FAQ

The course curriculum – including the books and materials – is similar to other college/university environments. You work through the course syllabus, interact with your classmates via discussion boards when applicable, communicate with your mentors, and submit all assignments through the Canvas learning platform. Learners should pay special attention to assignment timelines and due dates within the course. Your faculty mentor guides you through the learning materials, grades your work and provides timely feedback. Your faculty mentor is also available by email or phone to answer your questions and provide any guidance you may need. Be sure to use your CalSouthern email address for any and all communication with faculty.

No. Courses at CalSouthern are online, and you will not be required to come to campus at any time. Learners may have opportunities to attend on-site lectures and events such as our annual commencement ceremony. However, most events are hosted virtually or streamed live and some are made available on-demand.

No. CalSouthern’s learning methodology is designed for the busy adult learner. There are no mandatory log-in times. Learners can study on their own schedule so they can earn their degree without compromising their personal lives or professional obligations. Nevertheless, you should pay special attention to assignment timelines and due dates within your courses.

The average time of completion for most bachelor’s and doctoral programs is four years, while most master’s programs take approximately two years. However, you can work at your own pace and finish faster by taking more than one course simultaneously.

Yes. CalSouthern faculty mentors work with you as you progress through each course. They will provide feedback and help you apply the concepts you learn to solve real-world challenges. They are also available to answer any questions you might have via phone, email and/or Skype.

CalSouthern faculty mentors are dedicated and skilled educators who are also experienced practitioners in the fields in which they teach.

If you have additional questions, please call 800.477.2254 and ask to speak to an Admissions Representative.

Simply send your request by email to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@calsouthern.edu

It is recommended that you register for courses prior to the course start date.Ideally, you should work with your Academic Advisor to adjust your course schedule two weeks in advance to give you ample time to review your syllabus, order books using the ISBN numbers provided, and make any other necessary preparations. CalSouthern allows learners the option of registering in a course up to 10 days after the course start date. The learner would be responsible for making up any time lost due to a late course start.

You may drop any course (without academic or financial implications) up to and including the 10th day after the course start date by working with your Academic Advisor. Dropping a course between the 11th day and the 42nd day for an 8-week term and between the 11th and 84th day for a 16-week semester will be considered a course withdrawal; you will earn a grade of W and will incur tuition costs on a prorated basis depending on how long you have been enrolled in the course. Please contact Accounting Department at 800.477.2254, ext. 4246 for more information on prorated course tuition.

Learners may request up to one (1) 30-day extension or (1) 7-day Incomplete per course as long as the request is submitted prior to the course end date. You may use as little or as much of this additional time as you need, and the additional time does not adversely affect your grade. Each 30-day extension incurs a $550 fee payable at the time of request. There is no cost for a 7-day Incomplete. Learners may not request a 30-day extension and a 7-day incomplete for the same course.

To request additional time for a course, log into your Self-Service portal, and in the left navigation pane, click on the menu icon, and click to expand the ‘Academics tab.’ Click “Course Extension,” then select either the 30-day extension or 7-day incomplete option that best suits your need, and then follow the prompts to complete your transaction. If you request a 30-day extension, the process includes paying the $550 extension fee. Upon approval of your 30-day extension fee payment or by submitting a request for a 7-day incomplete, a new course end date will appear in alignment with the request you submitted.

A 30-day extension adds an additional 30 days beyond the current course end date and 7-day Incompletes add an additional 7 days beyond the current course end date regardless of the date of request. If the Request Extension button is not available, your course may have closed, or you may have exhausted the available extension/incomplete. If you have questions, please contact your Academic Advisor or Learner Support Services Department at 800.477.2254, ext. 4234 for assistance.

Learners who are on a leave of absence (LOA) are still required to make their monthly tuition payments. Should the learner’s tuition balance be paid in full while on LOA, no additional payments will be necessary. Once the learner resumes taking courses and incurs new tuition costs, monthly payments will resume.

