Grouped study courses
Grouped study courses are those courses taken by students together in either a classroom (usually at a collaborating institution) or in an online environment with common deadlines for completion of course activities. Students progress through the course at the same pace. Because grouped study courses follow a set time frame, extensions are not allowed.
Not all courses identified as grouped study in the syllabi are available every year. It is important that you check to confirm the course is available at a specific location.
To determine whether there is a grouped study course available to you, or for more information about partnership courses, degrees, and transfer credit, please refer to the following websites:
Registration process
Once you are admitted to AU and you have received your student ID number, you may register in courses. When you have selected a grouped study course, ensure that it is available in grouped study, by viewing the available delivery modes in the online course syllabus, or by visiting the Classroom-based Study (Grouped Study) page. Also ensure you have the required prerequisites.
You will register in person at the partner institution that offers the AU course or use the grouped study course registration form specific to the institution at which the course is being offered.
Course materials
The payment of course registration fees entitles you to receive most of your grouped study course materials. Course materials include, but are not limited to, textbooks, student manuals, study guides, instructor assistance where provided, access to online materials and other instructional materials required to complete the course for the period of active registration. Additional lab fees may be required for some Faculty of Science courses. You may be required to pay for additional small items such as binders, calculators, home lab materials and so on.
Some AU courses introduce students to a more specialized course in the same field. These courses often reference the same textbook. Please retain the textbook from the previous course as a duplicate textbook will not be distributed.
Your course package will include various course materials that are identified in the online course syllabus. In some courses, the course materials are available entirely online. In others, the resources may be a combination of offline materials such as hard copy textbook(s), CDs, and/or DVDs, and the balance of the course is accessed online. And in others, the entire course materials package is print-based and in provided to grouped study students on the first day of class.
Course withdrawal
You may withdraw from a grouped study course before your course contract period expires, except in the following cases:
- after your contract end date,
- once the final exam has been written (or if all course work has been submitted for marking, for courses that do not have a final exam requirement), or
- during disciplinary proceedings.
If that the conclusion of the proceedings it has been decided not to proceed with a charge of Academic Misconduct or Non-Academic Misconduct, and the student wishes to withdraw from a course or program, the withdrawal may be backdated to the date the proceedings were initiated, at the request of the student. In instances of disciplinary proceedings, withdrawal requests will only be accepted and processed as allowed under the Student Academic Misconduct Policy and the Non-Academic Misconduct Policy.
Re-registration
At Athabasca University, students are permitted one registration and one re-registration in each course. You may re-register in an undergraduate course provided you are eligible to register in the current revision of the course and that you have not previously re-registered in the course. You cannot re-register in a course that has been temporarily or permanently closed.
Students in grouped study courses cannot carry forward coursework when they are re-registering.
Updated November 15, 2022 by Office of the Registrar (calendar@athabascau.ca)