Instructional Methods

USF Lakeland uses a variety of methods for instruction and is constantly keeping up with the newest technologies to deliver the best quality distance education to you for your convenience. These methods include:

• Traditional classroom instruction
  
  
• Video Conferencing Courses allows for 2-way audio and video interaction between professors and students at several distant sites simultaneously. Students can now speak with their professor during the broadcast. These classes are available on 10 Polk County distant sites, as well as several in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
  
  
• Telecourses is the designation for courses on Channel 16, WUSF. Students may view at home through their local cable company broadcast, arrange to view the course on campus or check out the video tapes to view at home.
  
  
• Individualized Contract Courses are those arranged between the professor and the student for independent study.
  
  
• Computer-Assisted Instruction Classroom Courses include computer lab time as an essential part of the course.
  
  
• Mixed Instruction Courses combine several methods to include computer-assisted sessions, videotape instruction, video conferencing, and/or some independent study sessions with traditional classroom instruction.
  
  
• APEX, Academic & Professional Engineering Excellence, offers USF credit courses in a video streaming format, enabling students to conveniently take courses online.
  
  
• Off Campus Courses with traditional classroom instruction are identified each term and are offered in Highlands, Hillsborough, and Citrus counties, as well as other sites in Polk County.
  
  
• Web-Based Courses provide the entire course with instruction, homework, tests, and email through the convenience of the internet.
  
  
• Web-Enhanced Courses provide a combination of traditional classroom and web-based instruction to obtain the benefits of both methods.
  
  
• Alternative Delivery Courses are offered outside of the traditional academic schedule (i.e. fall, spring, summer). These courses are typically shorter in length allowing students to complete course and program requirements sooner than the traditional design