Frequently Asked Questions about Online Gonzaga Programs

1. Can I complete my M.A. degree through internet courses?
2. How many students are typically in an online leadership course?
3. Who will be teaching my classes?
4. What type of support services will I receive?
5. How long does it take to complete the program?
6. Is there a residency requirement with the Gonzaga online programs?
7. Is the tuition for online courses the same as for campus courses?
8. Are the online courses as good as the campus courses?
9. If I am not an online student yet, can I look at a course online?
10. What are the admissions requirements?
11. The online courses are eight weeks in length, while the campus courses are 14 weeks. Are they the same courses in terms of content?
12. Is there a residency requirement for online students?
13. How do I purchase my textbooks and other course materials if I am an online student?
14. I want to enroll in courses; what's my next step?
15. HELP! What if I experience problems accessing Blackboard, or while I'm in the online Blackboard environment?

Can I complete my M.A. degree through internet courses?
Courses leading to the Master of Arts degree will be available online, except for one course (ORGL/COML 502-Leadership and Imagination) which is offered during a three-day residency experience on Gonzaga's Spokane campus twice every semester.

Online courses are offered on a unique eight-week class schedule, as opposed to the campus 15-week class schedule.
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How many students are typically in an online leadership course?
Typically 20 students are in a course and the class is split into two discussion groups of 10 each. We keep our classes small to allow us more one-on-one time with individual students.
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Who will be teaching my classes?
Every online class is designed by Gonzaga faculty and instructors with doctoral degrees. Each class is taught by faculty who have Ph.D.s in their field or a Masters degree with eminence in the leadership or communication professions.
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What type of support services will I receive?
We offer layers of support to our students. Earning your degree online can seem daunting. That is why we have set-up different layers of support to help you every step of the way.

We’re here to help you succeed. Our student’s support system:
• 24/7 Tech Support
• Academic Support from Faculty
• Student Services Support
• Program Manager
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How long does it take to complete the program?
Typically a full time graduate student, taking 6 credits per semester (two courses) could complete the program within 24 months. If you are able to add additional credits in any given period, you could complete the program within 18 months.
If you have taken graduate level course previously, but have not yet completed a graduate degree, you may be able to transfer those credits into the program. Below please find the Gonzaga University 2005-2007 Graduate Catalogue stipulations for transferring in graduate credit.

“Graduate students may transfer credits into their program with the approval of their Program Director, the Dean of the students program, and the Registrar’s Office. A maximum of 1/5 of program credits (usually 6 semester credits for graduates, 12 credits for doctoral) may be transferred.

Course work must be distinctively graduate level by the transfer institution and must have been taken within the last five years. A minimum grade of a B (P grades must be defined as B or better) must be earned. Courses previously applied to a degree are not transferable to the student current program. It is important to note that all credits are converted to semester credits andare awarded after signatures have been obtained.
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Is the tuition for online courses the same as for campus courses?
Yes, since the inception of distance-learning initiatives in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga University has used the same tuition cost has been used for all Masters level courses, whether on-campus or off-campus, whether delivered face-to-face (or virtually face-to-face as in compressed-video) or online.

Courses leading to the degree of Master of Arts are the same in objectives and content regardless of the medium used to deliver them; the same faculty are asked to teach MA-ORGL/COML courses, whether on- or off-campus; access to the research capabilities of the Foley Center Library is equivalent both for those who live in Spokane and those who live outside our geographic area. The adult, graduate students who make up the population of the MA-ORGL/COML program are predominately working professionals who are not able to come to the Gonzaga campus during its traditional office hours between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., so whether they are an hour's drive or ten hours' drive from campus doesn't change the necessity for them to use postal services, e-mail, and telephones as their methods of communication with faculty and staff at Gonzaga.
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Is there a residency requirement with the Gonzaga online programs?
For both the MA-ORGL and MA-COML programs, you are required to come to campus for one three-day weekend as part of one of your course requirements. It is up to you to determine when you want to complete this course and it is offered at least once every term (5-6 times per year). The online Nursing programs each have residency requirements but they vary depending on the concentration you are pursuing. Call 866.295.3105 to discuss the details of the residency requirement for your program of choice with a Program Manager today
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Are the online courses as good as the campus courses?
Gonzaga Online Masters programs continually improve the method for distance-delivery of its curriculum. In the late eighties and early nineties, faculty from the Gonzaga campus traveled to distant sites in the United States and Canada; later through the nineties, courses were provided by linking a distance-learning site to Gonzaga’s campus through compressed-video technology; more recently, courses on-campus and off-campus have been linked and integrated with each other through compressed-video technology.

