Students in the California State University system can count on graduating early, or on time, thanks to a host of free online courses that are available.

CSU Fully Online offers free online courses for students from any of the 23 statewide campuses. Students are allowed one free course online each semester with no additional cost to their tuition.

The free course program has been available for a couple of years in order to assist students at a CSU campus to complete their degrees in a more timely fashion, according to Ellen Klute, associate registrar at the office of the university registrar.

“The thought is that once the students at an institution have registered for their classes online and if there is still space, other students from other CSUs can enroll on a space-available basis,” Klute said.

Students can complete the classes to fulfill general education requirements or requirements within their majors. There are thousands of courses available.

Course offerings by campus varies and depends on the campus, according to Klute.

Fresno State offers a few hundred fully online courses, with the number of courses increasing each semester. This year, there are three times as many students taking online classes from other institutions than last fall 2017.

The Office of the University Registrar encourages matriculated students to register for online courses, but also reminds them of the challenges that come with the online classroom setting.

Completing degree requirements is also a possibility for undergrad students according to Erica Lassen, who specializes in degree audit and articulation at the office of the university registrar.

“From an articulation perspective, I really encourage any student who is interested to meet with one of their academic advisors prior to registering,” Lassen said. “So they can look at their classes together and see if it’s likely to meet any of their degree requirements.”

The last day to register for CSU Fully Online in the fall semester is Sept. 5th for Fresno State.