Westminster University offers various online courses through Acadeum, a consortium of like-minded accredited colleges and universities that share online course offerings. Courses taken through Acadeum are considered institutional credit and can count towards WCore, electives, and other program requirements. Acadeum courses count toward the college's residency requirement; students may take a course while completing the last 36 credits of their program.

Acadeum courses are a great option if:

  • You need a flexible completion pathway and are looking for online options that Westminster doesn't currently offer
  • You are looking to improve your GPA
  • You have dropped below a full-time course load and need to get back to at least 12 credit hours
  • You have missed Westminster’s add/drop deadline and need to pick up additional credits for a semester (Acadeum offers multiple start dates within a semester) 

How It Works

Course Credit

All courses taken through Acadeum count for elective credit. Program directors, deans, and the registrar collaborate to approve when courses count as substitutions for the requirements of majors, minors, and WCore. When considering courses, they review course syllabi, faculty credentials, and additional assessments of learning outcomes data. Students may take no more than 1 consortium course per semester (2 allowed for summer), and no more than 4 courses overall toward an undergraduate degree or 9 credits toward a graduate degree.

If you need assistance finding a course or making sure a course works for the requirement you intend to fulfill with it, email the Registrar’s Office (registrar@westminsteru.edu) and your advisor details about the course you are looking for or the requirement you are looking to fulfill.

Grades

The course grade and credit are transcribed on your Westminster transcript. Grades will affect your GPA, just like a course taken at Westminster.

The institution offering the course will send your grade (via the Acadeum Consortium secure platform) to Westminster to be recorded on your transcript. Westminster will post the grade, typically within 10 business days of the end of the course, and you may review it in your Self-Service portal.

Registration Steps

  1. Go to the Westminster Acadeum website and sign up using your Westminster email address 
  2. Go to settings and complete your student profile (including inputting your student ID and home address)
  3. Search the Acadeum system for available pre-approved courses in upcoming terms and submit a request through Acadeum to enroll in your preferred Acadeum course

You will be notified via email when your enrollment is approved. Once your enrollment is approved, the course will show up in your Self-Service portal.

Attending Courses

Before your course begins, you will receive a notification via email explaining how to access your course.

Course Material Requirements

Once your enrollment request is approved, the institution offering the course will send a welcome letter to your Westminster email that includes login information as well as a link to the institution’s bookstore. It is important to pay careful attention to the letter and prepare to participate in courses with all necessary course materials. Once you log in to the institution's learning management system (LMS), you should be able to view the required learning materials.

Billing and Payment

Westminster will bill you Westminster’s per credit hour tuition rate for Acadeum courses. Many consortium institutions require full payment before you can start a course.

View Tuition Information

Dropping or Withdrawing Courses

Once enrolled in an Acadeum course, you must contact the Westminster Registrar’s Office (registrar@westminsteru.edu) to change your enrollment. When you drop, withdraw from, or fail a course, the institution offering the course will inform Westminster of your last date of attendance, which is the last date that you:

  • Participated in a discussion board about academic matters,
  • Emailed the professor to ask a question about the academic subject matter studied in the course, or
  • Submitted an academic assignment, assessment, or exam.

Refunds

Refunds are not available after the final drop date set by the institution offering the course. A course’s final drop date may differ from Westminster’s refund schedule.

Incomplete Grades

If you cannot complete a course on schedule, the professors may grant you an incomplete in accordance with policies on incompletes at the institution offering the course, including the length of time before the incomplete grade converts automatically to a failing grade. When granted, the institution offering the course will notify Westminster of the incomplete grade and its duration.

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