For the last few years, faculty have participated in delivering courses using online technology exclusively. Beginning Spring Semester 2004, the MA-ORGL program became available online for all but one of the courses required for the completion of the degree of Master of Arts; only ORGL/COML 502—Leadership and Imagination—will be required to be taken during a three-day summer residency on Gonzaga’s Spokane campus. Beginning Spring Semester 2006, the MA-COML program became available online with the same ORGL/COML 502 residency requirement.

The online courses that are a part of this new approach to the distance-delivery of our curriculum represent a significant improvement over our previous experiments in online education. The “new” online distance-education program that began January, 2004 has the following features:

1. Faculty develop and create their courses after a semester’s training in competency-based education; this training assists them to better articulate their learning objectives for students, as well as to more accurately measure students’ achievement of mastery in the courses’ competencies;

2. Faculty work with a production team which translates their courses’ content into engaging online presentations using graphics, video, and audio;

3. Faculty who teach in the online environment meet with each other regularly to share best practices, revise their courses online at least every three years, and have opportunities for professional development specifically in online teaching methodology;

4. Students make use of a Mentors Gallery, that is, a collection of filmed interviews with nationally-known leaders and writers in leadership studies, archived according to topic;

5. Students are able to engage each other, the faculty, and mentors using both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools such as discussion boards and virtual classrooms (a “community of learning”—learning from other students as well as from the teacher—has always been a key dynamic of the Organizational Leadership Masters programs; online courses allow that community to be expanded throughout the nation and, potentially, the world); and

6. Students are able to use the course management software (e.g., Blackboard) to send written work or other evidence of mastery to faculty, who are then able to respond to the students online as well.
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If I am not an online student yet, can I look at a course online?
For "guest" access to preview a typical online course in either the MA-ORGL or MA-COML programs at Gonzaga:
1. Go to http://gonzagaonline.net
2. Click on the "Login" button at the upper left.
3. Click on the "Preview" button to the left of where you would normally enter a username and password.
4. Click on the tab marked "Courses" at the top of the screen.
5. Type in "ORGL 500 02" in the space under "Course Search."
6. "ORGL 500 02: Organizational Leadership" will be displayed; either click on the course title or on the "Preview" button to the right of the title.
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What are the admissions requirements?
In order to receive the most up-to-date information please call a Program Manager at (866) 295-3105.

Our Program Managers are here to explain the financial aid process, program features, curriculum, faculty bios and to answer any questions you may have.

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The online courses are eight weeks in length, while the campus courses are 15 weeks. Are they the same courses in terms of content?
The online delivery of each course is offered over an eight-week schedule, with each course divided into four two-week-long learning modules.

Each learning module is developed around content competencies, and organizes the students’ work around readings, teacher presentations, films, mentor statements, and an on-going discussion among the students and the teacher. After doing the work outlined for each two-week module, students show evidence of mastery of the competencies through some means determined by the teacher (e.g., a paper).

Students who complete the work for an eight-week course in the online environment are required to accomplish the same type and amount of work that they would have been required to do for a more traditional fifteen-week course: both the eight-week online version and the fifteen-week face-to-face version are worth three graduate semester credits. If employers are disturbed about reimbursing tuition costs for eight-week courses, it is most likely because they don’t understand that while the course schedule has changed, the course content, work and credits have not. The Registrar’s Office of Gonzaga University is willing to be in communication with any employer regarding the equivalency of eight-week courses and the more traditional fifteen-week courses; in such cases, it would be helpful if a copy of the organization’s tuition reimbursement policy could be provided to the Registrar’s Office beforehand.

