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Office of the Registrar

CSU Fully Online Program

The CSU Fully Online program provides an opportunity for eligible matriculated students to enroll in one online course per term through another CSU campus. The program is aimed to facilitate access to high demand, high success courses as part of the continuing effort to provide students with access to the courses needed to expedite graduation.

The CSU Fully Online program offers courses from each of the 23 system campuses in a variety of disciplines to accommodate the needs of current CSU students. Credit earned at the host campus is electronically reported to the student’s home campus to be included on the student’s transcript at the home campus.

Eligibility

To participate, undergraduates must have:

  • Completed at least one term at Cal State San Marcos and earned at least 12 units as a matriculated student*.
  • Attained a grade point average of 2.0 in all work completed at Cal State San Marcos and is in good standing.
  • Enrolled at Cal State San Marcos during the period of concurrent enrollment.
  • Paid tuition and fees as a full-time student (6.1 or more units).

*New transfer students may enroll in classes their first term, as long as they are enrolled and pay tuition and fees as a full time student. 

Available Courses

View current course offerings on the California State University website. Access to enroll in CSU Fully Online for Fall 2025 begins on July 1, 2025 for CSUSM students, and is available through August 29, 2025. 

Before enrolling in an online course at another CSU, you should consult with your academic advisor to determine how the course may apply to your degree. For more information and enrollment dates visit CSU Fully Online.

FAQs

Show All
  • How do I enroll in a CSU Fully Online course?

    Visit your Student Center in MyCSUSM and select the "Enroll in CSU Fully Online" link.

    • The link is available beginning the first day of CSU Fully Online enrollment (see date above)
    • The link is no longer available when enrollment closes, the end of the first week of the semester.

     

    After you've been enrolled in a CSU Fully Online course by the host campus, you should see the following CSUSM 'placeholder' in your schedule:

    CM 100 Enrolled in CSU Fully Online

    At the end of the semester, the host campus will automatically report your grade to CSUSM as a transfer credit, and the course and grade will appear in your academic record. Then the CM 100 placeholder class will be removed from your schedule and replaced with the actual CSU Fully Online course.

    *Please note that upper division courses and courses worth more than 3 credits will have the same placeholder (CM 100).

  • Can I take two separate classes at two separate CSUs?
    No. CSU Fully Online enrollment is limited to one course per student, per term.
  • Can I take a course at a CSU campus that is on the quarter system?
    No. If your home campus is a semester campus, you are limited to course offerings at other semester campuses.
  • Do I need to pay additional fees for a CSU Fully Online course?

    You are responsible for:

    • Full-time tuition at your home campus or have enough Financial Aid to cover full-time (6.1 units or above) to participate.
    • If applicable, non-resident tuition and fees at the host campus
    • If applicable, course material or lab fees at the host campus
  • I am a part-time student (6.0 units or less). Can I participate in CSU Fully Online?
    No. Part-time students are not eligible.
  • Will the course I take through CSU Fully Online meet my major or gen. ed. requirements?

    Courses taken through CSU Fully Online will transfer as at least elective credit. Consult the Transfer Evaluation System (TES) website to find out what requirement the course will meet. If courses do not transfer as expected, students should work with the academic advisor for the classes to meet specific major, minor, lower or upper division general education or graduation requirements at Cal State San Marcos.

    • Courses designated as meeting CSU General Education (GE) Area are equivalent to CSUSM GE
    • Courses taken merely to earn units (free electives) to help students meet the minimum overall unit requirement: There should be courses that you have not completed successfully already.
    • Courses that a student hopes may meet a major requirement: This will require the student to locate the course description and meet (or contact via email) with a faculty advisor to request a course substitution approval. Academic Advisors can provide guidance on the process.
    • Grades must post before records are updated to correctly reflect how these courses are displayed in your records and why "CM 100" will be reflected as a placeholder until such time.
  • What if the course I want to take through CSU Fully Online has prerequisites?
    Students are responsible for meeting the prerequisites for CSU Fully Online courses and should be prepared to provide documentation to the host campus as evidence of completing the prerequisites.
  • Do units taken through CSU Fully Online count toward my unit load for purposes of financial aid?
    Yes. Though students must be enrolled in at least 6.1 units at CSUSM in order to be eligible for CSU Fully Online, additional units completed through CSU Fully Online are included when determining full or part time status for purposes of financial aid.
  • How do I drop a CSU Fully Online course?
    In order to drop a course you must contact the host campus to process your request. CSUSM staff are unable to remove any CSU Fully Online courses. After you submit a drop request and the host campus confirms, the CM 100 placeholder will be removed from your schedule. You should verify your student portal to ensure the course has been dropped. If you encounter any issues with dropping the course, please contact the host campus.
  • Do I have to submit a transcript for my grades to be applied at CSUSM?
    No. Your grades will be transferred electronically to CSUSM from the host campus. 
  • If I want to only search for classes from a specific campus, how can I do that?

    Enter one of the following codes in the search:

    CSU Codes

    CSU CO School Code

    CSU CO Long Name

    5

    California State University, East Bay

    6

    California State University, Monterey Bay

    7

    California Maritime Academy

    10

    California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

    15

    California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

    20

    California State University, Chico

    25

    California State University, Fresno

    30

    Humboldt State University

    35

    California State University, Bakersfield

    40

    California State University, Long Beach

    45

    California State University, Los Angeles

    50

    California State University, Fullerton

    55

    California State University, Dominguez Hills

    60

    Sacramento State University, Sacramento

    63

    California State University, San Bernardino

    65

    San Diego State University

    68

    California State University, San Marcos

    70

    California State University, Northridge

    73

    California State University, Channel Islands

    75

    San Francisco State University

    80

    San Jose State University

    85

    Sonoma State University

    90

    California State University, Stanislaus

Questions?

Email: registrar@csusm.edu or Call: (760) 750-4814.