If personal or professional situations occur that make you unable to devote the required time to your coursework, you can request up to three (3) one-month leaves of absence per calendar year, upon approval by your Academic Advisor. The request must be submitted in writing via email to your Academic Advisor. Leaves of absence must be taken between courses; they may not interrupt an ongoing course. In the case of a need to interrupt an ongoing course, please contact your Academic Advisor to discuss your options.

An extended leave of absence may be available for extreme hardship. Please contact your Academic Advisor for more information. While on a leave of absence, all tuition commitments remain in force. Additionally, you must maintain continuous enrollment as described in the Continuous Enrollment Policy in the University Catalog.

In addition to your faculty mentors, you will have a dedicated Academic Advisor to help with any questions regarding coursework, academic policies and more. You will also be able to receive assistance with research and citation needs from our University librarian and our learner accounts specialist will be able to assist with any tuition, payment, or account concerns. CalSouthern’s IT support team is available to provide you with the necessary technical assistance throughout your educational journey.

Visit our Contact Us page for a list of our departments and contact information.

We have designed the CalSouthern online learning environment to provide the best possible learning experience, regardless of your technical skills or computer system. CalSouthern learners utilize Self Service for learner account management and Canvas to access and complete coursework. These systems are intuitive, easy to use, and will accommodate almost any computer and operating system. Really, all you need is a computer, a reliable Internet connection, a webcam, and the ability to send and receive attached files via email.

To review the technical recommendations, please review the CalSouthern Technical Requirements.

To set up your Canvas profile, go to the Canvas account settings in the left-hand navigation menu after logging into Canvas. Once there, click on “Account,” then select “Profile.” On the right side of the page, click the ellipsis to edit your profile, and choose “Edit Profile” to start entering your information in the Biography section. Don’t forget to click “Save Profile” when you’re done.

If you want to change or add a profile photo, hover over the image placeholder and click on the pencil icon. This will allow you to choose an image file or take a photo if your computer has a camera. Remember to save your changes when you’re finished and make sure the photo is appropriate for a professional/educational setting.

The CalSouthern learner identification card identifies you as a current member of the California Southern University community. Learners who are accepted and enroll as a learner at CalSouthern and who register and pay for their first course are eligible to receive an ID card.

Learners may request a learner ID card by sending an email requesting an ID card to Receptionist@calsouthern.edu. Attached to that email, the learner must include their photo. The photo must be a “headshot” and adhere to the photo specifications below.

Photo Specifications

Learner program schedules are planned and preregistered for you soon after enrollment with a few exceptions for doctoral projects. Should you like to make adjustments to your course schedule, please contact your Academic Advisor for assistance with your requested changes.

Keep in mind certain programs may not allow for deviation from the required course schedule and some programs have criteria learners must meet to successfully complete the program. All requested changes may not be accommodated.

If you have questions, please contact your Academic Advisor or Learner Support Services Department at 800.477.2254, ext. 4234.

Any time you have a question or concern regarding your course materials or assignments, we encourage you to reach out to your faculty mentor; they’re there to provide all the assistance you need. You will find contact information for your mentor in the mentor profile located in the People tab within the Canvas course.

Once in your “Current Course” tab, click the “Forum” button on the left of the page. Select the week that your discussion forum assignment is to be posted in. (Note: you may have to click more than once.)

Be sure to read the faculty mentor’s post and any additional instructions provided. When you are ready to post, simply click on the “Reply to Thread” button in the upper left of the forum area. Paste your response in the box provided.

To reply to a classmate’s posting, simply click the “Reply with Quote” button and paste your response in the space provided.

Like a post? Click the button in the bottom right-hand corner of any posting.

To upload an assignment, first click on the link to the course syllabus. Next, select the “Activities” tab and click on the appropriate assignment. Directions are included within each individual assignment. At the bottom of the page under the “Course Work” heading, click the (+) symbol. A box should expand with the assignment number selected for you. Type in the assignment name, then click “Browse” to attach the appropriate Word document from your computer. Comments to your mentor are optional.

Once the assignment is attached, read and check the academic integrity statement, then click “send.” Always click on the linked assignment to verify that it has attached properly and that it is the intended document.