The new online courses leading to the Master of Arts are the current technical evolution of our distance-education program outreach to professionals who cannot attend classes on Gonzaga’s campus. Although the specific technology used is different (i.e., more current), the philosophy which propels our outreach has not changed over our nearly twenty years of distance-education experience: we seek to provide a transformational course of studies that will effect positive changes in both individual leaders and the organizations they serve.
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Is there a residency requirement for online students?
Given our previous experience and evaluation of our distance-learning program, we have initiated a residency requirement for those students who enrolled exclusively in distance-education courses. Because of the burden it places on students to be required to travel and take time off from work, the residency requirement is limited to a three-day, intensive experience of ORGL/COML 502 (Leadership and Imagination, followed by six to eight weeks of internet discussion. During their three-day stay on-campus, opportunities are provided for students who live outside the Spokane area to meet Spokane-area students, other faculty in the program, and staff members as well as experience all aspects of the picturesque Gonzaga campus..
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How do I purchase my textbooks and other course materials if I am an online student?
Another thing on-campus students and distance-education students have in common at Gonzaga is cost of course materials. If you have been out of school for a while, you will notice that the cost of textbooks has increased substantially since your undergraduate days. Some of the courses in the program require more books than others do; the range of course materials cost is $70 to $270. Some of the books you may already own and don't need to purchase; others may be able to be borrowed from a local library or, in the case of films, from a local video store. You may choose to buy new or used books from a store local to you, from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com, or from the Gonzaga University Bookstore (where you can also buy your "Zag" sweatshirts!). The Gonzaga University Bookstore's website (http://www.bookstore.gonzaga.edu) allows you to see what materials are required for each course you are taking, and to order used or new books online, which are then directly shipped to you.

Some of the textbooks and/or other course materials you used for a course will only be used for that course; other materials may be useful beyond one course. For example, Gary Yukl's Leadership in Organizations costs $100, but will be useful not only as a required text in the introductory course ORGL 500 but as reference text in nearly all of the other courses in the curriculum. The film Gandhi is required for the ORGL 530 course, but you may choose to use it to illustrate a point in a paper for another course.
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I want to enroll in courses; what's my next step?
Step One: In order to apply to become a graduate student in either the MA-ORGL or MA-COML programs, please fill out the application that you can access on this site or by contacting (866) 295-3105.

Step Two: After submitting your application and a $45 application fee, you'll need to send the following materials:

1. Official transcripts of all college work
2. Statement of Purpose
3. Official Test Scores, (GRE, GMAT, MAT or LSAT)
4. Two letters of recommendation
5. Resume

Step Three: After being accepted into the Online MA-ORGL or MA-COML program as a graduate student, you will be issued the following:

1. a Gonzaga e-mail address.
2. Blackboard access username and password (the same as your e-mail username and password); and
3. Zagweb access username and password.

Eventually, you will make use of the Zagweb username and password to register for your courses online. If you are a "brand-new" student, however, we can help you get registered for the first time.

Step Four: Once you are registered for the courses you want to take, you need to make arrangements to pay tuition. We will help put you in touch with the Student Accounts and Financial Aid offices when you reach this point of the application process.

Step Five: Enjoy being a graduate student at Gonzaga University. Go Zags!
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HELP! What if I experience problems accessing Blackboard, or while I’m in the online Blackboard environment?
Not to worry! If you find that you have a problem accessing Blackboard online or, once in Blackboard, have a problem accessing documents or the “virtual classroom,” simply call us for help. Many problems are once-only problems that are caused by the configuration of your computer, and the staff of the help desk can help you take care of it. Other problems are Blackboard-related and can be fixed by the staff immediately or within a reasonable amount of time. Any time you need technical assistance, call the 24/7 help desk at 866-748-1155.
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