Educational Initiatives and Innovation

Noncredit courses are open to anyone who is eligible and interested in them, regardless of their student status or affiliation to UM. Many online courses can be taken anywhere in the world!

These classes offer an excellent way to focus on learning, skill development, professional advancement, and personal enrichment, without the pressure or requirements of traditional academic credit. These courses are often shorter, more flexible, and tailored to specific needs, making them easier to fit into your life even if you are already a student and/or in the workforce.

Extended Credit is University of Montana college credit that you can earn through eligible courses! We work with the office or organization offering the courses, as well as UM’s academic departments, to vet the program and determine the appropriate or equivalent academic credits earned for successfully completing the program.

Extended Credit is facilitated by the Office of Specialty & Extended Programming, part of the Office of Educational Initiatives & Innovation.

You do not have to be an admitted or enrolled UM student to receive Extended Credit.

If your academic institution accepts transfer credit, you can work with them to request that your UM Extended Credit be accepted; the destination institution makes all determinations on transfer credit and may request additional information such as syllabi from your Extended Credit program.

Our courses start and end at various times throughout the year, and may be of very different lengths ranging from a few days to a full semester. For the purposes of an academic transcript, they will be assigned to an Extended Semester corresponding to a UM term (Spring, Summer, Fall).

These courses meet in a variety of locations, on campus, in Missoula, and around the world. Many of these offerings are also available partially or fully online.

Academic credit courses through Extended Credit have been approved for regular university credit, so it is possible to gain credits for recertification.

For specific questions related to teacher certification, please contact the Office of Public Instruction.

You can view and print unofficial transcripts for free by logging in to UM’s GrizPortal:

Log in to UM: https://login.umt.edu
NetID: If unknown, click “What is my NetID”
Password: Initially, the last six digits of your UM Student Identification Number

Once logged into UM, choose “GrizPortal” and then click the Student Self-Service tile. To verify course enrollment or check your grade, view your unofficial transcript in the Academic Records section.

You must work with your own academic institution to facilitate credit transfer. Please note that your institution makes their own determinations on if, when, and how to accept transfer credits, and may request additional information such as syllabi from your Extended Credit program. It is your responsibility to verify the transferability of courses to your degree-granting institution and intended major.

If you’re not sure how to get started, try visiting your institution’s website, contacting your academic advisor, or reaching out to their Admissions or Registrar’s Offices.

If your primary institution will accept your transfer credit, you must order an official transcript online at the National Student Clearinghouse. Please follow the instructions of your institution and of the National Student Clearinghouse carefully; note that there are small additional fees for processing official transcripts.

Official transcripts must be ordered through the National Student Clearinghouse.

For additional information about transcripts, visit the Registrar’s Office. To ensure your transcript is not missing your final grade, check your unofficial transcript in GrizPortal before ordering an official version. 

Please note that the name of the credits earned may not exactly match the name of the course offered by another organization; instead, they may be abbreviated or reflect an equivalent UM course.

If you believe there is an error on your transcript, please reach out to us immediately.

Extended Credit programs do not use UM’s standard tuition model; instead, program fees are assessed by partner organizations and will vary. Some Extended Credit courses have an additional credit registration fee.

Because our programs do not use UM’s standard tuition model, there are typically no differences in fees based on location. However, sometimes our partnering organizations will offer sponsorships or discounts.

No – Extended Credit and noncredit program costs are assessed separately from UM tuition and do not include the fees that may be required to access certain UM benefits and facilities such as Curry Health Center and the Recreation Center.

It depends! Some types of financial aid can be used with additional forms and approvals. If using federal financial aid, you must meet the basic eligibility requirements set by the U.S. Department of Education. You must also meet any requirements and deadlines set by your degree-granting institution for your type of aid.

Students taking Extended Credit courses have successfully used consortium agreements, federal financial aid, AmeriCorps Education Awards, loans, and some scholarships. Start working through your financial aid situation several months before your course, as sometimes aid cannot be granted.

Unfortunately, tuition waivers may not be used for any course listed in the Extended Semesters. Some examples of tuition waivers are Veteran’s Administration Benefits, UM Faculty/Staff Tuition Waiver, American Indian Tuition Waiver, and UM Academic Achievement Scholarship.

At this time, 529 Tuition Savings Plans may not be paid to UM for Extended Credit courses. An alternative is for your 529 Plan Administrator to pay the course provider directly.

If you are a degree-seeking student at the University of Montana who is using financial aid, you must complete the Extended Term Agreement with Financial Aid, gain the signature of your degree program chair/dean, and submit the fully signed form to UM Student Financial Services (faid@mso.umt.edu) for processing.

You’re welcome to ask us for guidance by emailing us, as aid situations can be nuanced.

