Typically, only languages that are not offered at MSU are eligible for CourseShare. 

MSU has historically received instruction in Nordic languages (Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish) on a regular basis, with other languages (Indonesian, Yiddish, Persian, etc.) on a more infrequent basis or upon request.

Want a language not listed in the MSU Course Catalog? If you do not see a course you want, you can request a course (see process in a question below) and we can see if we can make a match with another university. This takes some time, so it must be done as early as possible!

Students taking a CourseShare course (especially those requesting new courses not currently listed) must be very committed to the course. Many hours of careful planning at multiple universities go into offering a CourseShare, so poor attendance, poor participation, or dropping a course creates a lot of wasted effort. If you are committed, you have the benefit of having a course that you may not otherwise be able to take.

Courses may be synchronous or partially synchronous. 

You will typically join the class via Zoom or other videoconferencing software. Some classes are fully online, but in others you will be a remote participant in a course where they are meeting in person.

Courses with a current match between universities are available in the MSU course catalog under the “LL” course codes. “CourseShare” will be in the notes of the course and they often have a section number in the 300s. (For example, LL 151 Section 339 is Beginning Norwegian.) 

If you do not see a course you want, you can request a course and we can see if we can make a match with another university. This takes some time, so it must be done as early as possible! 

Almost never, in fact! Other universities have different academic schedules, which includes different academic breaks, holiday policies, and final exams. 

In addition, other universities may be in different time zones (Central and Pacific). We will list the courses in our time zone (Eastern) in our course catalog.

You will reach out to Dr. Emily Heidrich Uebel, the CourseShare coordinator and LCTL Coordinator for MSU. The request process can take some time, so don’t delay!

What does the request process look like when requesting a course?

1. Once we determine what level of class that is needed, Dr. Heidrich Uebel will look on the private CourseShare platform to see what has already been matched or offered by other universities.
   1. If the language/level that we need is proactively being offered or is already being shared with another university, sometimes we can join that match.
   2. If it is not already posted or being offered, we post an inquiry to the other universities to see if anyone is willing to share the needed language/level. 
2. If we get an offer to share a language, we check to make sure that the timing of the class will work for the student. If it does, we officially make a match with the other university. MSU then opens a course in our registration system for the student to enroll in here. The registration and transfer of student details at the other institution happens in the back end of the FERPA-compliant platform. 

Please note, this process of requesting a language and making a match can take some time and requesting a language/level is NOT a guarantee that other universities will have that level – and even if they have the level, the instructor needs to be willing to share the course.