Semester Online differs from other online offerings with its selective, smaller class sizes, renowned professors and weekly video lectures, Amanda Makoujy, account executive at Coyne Public Relations said, which represents Semester Online.

The video lectures take place at scheduled times one to three times a week, dependent on the class, and consist of a “Brady Bunch visual,” Makoujy said.

The “Brady Bunch visual” is a compilation of squares displaying the face of each student and the professor, she added. Students interact in real-time by posting on the message board.

It’s an opportunity for students to broaden their horizons and take another course with a professor they normally wouldn’t have the option to, Makoujy said.

All courses Semester Online offers are three credits with a $1,400 cost-per-credit hour, according to semesteronline.org.

The pricing is standard compared to other offerings Makoujy said. It is the convenience of working a job during the day and the ability to take a course at night that justifies the price, she added.

MSU offers online and hybrid classes, running at around $400 a credit hour for residents and around $1,000 for nonresidents.

Lindsey Hollinger, a social work junior, is taking online classes through MSU this summer, rather than the in-class offerings.

“I have to work 40 hours,” Hollinger said. “I don’t have time for that.”

She disliked the idea of having an interactive video lecture with her online class, adding that students might as well go to class.

Tyler Soule, an English senior, also is taking online classes through MSU this summer because it allows more time to work.

He cited dictating his schedule as the enjoyable element of online classes during the brief summer period, and said that a scheduled video lecture would take that element away.

To apply you must at least be a sophomore and enrolled at an accredited four-year institution, according to semesteronline.org. The application deadline for the 15-week, 2013 fall semester is
Aug. 5, making these classes concurrent with MSU’s fall semester.

Makoujy said a handful of MSU students already have started applying or requesting more information about the program.

MSU’s acceptance of the courses and credits are determined by faculty in the department, school or college that the transfer class’ subject falls under, Associate Provost Linda Stanford said in an email.

“It is a student’s choice to pursue Semester Online or any other course at another institution,” Stanford said. “We want students to enjoy their college years and grow as a whole person.”