UM cannot provide a 1098-T for payment of Extended Credit courses, as your payment is processed outside the typical UM student account. In lieu of a 1098-T, students may use payment receipts for their tax purposes. UM’s Federal Tax ID Number is 81-6001713.

The Specialty & Extended Programming Catalog offers a variety of registration options; in some cases, you can fully register for a program, while in other cases, you may only be registering to receive Extended Credit for a course. In some cases, you may need to pay fees using our secure online payment system.

Please follow the instructions on each course page closely. If you have questions, please reach out to us.

Account information is used to process payments, verify your identity, send important communications, and even generate college transcripts. It is essential that the account information you provide is accurate, complete, and represents the person actually registering for a program.

If you’d like to pay for someone else’s course, please reach out to us.

If the program or credit registration for your program is available, find it in our catalog and click “Add to Cart.” When you’re ready, you must go through the full account registration and payment process to finalize your registration.

If successful, you should see a confirmation window and receive an email receipt. Please note that if you do not successfully complete registration and payment, you are not fully registered for the course and may be dropped by its start date.

If you have any issues with registration, please reach out to us.

Some courses may offer waitlists – if additional seats open up, registrants on the waitlist may be admitted into a course on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you don’t see the ability to join a waitlist, or if you have any questions, please reach out to us.

Most of our courses are shorter and more intensive than traditional college classes; as such, usually it is not possible to join late, especially after more than a couple of days.

However, you can reach out to us or to the organization offering the course; if the instructor permits a late registration, we can facilitate it.

If you’re expecting a registration portal but you can’t find it, reach out to us!

Before a course has started, a cancellation and refund may be possible; after a course has started, cancellations and refunds may not be possible. Please reach out to us right away if you need to cancel or modify a registration.

We accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit and debit cards; we do not accept American Express at this time.

If you have any questions or difficulties making a payment, please reach out to us.

Partial payments are possible; however, you must be paid in full before the start of a program or your registration will be cancelled.

To finish making a payment, please log in to the Make a Payment page on the catalog and click “Pay.” If you have any issues, please reach out to us!

Before a course has started, a cancellation and refund may be possible; after a course has started, cancellations and refunds may not be possible. Please reach out to us right away if you need to cancel or modify a registration.

If your program is being subsidized directly, the cost of the course should be $0.00 in the catalog. You can feel free to complete the registration and “payment” process and will be registered as normal.

If there is a cost to the course but you are expecting third-party payment, please contact us immediately to facilitate payment through an invoice or other means. Note that until full payment is received, you are not fully registered; unpaid registrations may be dropped from the course by the start date.

During the checkout process, you will be prompted to enter a coupon code (if applicable). If you have any issues, please reach out to us.

If you are participating in a program that uses UM’s Canvas Learning Management System, you should receive an email to the address you used to register with instructions for accessing Canvas. This email will be sent after successful registration and payment, but shortly before or on the first day of your course.

If you have not yet received an email, please ensure that you have fully registered and paid for the program and wait until the day the program starts.

In most cases you will receive a NetID (or use your existing NetID) to log in; however, in certain circumstances you may be given a non-NetID username which starts with the letters “CE” or uses the convention of firstname.lastname.

Once you are enrolled in a Canvas course and have all the information you need, you can log in at the Canvas Login page.

If you’re logging into Canvas with a NetID, please visit the NetID password reset page.

If you’re logging into Canvas with a non-NetID (a username starting with the letters “CE” or firstname.lastname), visit the non-NetID password reset page.

If you’re not able to access Canvas at all, make sure you’re connected to the Internet and try using a different browser or device.

If you’re experiencing other issues inside Canvas, feel free to use Canvas’s dedicated, 24/7 support by clicking on the “Help” icon in the main menu bar. If you’re still not getting the help you need, you can reach out to UM’s Canvas support.

If nothing is working, Canvas might be experiencing an outage; feel free to contact us for more information. We can communicate with instructors to explore the possibility of deadline extensions or other accommodations in the case of an outage.

Participants in Specialty & Extended Programming activities are subject to a Code of Conduct – whether enrolled in a noncredit program or an Extended Credit course offered in partnership with sponsoring organizations.

Depending on the nature of your concern, you may report to:

• Dean of Students Office - For concerns related to the Code of Conduct, including behavioral concerns, disruptions, or violations of university standards.
• Office of Conflict, Resolution, & Policy (CRP Office) - For concerns related to discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, or retaliation.
• Specialty & Extended Programming – For general concerns or items not covered above.

These offices are available to support you, provide guidance, and respond to reports in alignment with university policies.

Reports will be handled with as much confidentiality as practicable. Retaliation against any person who makes a good-faith report is itself a violation of this Code and, where applicable, other University policies.

Our office can direct you to the correct resource. Please email us a brief description of the issue.