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BYU Independent Study provides students a variety of course formats to address their learning needs. Students enrolled in most BYU Independent Study courses may contact their course instructor directly using contact information listed in the course introduction. Instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) work together to provide consistent feedback to and interaction with students. Instructors answer subject-specific questions.
In some courses, a course liaison handles communications (including complaints) and concerns such as grade changes, errors in the course, overdue assignments, and so on, funneling any student questions to the appropriate person (e.g., the instructor or instructional designer). Students can always contact Customer Support to report any issues and seek help with their course.
Credit is granted only upon course completion. Credits awarded are associated with the traditional Carnegie Unit System. While “seat time” cannot be determined in an online course, the design of the course, including readings, assignments, exams, activities, study time to master the materials, etc., are summed and then equated to the amount of time it will take to complete the course successfully. That overall figure is then compared with the amount of time a traditional Carnegie unit represents. It is this equated time, when compared with the more traditional “seat time” Carnegie unit, that determines the credit(s) to be awarded for a course.
To earn one high school credit (one Carnegie unit), a student should expect to devote approximately 120 hours of time to a course over a 32- to 36-week period. A one-half Carnegie unit of credit may be earned for completing a course of study that equates to 60 hours of instruction, and a one-quarter Carnegie unit of credit may be awarded for a completed course of 30 hours duration. Because BYU Independent Study courses are asynchronous and many are self-guided, there is no demand for students to be in their seats “learning” during specific times. Accordingly, BYU Independent Study works closely with certified and highly qualified high school teachers in the design and authoring of its courses. By doing so, and relying on the professional judgment of experienced teachers and designers, BYU Independent Study courses are comparable to the same amount of content that would be covered during an equivalent face-to-face high school semester-based course.
The syllabus provides a grading scale for the course. Many assignments are graded automatically. Assignments and exams that require instructor grading should be posted within 10 business days. The course grade is not posted until the final exam has been graded and posted.
All exams must be taken in a proctored setting. All coursework must be completed prior to requesting the final exam, including all other exams. No assignment resubmissions are allowed after the final exam has been requested. All exams must be taken by the course expiration date. You must pass the final exam in order to pass the course. All high school and some university exams can be retaken for a $15 fee.
Proctor: Students must take their exams with a proctor certified at the level of their course or above. Proctors and testing centers must be certified by BYU Independent Study before exams are requested. BYU Independent Study provides a list of individuals and organizations who have elected to proctor BYU Independent Study exams and have been certified by our office. BYU Independent Study does not guarantee the availability of certified proctors. Students are encouraged to contact proctors prior to requesting exams to verify availability, fees, and other policies required by the proctor. Students can visit the Testing page for more information about exam proctoring. Educators will find complete proctor policies via their Proctoring Tests page.
Exam grading: Most exams are graded automatically. Grades for instructor-graded exams should be posted within 10 business days. Paper-based exam answers must be written in pencil on either the bubble sheet or the written response sheet provided with the exam.
Shipping for paper exams: Almost all exams are available in an online format, but some course outcomes require paper-based exams that must be mailed to a local proctor. Paper exams cannot be faxed or emailed. A confirmation email will be sent to the student when a paper exam is mailed. The student is responsible to contact the proctor or testing center to see if an exam has arrived and to set up an exam time. For paper-based exams, standard shipping time is 3–10 business days for shipping within the continental United States. Express shipping may be available for an additional charge. BYU Independent Study is not responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail. If the completed exam does not arrive at the BYU Independent Study office, the student must retake the exam in another form. International shipping fees are required for paper exams mailed outside the United States.
A course is considered complete once the original final exam and exam retake, if available, have been graded.
All exams must be completed before the course expiration date.
Deadlines
BYU Independent Study suggests completing all coursework and exams three weeks before any personal deadlines. Some examples of these deadlines may include graduation deadlines, employment application deadlines, and graduate school application deadlines.
Course Completion Notices
Contact customer support to request a course completion notice. High school course completion notices are available to your local institution through the BYU Independent Study Educator Portal if you have them listed in your account when the final grade is posted.
University Course Semester Deadlines
All university course grades are posted on an official Brigham Young University transcript. If you need your course grade to appear in a particular semester or term, you must submit all your completed coursework and exams (including available retakes) by the following deadlines:
There are no exceptions to these deadlines. Please be aware that courses completed after the posted deadlines but before the first day of the next semester or term may still be recorded under the previous semester or term on the transcript.
Course Expiration
Course expiration dates are 365 days from the date and time of enrollment, unless specified otherwise in your course. Courses that expire without being completed will not be listed on the transcript. All coursework and exams including any available retakes must be completed before the course expiration to receive credit.
Course Extension
Unless otherwise specified in your course, a 90-day extension may be purchased once for $20. Extensions are 90-days from the original course expiration date regardless of the day the extension was purchased. Students may self-serve an extension before the course expiration date, or they will need to contact Customer Support. For extenuating circumstances, please see the Petitions Process page.
All assignments must be submitted online according to the instructions in your course. Some assignments are graded automatically upon submission; instructor grading will take longer.
