Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida

Distance Education Online Orientation

All new students in the Soil and Water Science distance education program are expected to complete the Online Orientation. Read through the information in the and click "next" to complete the orientation. If you have any questions about the material contained herein, please contact the Distance Education Coordinator, Dr. Sabine Grunwald.

Registration	Online registration for SWS courses is available at: http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/distance/registration.htm , or you may contact the Soil and Water Science Department Student Services: Rhiannon Pollard, rhiannon-pollard@ufl.edu. (352) 392.1803 ext. 341
Gatorlink Account	You must have a Gatorlink account (which can be obtained through the CIRCA HelpDesk at 392.HELP or at http://gatorlink.ufl.edu/) in order to access the e-learning tools for all distance education courses. Additionally, all UF-related emails will be sent to the email address you establish through Gatorlink, so it is imperative that you check it frequently.
Computer Requirements	The following is the official UF policy on the student computer requirement: Access to and on-going use of a computer will be required for all students to complete their degree programs successfully. Effective with the Summer B 1998 term, the University of Florida expects each student new to the university, to acquire computer hardware and software appropriate to his or her degree program. Competency in the basic use of a computer is a requirement for graduation. Class assignments may require use of a computer, academic advising and registration can be done by computer, and official university correspondence is often sent via email. Students are expected to purchase or lease a computer that has a high-speed internet connection (DSL, cable or satellite modem or similar), graphical access to the World Wide Web, and productivity functions such as word processing and spreadsheet calculation, Power Point, Adobe Acrobat or Reader (pdf). The computer should have a CD and DVD drive and enough harddrive space to store course material.
Transfer of Credits into your MS Program	For students pursuing a non-thesis MS degree, only graduate-level coursework taken at the University of Florida and earned with a grade of B or better will count towards the 34-letter graded credits required for the degree. The maximum number of UF credits which can be transferred is 15. Students pursuing a thesis MS may transfer up to 9 credits from approved academic institutions, however, these credits will not be letter-graded and thus will compete for space in the degree requirements with SOS 6971, Master's Research. It is recommended that only UF graduate-level courses be transferred, as a result. (See the Graduate Student Guide for more information.) PhD students may transfer a total of 30 credits from UF or other approved academic institutions, with an additional 15 credits allowed from previous UF Master's or non-degree seeking work. Acceptance of transfer credit requires the Transfer of Credit form, a copy of the student's transcript, and approval of the student's supervisory committee, the college dean, and the Graduate School. At the master's level, the graduate coordinator may approve the request for transfer in lieu of the supervisory committee. Such requests for transfer of credit must be made during the student's first term enrolled in the Graduate School. No course work that exceeds the 7-year time limit will be counted toward degree requirements.
Credits from other Academic Institutions	If you plan to take course work at another institution subsequent to enrollment in a degree-seeking program at the University of Florida, you should receive permission for transfer before taking such course work. If the course work is to be taken at another State University System (SUS) institution, the student should complete request Student Services assist with completing a Traveling Scholar form. Students who plan to pursue international study should contact the University of Florida International Center http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/ to obtain the Graduate Academic Advising form.
Campus Tour	Take a virtual tour: (1) The University of Florida (UF): http://www.ufl.edu/ (2) UF Distance Learning: http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/ (3) The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS): http://ifas.ufl.edu/ (4) The Soil and Water Science Department: http://soils.ifas.ufl.edu/
Gator1 Card	Every student is encouraged to get a Gator1 Card. Follow the link http://www.bsd.ufl.edu/idcard/ to learn more about how to obtain one. If you plan to use the online library access, you will need the library number assigned on your Gator1 Card.
Course Catalog	Develop a schedule of courses to accumulate 30 credits (thesis option) or 34 letter-graded credits (non-thesis option) and discuss the list with your advisor and co-advisors. Check the list of SWS distance education courses regularly. The list is subject to change. You can complement the SWS distance education courses with other graduate courses from UF or other academic institutions. A complete listing of all offered courses in Soil and Water Science can be found here.
Critical Dates	Critical dates for registration and other are listed at: http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/adhub.html. Do not miss important deadlines. It might delay your progress towards earning the degree.
Tuition	All Soil and Water Science distance students, degree-seeking and non-degree seeking, are considered "off-book" unless they meet one of the following conditions: 1) state employment, 2) receiving assistantship funding, 3) affiliated in any way with Research and Education Centers. The current off-book tuition rate for Soil and Water Science distance students is set at $400.00 per credit hour. These rates are subject to change. Out-of-state students pay the same amount for tuition as students in Florida.
Library Access	To get access to the University of Florida libraries got to: http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ct/dltop.html. Distance education and on-campus students have access to the UF library system. University of Florida Libraries http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ provides online access to all University of Florida Libraries. Guide to Remote Library Access http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/access.html is a guide for students on how to access available library services from a home computer. UF Library Number Activation Request http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/distreg.html is an online form that allows students to activate their library number on their Gator1 Card. The library number must be activated before requesting articles or checking out books from University of Florida libraries.

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Soil and Water Science Department | 106 Newell Hall, P.O. Box 110510 | Gainesville, FL 32611 | Phone: 352.392.1803, Fax: 352.392.3399 | soils@ufl.edu