NON-DEGREE STUDENTS

There are some good reasons why you should consider becoming a regular student rather than a non-degree student, including the feeling of being part of a larger group with common goals, the ability to access a wider range of services offered by the university and even to ensure that you are able to enroll in courses in a timely fashion. As FAU gives priority to its current students, non-degree students are not able to enroll in courses until the last few days before they start. Often the courses are already filled with regular students and the non-degree student has to wait until next semester, or do another course. So this would be our preferred option for you. We would really like to have you as a regular student as soon as possible

Since the department’s aim is to serve the community of South Florida and beyond in ways that support a range of educational needs and aspirations, we recognize that this is not always something that will happen. One option would be to consider enrolling as a non-degree student at FAU.

There are three reasons why people might enroll as a non-degree student. The first is that you wish to undertake a course or two simply out of interest or perhaps to retain State certification as a school leader or a teacher or even to do a course with us as part of a program from another university, the second is that you are interested in becoming a student with us but wish to try out one or two courses to see how you might go and the third is that you wish to either gain certification as a school leader.

If you are considering registering as a non-degree student for purposes of certification, please follow this link. CERTIFICATION

Information on how to enroll as a Non-Degree student, click here.

From the Graduate Admissions website, some general questions that people ask about non-degree status are as follows:

1. Can I take graduate courses prior to graduate admission?
Many programs allow non-degree seeking students to enroll in their courses. Non-degree seeking students are those who have not been admitted to a degree program at FAU. Check with the appropriate program advisor for specific information.

2. How many credits may I take as a Non-Degree Seeking Student?
Although there is no limit, only one-third of degree requirements may be earned as a non-degree seeking student.

3. As a non-degree seeking student, do I have to fill out an application?
Non-degree seeking students do not apply for admission but do complete the Registration form for Non-Degree seeking students. This form is available through the Office of the Registrar or at this location.  http://www.fau.edu/registrar/forms.htm#nondegree

The most critical question to remember is question 2, because in the Department of Educational Leadership, at the Masters and Specialist degree level, the number of credits that we allow people to take as a non-degree student is 12 (ie. four courses).

We encourage people to undertake our courses as a means of establishing whether a role in leadership is for you, or if you feel capable of undertaking graduate study and we feel this is best accomplished by taking our core leadership courses:

ADE 6381: Leadership I: Adult Learning and Assessment
EDS 6100 Leadership II: Theories and Assessment
EDA 6103: Leadership III: Administrative Processes
EDA 6205: Leadership IV: Education Management

So these courses are freely available to anyone that has completed a bachelor’s degree.

However, by the time you have completed these courses, we feel that it is necessary for you to make a commitment to the program and should take the steps required to gain full admission. So after you have completed these four courses, you will be blocked from completing further courses until you are enrolled as a student of our programs.

Of course, there will be instances where special circumstances exist and a particular course is required for a specialist position or reason. If this is the case, and you find yourself not able to enroll for any reason, you should contact the department at edleadership@fau.edu and we will do our best to resolve any issues that prevent you from completing the program you need.