In most courses, it is possible to resubmit an assignment or quiz for a $10 fee. Please refer to your course syllabus for further details on the resubmission policy specific to your course. After you have requested the final exam, you may not resubmit any assignments or mid-course exams.
Course Discussion Boards: Course instructors are responsible for monitoring and administering the discussion board related to his or her course. Provided in the course are instructions and guidelines for acceptable and unacceptable discussion board posts. Any posts that are unseemly, profane, or contain solicitations or requests for a student email address, physical address, or other personal contact information, are not permitted, will be deleted, and may subject the student to discipline pursuant to the BYU Independent Study Student Code of Conduct.
Response and Grading Times: Instructors are expected to respond to student inquiries within 2–3 business days. Instructors are also expected to post grades for student assignments within 10 business days.
Appointments: Some courses require students to make appointments with the instructor or TA. In the event the student must cancel an appointment, he or she must do so at least 24 hours before the scheduled appointment time. Students must schedule appointments at least six hours before the planned appointment. Should a student miss a scheduled appointment, he or she will receive no score (zero points) for the missed appointment and generally may not reschedule the missed appointment. If an instructor misses the appointment, he or she will work with the student to reschedule the missed appointment, and the student will not be charged a fee for the missed appointment.
Generally, a student must be at least 14 years old to take BYU Independent Study high school and university courses and 12 years old to take seventh- and eighth-grade courses. BYU Independent Study may, at its sole discretion, consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis where a student can demonstrate his or her ability to succeed in the course by taking a standardized test or something similar.
BYU Independent Study and its programs are committed to improving web accessibility for our students and their parents. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Levels A and AA provide helpful recommendations to make web content more accessible. BYU strives to apply WCAG 2.1 recommendations.
BYU Independent Study is also committed to providing a learning atmosphere which reasonably accommodates persons with disabilities who are otherwise qualified to participate in BYU Independent Study programs and activities. It is the policy of BYU to prohibit unlawful discrimination against persons with disabilities and to provide reasonable assistance in bringing them into the mainstream of campus life. To accomplish this, BYU complies with all applicable disability laws. BYU Independent Study programs differ in some ways from other university programs, so accommodations given for BYU Independent Study learning may differ from accommodations given for learning in Brigham Young University main campus classes or other universities.
Please select the type of course you want to request an accommodation for to proceed.
Once a course is completed (after all assignments and the final exam are graded), the final grade and course completion date are posted online. If the student provided a name of an educational institution when registering, a course completion notice will be emailed to the counselor.
A permanent academic record for each student that records the course work attempted or completed is kept by BYU Independent Study. Access to these records is strictly controlled by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). See BYU Independent Study’s Privacy Policy.
BYU CE strives to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity for all its programs. Thus, our students are expected to follow all general BYU CE testing rules and policies, including those listed in instructions for specific exams and those provided by our contracted proctors or proctoring services. If students violate testing rules, instructions, or policies, or in any way indicate the likelihood of academic dishonesty during an exam, BYU CE reserves the right to void their test score and/or course grade.
BYU CE upholds the highest standards of academic integrity. As a student in any BYU CE program, you are expected to conduct yourself in a manner that reflects honesty, trustworthiness, and responsibility. Students need to complete all coursework, assignments, and exams on their own and be evaluated based upon that work.
Students should avoid academic dishonesty and misconduct in all its forms, including but not limited to the following:
Cheating refers to copying other people’s work or using unauthorized materials, devices, or assistance during an exam or assignment. Examples include but are not limited to
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is a broad term for a suite of tools that utilize artificial intelligence algorithms to create novel content. GenAI (e.g., ChatGPT) can be a powerful tool to assist students in their schoolwork (e.g., idea generation, information gathering). However, the use of GenAI tools must not violate the essential learning outcomes of an assignment or course or violate other forms of academic dishonesty. If the use of GenAI is not explicitly stated as allowed in the individual assignment or in the course syllabus, assume that using GenAI is not permitted.
Plagiarism is using other people's words, ideas, or data without citing, quoting, or referencing the original author. Plagiarism may occur with respect to both unpublished and published material. Copying another student’s work and submitting it as one’s own individual work without proper attribution is a serious form of plagiarism.
Examples of plagiarism include but are not limited to the following:
There are three ways in which plagiarism occurs. Please read the following definitions so you understand how to avoid plagiarism in your writing and assignments:
Intentional Plagiarism. The deliberate act of representing the words, ideas, or data of another as one’s own without providing proper attribution to the author through quotation, reference, or footnote.
Inadvertent (Accidental) Plagiarism. Involves the inappropriate, but nondeliberate, use of another’s words, ideas, or data without proper attribution. Inadvertent plagiarism usually results from a failure to follow established rules for documenting sources or from simply not being sufficiently careful in research and writing.
Misrepresentation. Falsifying or fabricating information from an original source or author in assignments or exams. Examples include but are not limited to
Academic misconduct includes other academically dishonest, deceitful, or inappropriate acts that are intentionally committed. Examples of such acts include but are not limited to
If academic dishonesty is identified, the BYU CE administrators or the course instructor may take disciplinary action. In some cases, the department, the college, or the university may also take action independent of the instructor or BYU CE. Potential consequences may include but are not limited to the following:
Students may appeal disciplinary action through the Petition Process.