Students do not have to take classes on the Forty Acres to fulfill core requirements or get class credit. Local community colleges and the University Extension program also allow students to fulfill their UT requirements in different classroom environments.

The extension program offers in-person and online classes that will count for UT class credit, said Mike Raney, senior assistant dean for advising and student services. Classes taken within the University Extension program will count toward students’ cumulative GPA.

“Most of the professors who teach the courses are usually UT professors,” Raney said. “Students know they’re going to get a quality course
from UT.”

Raney said the program is geared toward anyone who is interested in earning transferable college credit from anywhere, and students do not have to be admitted to the University to enroll in classes. 

“There’s also a lot of non-UT students,” Raney said. “We have people from all over the world taking certain classes since they’re self-paced, and there’s no classroom. Anybody who has access to the internet can take one.”

Raney said the self-paced online classes usually take a minimum of seven to eight weeks, and students have up to five months to complete them on their own time. 

“One of the really good benefits (of self-paced classes) is that you could do it whenever you have time,” Raney said. “It’s very, very flexible and completely up to the student whenever they’d want to work on it.”

A three-credit-hour class varies from $850–$1100, according to the University Extension website. Students can register at any time for a class, but Raney said financial aid may not cover the cost of the class. 

Raney said students interested in the program should talk to an adviser about their financial aid options.

Students can also opt to take online or in-person classes at any Texas community college. Classes can be cheaper and vary based on a student’s residency status, said Renee Esparza, transfer resources director at Austin Community College.

“We want to make sure that students complete a degree,” Esparza said. “We can help them make sure that it’s a seamless transfer and not waste their time or money.”

Since community college course numbers do not match up with UT course numbers, students can use the Automated Transfer Equivalency system to search for the community college course number they would need to take to gain credit from UT.

Students submit their transcript to the Office of Admissions to get credit after taking the class. According to the UT Admissions website, the grade will not factor into the student’s GPA, but students must receive a grade of C- or higher to
receive UT credit.

Public health sophomore Kara Lee took online classes at Lone Star College. Lee said classes may be easier than UT classes, but students should be mindful of their
time management.

“It was definitely a little bit easier, and there were not really any surprises,” Lee said. “It was just really convenient for me to take it at my own pace but still get things done.”