When saving your assignment on your computer, make sure to save the file name following this format: “Last Name-Course#-Assignment#” – the named document should have a file name similar to this: Smith-SAM100-5.docx.

If you have not already done so, be sure to attend a live orientation as soon as possible, and before your course begins. Contact your Academic Advisor for more information.

Your mentors’ bios are available in the People tab within your course in Canvas. To learn more about your mentor, click on the People tab located in the left-hand navigation. Then click on your mentor’s name and their profile will load. If you need assistance, please contact your Academic Advisor or Learner Support Services Department at 800.477.2254, ext. 4234.

Learners are responsible for saving all syllabi, especially when licensure or another is your goal. Boards will often require these and it is the learner’s responsibility to provide them. You should also save all completed and graded assignments for future reference. This too is your responsibility. These may be needed for unforeseen circumstances, and they provide great reference and valuable resources. Assignments are not available through any other means.

Within the Modules tab of your course, click on course syllabus, then click on the little down arrow to download the document. Next, save the pdf file to your computer and to a secondary location as a backup. Two sets are in your best interests should anything happen to the first. We recommend you do this within a folder for your program. Do this for every course, saving each file with the course number and name. Emailing these to yourself may also be a good backup strategy. If you need syllabi from the old Learning Center, please contact your academic advisor for assistance.

Turnitin is an online plagiarism detection service that helps learners and mentors ensure the originality of written work by learners. Turnitin generates similarity reports by comparing submitted papers to a vast database of academic and non-academic content. To learn more watch the video How to Submit and Review Originality Scores on Turnitin

Yes! All CalSouthern learners have access to Tutor.com. Tutor.com is free to CalSouthern learners, on-demand, and provides 24/7 online access to qualified tutors across various subjects, including doctoral-level writing and APA formatting. You can find it through the global navigation on the left in all Canvas classes. Here is a resource to help you learn more about it and how you may benefit.

Learners who have opted for a monthly payment plan need to pay their monthly tuition to TFC directly in accordance with their Retail Installment Contract. Monthly tuition payments cannot be made to the University directly and need to be paid to TFC for timely posting to the learner’s account.

Learners who elect the Course-at-a-Time and 50/50 payment options need to make their payments directly to the University using the Self-Service portal. For Course-at-a-Time and 50/50 payment plan learners to make their tuition payment: Access the Self-Service Portal by clicking the following link: https://csu-ss.colleague.elluciancloud.com/Student

Learners need to pay fees other than tuition directly to the University by using the Self-Service portal to make those payments as they are incurred.

The first payment is due on or before the first day of your first scheduled course.

For Monthly Payment Plan learners–

Tuition for Monthly Payment Plan learners is paid directly to TFC Credit Corporation, our servicing partner. Learners who need to make changes to their payment information must contact TFC directly to make any changes to their card details on file or can change it on their account if it’s saved on file.

To contact TFC directly please use the contract information below:

TFC Student Account Services

Tel: (800) 872-9832

Fax: (925) 498-2520

Monday through Friday 9am-11pm EST

Saturday 10am-4pm

Email: accountservices@tfcstudentinfo.com

Website: www.TFCstudentinfo.com

For Course at a time and 50/50 payment plan learners –
CalSouthern’s Accounting department cannot make any changes to the credit card details or any payment details for a learner in their account as the details are not available for the staff to change or edit. Learners must login to Self-Service to change any account details they have on file.

Learners who pay monthly tuition to TFC can make additional payments towards their tuition as and when the funds are available, which would bring their overall balance down hence reducing the number of payments from the total.

Learners who are on the Course-at-a-Time or 50/50 payment option can also pay additional funds if available and it will be applied when they take the next course.

Learners who do not make their required full payment by the payment due day in accordance with their selected payment option will have an accounting hold placed on their account which will impact their course registrations.

Extension fees or any other fees need to be paid directly to the University.

The University has a 3^rd party that manages transcript requests and fees need to be paid to them directly.

Learners can pay their fees using the self-service portal:
https://csu-ss.colleague.elluciancloud.com/Student

Yes. CalSouthern accepts course credits awarded by appropriately accredited institutions toward all our undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The University will make every effort to maximize the value of those credits to reduce the time and cost associated with earning your degree.

