost for each course will be listed.

On-Campus - The tuition and fees for an on-campus course can be found at the University Cashiers web site (http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/cashier/). Click on the link labeled Tuition and Fees (http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/cashier/students/default.asp#tuition).

Tuition Waivers: Employees of the university, such as extension agents, can take one course a semester at no cost except for a simple processing fee ($7) [Note: university employees can use the tuition waiver form three times during a fiscal year. In the past you could not use the waiver for a summer course. Now you can.]  A form has to be completed and approved in order to receive the waiver. The form can be downloaded at http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/cashier/staff/waiver.asp.

NOTE: FILLING OUT A TUITION WAIVER FORM IS NOT THE SAME AS REGISTERING FOR A CLASS. THOSE ARE TWO SEPARATE PROCESSES.

Tuition Break for Out-of-State Teachers Teaching in North Carolina: Because of the teacher shortage in North Carolina, the state legislature passed legislation several years ago allowing teachers from out-of-state who are teaching in North Carolina to pay in state tuition for courses that are required on their professional development plan. This means the teacher needs an approved plan of professional development signed by a school administrator. This law is somewhat obscure and most of the time a person using this law will need to come by the departmental office and pick up a copy of the law to take to the cashiers office. Most employees in the cashiers office have never heard of the law (and neither have most school administrators and others.)

Finding the Course Web Site: How do you find the on-line course materials after you sign up for a web course? Go the the home page for the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education (http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/). There will be a link to courses from our home page.