Student Services Summary for Distance Learning Students

The student services available to distance education students admitted to the College of Journalism and Communications (CJC) are summarized in the table below. At the current time, all distance programs are at the graduate level. Brief descriptions of each of the available services follow the table.

1. Admissions

Distance students in the College of Journalism and Communications apply for admission as a student through the UF Admissions office, website: www.admissions.ufl.edu/index.html, phone 352-392-1365.  The application process is an online process so distance students can complete it without traveling to campus.

The website UF master’s programs contains admission requirements for on campus and distance students.  Any questions about the admission process or to inquire about the status of an application may contact Ms. Sarah Lee in the Graduate Division office at sglee@jou.ufl.edu.

2. Financial Aid Assistance

UF distance learning students are offered the same financial aid services as campus students through the main UF Student Financial Affairs office.   This office provides assistance to UF distance learning students on financial aid matters.  The website for UF Student Financial Affairs is www.sfa.ufl.edu and phone at (352) 392-1275.  Assistantship and scholarship information from our Graduate Division office can be found at Graduate Assistantships.

3. Academic Advising

Academic Advising is provided to all students, distance and campus, admitted to the College of Journalism and Communications to help students succeed in their program of study.  Students are informed of their Academic Advisor in their admission letter of acceptance.

Academic Advising is provided for each student every semester prior to Registration and at additional times based on student request or need.  Advising for distance students may be conducted via phone conference or synchronous internet-based web programs, such as Elluminate.

4. Student Health

College of Journalism and Communications distance learning students do not have access to the onsite Student Health Center services.

5. Student Organizations

The majority of UF student organizations consist of on-campus students and hold meetings on the UF campus.  Therefore distance learning students do not have access to actively participate in student organizations.  The CJC’s Graduate Students in Mass Communication Association meets on campus every semester and interested distance students may participate via telephone conference call. More information can be found at Graduate Students in Mass Communication Association.

6. Use of Gyms/Intramural Sports

CJC distance learning students generally do not participate in the use of on-campus gyms or intramural sports.

7. Counseling Services

Counseling services for distance learning students is limited.  The UF Counseling & Wellness Center will setup phone consults for distance learning students, but only to assist distance students to find local counseling services for them.  The website for UF Counseling & Wellness is: www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc and by phone at:  352-392-1575.

8. Tutoring/Writing Assistance

Graduate distance students are encouraged to contact their course instructor for assistance in coursework. Students may also contact their CJC Academic Advisor, the Associate Dean for Graduate Students, Dr. Debbie Treise, at dtreise@jou.ufl.edu or the Director of Distance Education, Dr. Spiro Kiousis, at skiousis@jou.ufl.edu for further information.

For assistance with writing, the University’s Reading and Writing Center has online resources at www.at.ufl.edu/rwcenter/index.html. The CJC Library is also available to distance students for consultation at www.uflib.ufl.edu/jour/default.html. UF library resources can be found at guides.uflib.ufl.edu/distancelearners.

9. Technology Assistance

Assistance with e-Learning is available via UF Academic Technology (lss.at.ufl.edu) or at (352) 392-4357.

10. Multicultural/diversity student support

The majority of activities and groups hosted by the UF Multicultural & Diversity Affairs (MCDA) support center are based around on-campus activities, making it difficult for distance students to participate. The website for the MCDA office can be found at: www.multicultural.ufl.edu.

11. Student Concerns

Any student concerns of an academic or non-academic issue may be directed to the faculty instructor, CJC Academic Advisor, the Associate Dean for Graduate Students, Dr. Debbie Treise, at dtreise@jou.ufl.edu, and the College’s Director of Distance Education, Dr. Spiro Kiousis, at skiousis@jou.ufl.edu. Policies are available at MyCJC for Students.

12. Career advising/job placement

Distance students have access via email or telephone to faculty mentors and advisors for career advising and job placement assistance in their specialty.

13. Emergency response

Distance learning students primarily participate in CJC courses online; therefore UF campus emergency response services are not applicable for distance learning students.

CJC Graduate Student Handbooks

The UF CJC graduate student handbooks are available at Resources for Master’s Students. Student policies are described in the handbooks.

Online Student Evaluations

All UF CJC distance students are invited to participate in the UF course and instructor evaluation process to express anonymous concerns.  Students are emailed a link to the online course evaluation page when the time window opens for evaluations.