Northern Star Online

A public school partnership leading the way in online education

  • Home
    • About Us
    • Our Mission
    • Contact Us
    • What’s New?
  • Online Courses
    • NSO Term Schedule
    • Course List – School Year
    • Course List – Summer
    • Course Catalog
  • Preparation
    • Students & Parents
    • Hardware and Software
  • Registration
    • New students
    • Returning students
    • Enrollment Change Process
    • Withdrawal
      • Requests to Withdraw
      • Administrative Withdrawal
      • Reinstatemement
  • Support
    • Grades and Progress Reporting
      • Progress Reporting
      • Final Grades
      • Extensions and incompletes
    • Parent Resources
    • Counselor Resources
      • Counselor Resources for Printing
  • Equity
  • FAQ
    • NCAA Eligibility
  • Contact Us

Online Learning Funding

Funding is Based on Enrollment Type:

  • School year courses are state funded under most circumstances.
  • Summer courses are primarily tuition-based, unless students qualify for Independent Study.

School Year Enrollment Types

Replacing a Course Within the School Day?

  • State funded for public school student: Supplemental (SU)
  • When requesting, choose “SU: I am a public School student and this course work will substitute for a class period in my regular schedule.”

Adding a Course Beyond a Full Load?

  • State-funded through Independent Study (IS) only for students who qualify under at-risk graduation incentives (See Independent Study & Graduation Incentives information below).
  • When requesting, choose “IS: I meet the criteria for at-risk graduation incentives and will take the course IN ADDITION TO A FULL SCHEDULE at School through independent Study (counselor must verify).”

Tuition Required for All Others

  • $395 per semester credit
  • $275 per trimester credit
  • $200 per quarter credit
  • When requesting, choose “TU: This course work is being taken in addition to a full load at School and I agree to pay the tuition.”
  • Payment will be made through Genius SIS: Instructions will be emailed once the student is enrolled into the course.

Summer Enrollment Types

Independent Study

  • State funded through Independent Study only for students who qualify under at-risk graduation incentives (See further Independent Study & Graduation Incentives information below).
  • When registering, choose “IS: I meet the criteria for at-risk graduation incentives and will take the course IN ADDITION TO A FULL SCHEDULE at School through independent Study (counselor must verify).”

Tuition Required for All Others

  • $395 per semester credit
  • $275 per trimester credit
  • $200 per quarter credit
  • When requesting, choose “TU: his course work is being taken in addition to a full load at School and I agree to pay the tuition.”
  • Payment will be made through Genius SIS: Instructions will be emailed once the student is enrolled into the course.

More About Independent Study

State-funded only for students age 16-21 who qualify for Independent Study under at-risk graduation incentives.

Students who meet any one of the criteria listed below are eligible to take up to 2 semester credits per year beyond a full load through Independent Study.

However, a minimum of 20% contact time with a licensed teacher is required by the state to receive funding under this option (approximately 17 hours of per semester credit).

Please contact the NSO Advisor to determine enrollment and eligibility.

Graduation Incentives

In order to have online courses funded through Independent Study, a student must be under the age of 21 and meet one of the following criteria:

  1. Performs substantially below performance level on a local achievement test
  2. Is behind in satisfactorily completing course work or obtaining credits for graduation
  3. Is pregnant or a parent
  4. Has been assessed as chemically dependent
  5. Has been excluded or expelled
  6. Has been referred by a school district for enrollment in an eligible nontraditional program
  7. Has been physically or sexually abused
  8. Has experienced mental health problems
  9. Has been homeless sometime in the last 6 months
  10. Has limited English proficiency or speaks English as a second language
  11. Has been chronically truant or has withdrawn from school
  12. Is being treated in a hospital in the seven-county metropolitan area for cancer or other life threatening illnesses or is the sibling of the above scenario and resides at least 60 miles beyond the outside boundary of the seven-county metropolitan area.

Search this site…

What’s New?

Check out our new courses!


  • American Sign Language Register now, course starts Jan 25
  • EmpowerU: Resilience Skills Available now
  • Criminal Justice Internship Register now, course starts Jan 25

Quick Links

See Our Course Catalog

 Raymond-Fruseth-Gangstad_ccl_mod_2

Questions about Funding & Tuition?

gotcredit_ccl

Register for a Class

bastiaan_ccl_mod_2

Key NSO Links

Log in to Genius SIS:

Create a New Account in Genius SIS



Our Learning Management Systems:

Social Media

Check us out on Facebook!

logo with link to NSO Facebook page

Intermediate District 287

Intermediate District 287 is proud to provide Northern Star Online to Minnesota students on behalf of our consortium members:


Eden Prairie Public Schools | Edina Public Schools | Hopkins Online Academy
Minnetonka Public Schools | ISD 361 International Falls Public Schools | Northeast Metro 916
Richfield Public Schools | Saint Paul Public School | School District 112
SOCRATES (South Central Regional Area Telecommunications System) | TIES | Wayzata Public Schools


Copyright © 2021 · Intermediate District 287