Intended Audience: Students, Parents/Guardians, Schools
Section 21f of the State School Aid Act allows students in grades 6 through 12 who are enrolled in a Michigan public local district or public school academy (not including full-time cyber schools) to take up to two online courses per academic term with consent from their parent or guardian. Consent of the parent or legal guardian is not required if the student is at least age 18 or is an emancipated minor. Information about Michigan online learning options can be found at Michigan's Online Learning Law (21f).
The site is populated with course titles and syllabi submitted by local school districts, intermediate school districts and Michigan Virtual. Course syllabi include information such as course descriptions, course outlines, price and more.
Michigan’s Online Course Catalog allows visitors to search through online course offerings without needing to register for an account. Two different search options are provided:
- Local District Catalog Search
Use the search functionality to explore the online course titles available from a particular district, as well as titles from other providers that the district has identified for its students. - Statewide Catalog Search
Use this search functionality to browse the online course titles available to students attending any qualifying Michigan public school.
The site is intended to be a general source of information for parents, students, and schools to provide them with the information needed to make enrollment decisions. The National Standards for Quality Online Learning (NSQOL), overseen by the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA), Quality Matters (QM), and the Digital Learning Collaborative (DLC) provide research-based best practices for online teaching, online programs, and online course design. The standards provide a useful benchmark for evaluating the quality of online courses and provide guidance on indicators of quality online programs. Michigan Virtual offers free online courses for those looking to learn more about NSQOL.
Parents and students can use Michigan’s Online Course Catalog to locate courses, but should not enroll students into courses themselves. Enrollment in online courses does not occur through the website. Instead, each course syllabus includes the contact information for enrolling in the online course. In order to ensure the online courses are paid for and recognized by the local school district, enrollment should be handled by the local school.
The Consumer Awareness resource is designed to inform Michigan parents, school personnel, and school board members of the nature of online learning options, their effectiveness for Michigan students, the costs of these programs, and current trends. It is updated twice each year in compliance with Section 98 of the State School Aid Act. It includes data on areas such as the school districts offering online courses, the distribution of courses by ISD, PSA, LEA, and the Michigan Virtual School, and who is providing the content and the instructor.
Michigan Virtual is committed to maintaining an accessible website. Information can be found on our Web Accessibility Policy page.