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Take a Course as a Group

Which Courses can you take as a Group?

Self-Study Courses
Currently, Summit University offers eight Self-Study Courses that you can find here. Courses are offered for a specific period of time, which is six months for groups for Full Self-Study Courses and six months for the Alchemy 1 and Adeptship courses. However, within those time frames, groups have the freedom to set their own course schedules with participants.

Academic Courses for Audit
Summit University welcomes group participation in most of its online academic courses open to the general public. This participation is on an audit-only basis. Students of groups auditing an academic course are not required to complete assignments or take exams. Their course work is not graded and textbooks are optional. No Certificate of Completion and no credits are awarded for auditing courses.  For more information, read our Group Academic Courses for Audit Policy or our Auditing Courses page that includes a video explanation.

How to Take a Course as a Group?

Occasionally Summit University receives requests from groups of people who would like to take an online course together, as opposed to individually. This may especially be the case for groups in other countries where the majority of the members do not speak English fluently (the only language in which our online courses are currently offered) or several members of the group do not have a computer. This is possible and very easy to do by following the steps below. 

Steps for Taking a Group Course

1. Select a facilitator for your group. This person will be responsible for:

        • Collecting group member information, contacting the SU Registrar to register the group and set up a group account username/password, and collecting the money, 
        • Accessing the online course content and sharing it with the group, 
        • Organizing the translation of worksheets (if necessary) and 
        • Communicating with the course instructor on behalf of the group if questions come up.

2. The group facilitator needs to sign and submit the Group Facilitator Agreement [PDF] to the SU Registrar at  registrar@SummitUniversity.org.

3. Work with your facilitator to register and pay for the course as a group using the Group Registration Form [PDF]. Submit this form to the SU Registrar at registrar@summituniversity.org who will then provide instructions on how to pay. 

4. Once your group has registered and the group members have paid for the course, your facilitator will provide the group account login information that anyone in the group can use to access course material.

5. Begin moving through the course together. You will have six months to complete the course.

Ideas for Group Study

Each course is 6-7 units long and each unit can be completed in approximately 2-4 hours. If a group chose to meet once a month for about two hours at a time to study the material, they would be able to complete the course easily within the one-year group enrollment period.

Here are a few ideas for ways to study the material together in a group setting:

    • Listen to the lecture excerpts together and then discuss the Forum Discussion questions as a group.
    • Practice the suggested spiritual exercises and meditations together.
    • Assign readings or lecture excerpts as homework, or work through all of the online material together.
    • Where applicable, try putting the spiritual techniques that you learn into practice in between meetings and then share success stories and learning experiences with the group in subsequent meetings.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why does everyone who participates in the group have to pay $50 if the group is only given one online course username/password combination? 
An SU online course is similar to an SU seminar. It is designed to be a transformative learning experience that each individual in the group is purchasing. Like a book group where each individual would be asked to purchase the books being read, we are asking each participant to pay a fee, which will grant them access to the course content and the SU experience. 

2. Can someone join the group part way through the course? 
Yes!  Individuals are welcome to join the group at a later point, however it is up to the group facilitator to help these individuals catch up on the course work that they missed. This can be done simply by sharing the group username/password with the new group member so that he or she can access the previously covered online material.  Students joining the group should work with the group facilitator to register and pay for the course through the SU Registrar using a new copy of the Group Registration Form. 

3. If I drop out part way through the course, can I get my money back? 
No. The $50 fee is a non-refundable purchase. 

4. What if I can’t complete the course with the group?  Can I get an individual extension? 
No, you cannot receive an individual extension under the group account course login. Each group will be given six months to complete their course. If you are unable to complete the course with your group, we suggest that you purchase a three-month online course extension for yourself as an individual. For $75, you will receive access to the online course for three months from date of purchase. Contact the SU Registrar at registrar@summituniversity.org to add this three-month extension for the extension course to your individual student account.

5. What if the group can’t complete the course in six months? Can the group get an extension?
Yes, the group can request an extension for $10/person/month. For example, a group of 10 people that would like a two-month extension would pay $100/month, or $200 total, for the extension. To request a group extension, contact the SU Registrar (registrar@summituniversity.org).

    For more information, read our Online Self-Study Course Group Policy.