Transfer credit is evaluated on an individual basis. Not all credits are eligible for transfer. See the University Catalog for transfer credit policies

Please follow the directions on the Transcript Requests page to order transcripts.

While California Southern University, as a member of the AIU System, is part of a Title IV eligible institution offering Title IV eligible programs, CalSouthern has elected and designated some of its programs as not participating in Title IV federal financial aid programs. If a program is designated in this manner, it will be noted in its catalog description. This means students enrolling in these designated programs may not use Federal Student Aid to help pay for them. Instead, it offers a variety of zero interest payment options for students.

The Form 1098-T is a statement that colleges and universities are required to issue to certain students. It provides the total dollar amount paid by the student for what is referred to as qualified tuition and related expenses (or “QTRE”) in a single tax year. We strongly recommend seeking professional assistance when claiming an education tax credit.

Questions concerning the 1098T can be directed to, 1098T@calsouthern.edu

Regular enrolled learners attending CalSouthern who have Federal student loans from previously attended institutions or programs are eligible for an in-school deferment of repayment of Federal Family Education Program Loans and Federal Direct Student Loans. This deferment is in effect while the learner is enrolled and making progress toward completing a CalSouthern degree program. The OPE ID Number is 02113600 assigned to the AIU System by the U.S. Department of Education.

Send your completed In-School Deferment Request form to the Office of the Registrar via email at registrar@calsouthern.edu.

Textbooks can be purchased from both traditional and online book suppliers. For your convenience, eCampus.com is committed to providing textbooks for CalSouthern learners.

Through eCampus.com, you can:

• Buy new or used books
• Rent books
• Purchase E-books
• Select from a variety of shipping options

Visit the eCampus bookstore here.

Your California Southern University Library contains a wealth of study, research and writing resources. Please take the time to review the available databases, research aids, guides, and services available. If you need assistance with your research or with any of the available resources, please contact the University Librarian at 800.477.2254, ext. 4022.

Students are advised to attend an APA webinar. These are held every two weeks, on a Wednesday, at 9.00 am and 4.00 pm Pacific time. Please see the Library Course Page on Canvas for more details. Post-attendance, if you have specific citation or reference questions, you can contact the library for assistance. However, if you need more detailed assistance, you can connect with a tutor through the Tutor.com link in Canvas.

Students are advised to attend a Library Research webinar. These are held every two weeks, on a Thursday, at 9.00 am and 4.00 pm Pacific time. Please see the Library Course Page on Canvas for more details. Post-attendance, if you need further assistance finding information sources for your research, or if you need help with your search strategy, you can schedule an appointment with the library. You can also email or phone the librarian for assistance.

The APA webinars are held every 2 weeks, on a Wednesday, at 9.00 am PST and at 4.00 pm PST. Webinars introduce attendees to the APA style, the APA template for assignments, in-text citations, and reference list entries.

• If it is your first time attending a session, please register (you will need to provide your name, email, course code and Mentor/Chair name). Registration is only required once. You can attend as many sessions as you wish.
• If it is a course requirement for you to attend an APA webinar, you will be required to attend the entire session
• Sessions are about 60 minutes long.

For additional information, please go to the California Southern University Library through the Canvas learning platform or contact the University librarian at 800.477.2254, ext. 4022.

The Library Research webinars are held every 2 weeks, on a Thursday, at 9.00 am PST and at 4.00 pm PST. Library Research webinars introduce attendees to the library, and to its many information resources. These webinars also encourage students to become independent researchers, by teaching them how to efficiently search for, locate and use information, while also acknowledging their sources.

• If it is your first time attending a session, please register (you will need to provide your name, email, course code and Mentor/Chair name). Registration is only required once. You can attend as many sessions as you require.
• If it is a course requirement for you to attend a Library research webinar, you will be required to attend the entire session.
• Sessions are between 55 and 60 minutes long.

For additional information, please go to the California Southern University Library through the Canvas learning platform or contact the University librarian at 800.477.2254, ext. 4022.