distance education courses at Colorado State

[Truth74]

Hello, I'm gonna be taking some courses out of the distance learning department at Colorado State. I was wondering if anyone else has taken any of the vs classes. I am specifically interested in hearing about the histology and domestic animal anatomy courses.

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[Sweetcaroline14]

Hello, I'm gonna be taking some courses out of the distance learning department at Colorado State. I was wondering if anyone else has taken any of the vs classes. I am specifically interested in hearing about the histology and domestic animal anatomy courses.

Hey There. I took Histo( I think its VS331 or something like that) in the Fall of 2007. Awesome class, taught by Dr. Stewart. Unbelieveable amount of info, but so well worth it. I think it was the first real class that made me think, "wow, this is just a small taste of vet school." Of course, some of the info is modified for undergraduate level, but in a nut shell, you learn a ton. It is in no way a blow off class. Plan on spending at least 5+ hours weekly looking at slides for your A, unless of course, you've seen this stuff before in pathology or something...I had a small grasp from micro, molecular/cell bio and anatomy, but nothing to this level. I would recommend it to any and all pre vets! I truly loved this class. Dr. Stewart is a great professor and the amount of info I learned over that semester will no doubt help me in my first semester of vet school. Go for it! You won't regret it!

 

[Cheska]

I have taken both courses through CSU's distance ed- Dr. Stewart does a great job with both classes. She and the TA's were very accessible, they have weekly chat sessions online to answer any questions and review for the exams. I was living in north Denver when I took both classes, so I never had to set up a proctor- I just went to campus that day to take the test, so I don't have much insight there since the exams are via computer. I absolutely loved the domestic animal anatomy and the histology was quite a bit more challenging, but I would recommend both. I have also taken Pet and Zoo nutrition through CSU's distance, but those were paper exams and easy to find a proctor for. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

 

[Truth74]

Thanks for the information on the courses. I'm doing the anatomy course this semester and will be doing the histology one next semester.

Dr. Stewart is not teaching the course, though the new instructor, Dr. Madl, is using her material.

 

[chibry]

How do these classes work? Are there on-line lectures? Slides? Or do they just assign readings and homework? Thanks.

 

[Truth74]

Having taken several, they are all slightly different.

This course is majority online (with lectures, slides, and case studies online) with proctored exams and chats.
I have taken ones that were mostly textbook, with a mandatory chat and online exam.
I have also taken a few with convoluted redirection to other sites for labs and proctored exams.

It's all up to the instructor, really.

 

[catlover]

Regarding the Histology course, they give first year vet students access to that course so that we can have extra histo study materials - I thought it looked pretty helpful.

 

[twelvetigers]

I just signed up for the Domestic Animal Anatomy course for the summer. If I enjoy it (and how it's set up) I'll probably take Histology in the fall. I love online courses... so convenient. I checked out a copy of the text from the vet med library. Just in case anyone is wondering, I simultaneously leafed thru the 8th ed. and the 10th ed. and found no difference in page numbers. If any content is different, it's not much. I think the 8th ed. would work fine, and that's the one I checked out. (10th ed. was 7 day only, this one is 30 day.)

I'm excited to get started, but some of the material in the book looks intimidating! I'm thinking that if I do well in this course over the summer, vert morph in the fall will be a breeze. Haha.

 

[Pomona2006]

Thanks so much for bringing up this information! If I could ask your opinion on the courseload for the Anatomy class - do you think it is manageable with a full-time job? I will be working full-time at a vet clinic over the summer and want to be able to get this class in, but before I sign myself up, I wanted to make sure it is something that I can manage time-wise.

Also, as far as the format of the class, could you please explain the test/proctor situation because I am COMPLETELY unfamiliar with that.

Thanks!!

 

[Truth74]

I'm taking it, and I have a full time job. I know what the time requirements are, and I am prepared. I also have a work situation where I have a little bit of down time to go over the flash-cards online. It is a lot of information, so if you aren't used to it(40 hours plus coursework), this shouldn't be the course to start with.

The proctor situation with this course is pretty good. You just have to go to your local cc and find a proctor. The course gives you the proctor information and you print it out to give to the proctor.

Other courses require you to give information on the proctor, and they contact the proctor directly.

I'm using a proctor that actually works at the assessment center at my local cc. All I had to do was call with the test dates. Since I was a student, I didn't have to pay the proctor fee. The fee was only 10 dollars, though. However, you have to make sure that the proctor has computer testing available.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

 

[Sweetcaroline14]

Thanks so much for bringing up this information! If I could ask your opinion on the courseload for the Anatomy class - do you think it is manageable with a full-time job? I will be working full-time at a vet clinic over the summer and want to be able to get this class in, but before I sign myself up, I wanted to make sure it is something that I can manage time-wise.

Also, as far as the format of the class, could you please explain the test/proctor situation because I am COMPLETELY unfamiliar with that.

Thanks!!

Hey! I found that for my proctor situation, I used UC Irvine. They have a designated test center and it had computers etc, and was really quiet. I wasn't a UC Irvine student so there is a 15$ fee. I believe almost all major colleges and community colleges have these services available now. So a little research should give you the ideal situation for you! You should be able to get a free proctor at your campus with either the library or the office of disability services(they always know where you can take tests!). Good luck!

 

[ElvisMarie6]

I took CSU's online animal anatomy class Fall 2007 and really liked it! I worked full time at a clinic and was able to find time after work to work on this class, but I did stay up late a lot! Also, you couldn't take the exams whenever you wanted, they had to be on a specific day. All exams were on a Friday which was difficult bc I work every Friday so i ended up taking the tests during my lunch break! Kinda stressful!

 

[BrumleyVet]

So how does one take online classes from CSU? My school doesn't offer much in the line of classes relative to animals, and I would love to have that on my transcript!

 

[Truth74]

So how does one take online classes from CSU? My school doesn't offer much in the line of classes relative to animals, and I would love to have that on my transcript!

Hi,
There is usually a distance education/online learning department that can be reached for most school. Every school calls it something different. Doing a search for online and distance education for your state can yield a lot of different schools, as well. *Warning* You have to pay attention to whether the course requires you to be physically at that school for exams, or not.

For Colorado State it is http://www.learn.colostate.edu/ . You can look through the site and see if there is anything that you're interested in. You just register and you are responsible for that course.

 

[twelvetigers]

The registration for the summer 08 courses for CSU ended yesterday, but you can enroll for fall 08. Note that histology isn't offered in the spring semester - not sure about anatomy. The only other online (distance learning) courses I'm familiar with are OKSU's - they have animal nutrition and into to ansci. There may be more, but those two are vet requirements so they're the most familiar.

Also take note of the cost of the course... some of them are a little steep. Also, see if it's a 4, 8, or 12 week course, or if it's an at-your-own-pace sort of thing.

 

[BrumleyVet]

Thanks for the info. Do they ever offer any credit classes worth taking, or are they all non-credit? I didn't see any anatomy classes either. Are there any other schools that offer this?

 

[Truth74]

As twelvetigers said, the summer semster registration period is over. The courses for next semster (fall) are not up yet. Wait a month, or so, and the new set of courses will be available for registration.