Course Approval

All courses offered by a site must be approved by FSU’s Graduate Education Council, which includes graduate faculty members, administrators, and one student graduate representative. This body reviews all graduate course and program proposals.  For a course to run, the council must approve it 30 days prior to the first day of class. The council makes its decision based on the academic quality, rigor, and contact hours as indicated in the course syllabus submission to ensure that the course meets the high standards of a graduate-level education at FSU. 

Graduate Education Council Meeting Schedule Spring 2024:

                                                                                                     Meeting Date                                                     Submission Deadline

                                                                                                     February 16, 2024                                              February 9, 2024

                                                                                                     March 15, 2024                                                  March 8, 2024

                                                                                                     April 19, 2024                                                    April 12, 2024

                                                                                                     May 3, 2024                                                       April 26, 2024


Credit Information

One Graduate Credit: One Semester Hour of Graduate Credit = 45 contact hours. Therefore, students enrolled in a one semester hour credit graduate course should expect about 45 contact hours of work in total.

Two Graduate Credits: One Semester Hour of Graduate Credit = 45 contact hours. Therefore, students enrolled in a two semester hour credit graduate course should expect about 70 contact hours of work in total.

Three Credit Hours: One Semester Hour of Graduate Credit = 45 contact hours. Therefore, students enrolled in a three semester hour credit graduate course should expect about 135 contact hours of work in total.

To be considered, syllabi submissions need to contain all of the items below. We have provided detailed Course Syllabus Guidelines which provides examples of each of the areas below to help facilitate the process.

Please note: Syllabi that do not contain all of the following will cause the entire proposal to be rejected.  Please use the syllabus checklist to review your proposal before submitting.