Yes, ensuring maximum flexibility for students balancing education with work and family responsibilities.

Courses are scheduled based on student demand, with frequent start dates to allow quick enrollment and degree progression.

Students have access to tutoring and a dedicated success specialist.

No, tuition rates will remain the same. However, the new format may allow you to finish your degree faster, potentially reducing overall costs.

Yes, you can enroll in multiple 8‑week courses within a semester, similar to traditional 16-week schedules.

Students planning to graduate in December 2025 have the choice of completing courses through 16-week or 8‑week model. It is strongly recommended that you meet with your academic advisor and Online Student Advocate to discuss the best option for you.

Yes, workshops and support materials will be available to help faculty adapt to the new format.

No. Due to federal reporting and administrative issues, students must remain within their assigned term structure.

All 100% online programs need to operate exclusively in the 8-week format starting Fall 2026.

There is an OP governing intellectual property including course content. That OP makes clear that course materials that a faculty member creates belong to them.

The best way to explain the status of content developed to be taught in 8-week courses is that Texas Tech Online is essentially licensing it. We don't own it, but the faculty member, the department and the college agree that we can use it without restriction to teach courses. By agreeing to be paid to develop the content, the faculty member agrees to make that content available if it is needed, even if that faculty member cannot teach the course.

Programs should alert Texas Tech Online well enough in advance of the start of an 8-week term if they lack an instructor for a course. Texas Tech Online will work with programs to find an instructor if necessary, or Texas Tech Online will provide funding (if it is already not offering financial support for online instruction) to offer an overload to compensate an instructor for additional work to cover the course. But courses that are required for online students to make degree progress without interruption must be made available as needed in 8-week terms.

Yes. Sections located in Texas Tech University and Texas Tech Online can be merged into RaiderCanvas. These courses will not be cross listed in Banner, but two sections can be merged in the learning management system, provided they are equivalent in length, content, and instructor. To proceed with merging these sections, we will need to provide the RadierCanvas team with the specific section numbers that should be linked together and designate which section should serve as the 'parent' course.

Texas Tech Online will provide funding to faculty members not already receiving course development releases who are assigned to develop 8-week asynchronous courses. This funding will be payable upon completion of development for each specified course. Based on course demand, Texas Tech Online will provide instructional support funding (if it is not already offering financial support for online instruction) if a course must be taught as an overload.

8-week terms work the same way as all other terms. If a department offers a course and teaches that course, any earned SCH generated from that teaching is credited to the department. In addition, the Provost and CFO have approved the development of an incentive committee, with representatives from all colleges, to recommend metrics to be used to allocate additional funding to programs contributing increased online enrollment and SCH.