CSU Offices are closed from November 23-December 1st for Thanksgiving BreakCSU Offices are closed from November 23-December 1st for Thanksgiving Break
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Green School is an online certification program offered through CSU Extension that offers several options for learners to choose from. Green School options include a certifying FULL PROGRAM offered once per year and multiple SHORT COURSE options open throughout the year to meet anyone’s needs. Regardless of the course, you’ll learn current, science-based gardening information provided by CSU Extension horticulture experts. Additionally, CSU offers Certified Gardener Online for those not in Colorado or who just want to take a couple online gardening classes.
There are significant differences between our gardening programs and you should carefully choose what works best for you:
All who complete the Green School Full Program course requirements will earn a Certified Colorado Gardener certificate. Colorado Master Gardeners are volunteers who have applied through their local/county CSU Extension office, have been accepted into the county Master Gardener program, and who have successfully completed the Green School Full Course requirements. Not all counties in Colorado offer Master Gardener programs, but anyone with an interest in learning about gardening can participate in Green School. Green School Full Course is the same training for both Certified Colorado Gardeners and Colorado Master Gardeners. Colorado Master Gardeners have additional requirements including actively volunteering in their communities.
There are no prerequisites for CSU Green School. You just need reliable internet and a computer, tablet or smart phone to access courses. To access Green School trainings as a Colorado Master Gardener apprentice, you will need to apply and complete the required interview and background check. Once accepted, you’ll be given access to register and pay for Green School as a volunteer.
The Green School program and courses are offered through the Office of Engagement & Extension at Colorado State University, an accredited institution, which ensures that the course/program has gone through a comprehensive process that evaluates content quality. Our courses are all developed by faculty, staff and specialists employed by CSU and all course content is peer-reviewed. However, our noncredit programming is not accredited separately from the University accreditation.
You can find out more about this process at ColoradoMasterGardener.org. Click on “About” and then “Become a Master Gardener.” If you’d like to find out more about your local county program, contact information is listed on the website.
We regularly have folks that complete the Certified Colorado Gardener program and then at a later date apply for the CMG program in their local county. This is an option within 3 years of successfully completing the Certified Colorado Gardener (Green School) training. We do not provide refunds for the price difference if you choose to become a CMG later, but you will have free access to re-take all online training classes if desired. Additionally, we offer continuing education classes to all CMG volunteers annually, both at the state and local level.
Each Short Course includes five lessons. We have four different options:
For instance, the ‘Growing Food’ course gives you access to five lessons (soils, vegetables, small fruits, tree fruits, and entomology). All courses are self-paced and you have access to the courses for one year.
No. We cannot offer customized lesson bundles. You are welcome to registered for two or more Short Courses, but please know that some overlap content (for instance, the Soils class in offered in all four Short Courses). If many Short Courses (and lessons) interest you, you’re better off registering for Green School Full Program, so you have access to all 14 lessons. You will earn a certificate of completion for each Short Course you complete, but you cannot earn a Certified Colorado Gardener certificate by completing Short Courses.
Yes! CSU has excellent horticulture academic programs, including three online programs:
We subsidize the price of Green School training for our CMG volunteers, since they’ll be required to provide 50 hours of service in their first year following training. If a volunteer does not complete their service hours, they are billed $15/hour up to $345. We know many people cannot commit to volunteer service, so we offer Green School to non-volunteers at a non-subsidized rate of $545.
Yes! We offer need-based scholarships both for Colorado Master Gardener and the Green School Full Program. Both are eligible for a 50% discount on training but are subject to availability and are only offered to those who apply by the deadline. CSU employees and county employees are automatically eligible for a 50% discount.
No. Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds. Please ensure you’re prepared to commit to the program before registering and paying.
The GI Bill only applies to academic credit courses. Green School is a non-credit program. Students have inquired about military discounts for noncredit courses in the past, but unfortunately, we’ve never offered any special tuition rates for the military. If you have another sponsoring source (employer, partner/family member, AmeriCorps, etc.) we can accept sponsored payments. Please contact greenschool@colostate.edu for information.
We have limited options for gifting registration but will try to work with you. Please contact us at greenschool@colostate.edu to learn more.
Our standard payment process during registration is using a credit card. If you need to pay with a check, you can start your online registration and mail a check (payable to: “Colorado State University”) to:
Colorado State University Online
Division of Continuing Education
Colorado State University
1040 Campus Delivery
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1040
Your registration will be in pending registration status until the check is received. Once processed, you’ll receive the Canvas login information via email with instructions on how to access your course(s).
The detailed schedule can be downloaded from CertifiedColoradoGardener.org
We have a clear start and end date on our schedule but you’ll note the last month of classes are all optional plus we’ve got a couple “off/break” weeks included in the schedule to keep everyone on-track. Our goal is for you to be successful and learn as much as possible.
The first week of class provides an overview of the course, requirements, how to access/complete online classes AND an introduction to CSU Extension. We strongly recommend scheduling time to complete online trainings and weekly live class reviews. Weekly reviews are recorded and posted promptly if your schedule doesn’t align – it’s OK.
Most classes require up 4-6 hours to complete. The first month contains the longest classes (soils, botany, & trees) in terms of reading and online class content. To support students, we have several “off or catch-up” weeks scheduled to help you ease into the swing of things and have some breaks.
It might also be helpful to know that you’ll have access to all classes and course recordings for a full year.
Following online classes, we offer two sessions for students to join us online for a live class review including Q&A with a subject-matter expert. These are offered Wednesday evenings and Thursday mornings – students are only expected to attend ONE of the sessions. A recording will be available if you have to miss and a complete Q&A document is provided for most sessions.
No need to dress up or worry about camera and microphone technology – we don’t allow students to share video because we’ve found it to be distracting and sometimes difficult to manage. Instead, we utilize the Q&A feature in Zoom as well as the Chat box to connect.
We also don’t take role. These live sessions are highly encouraged – but optional to attend live. You can always watch the recordings.
You’ll have access to individual courses for one year from the time you enroll. The Full Program and review sessions occur from November to March. You’ll have access to Full Program course content until March of the following year.
You’ll have unlimited time to complete 50 multiple choice questions. We recommend completing the test in one sitting – but you can leave and come back to the final in multiple sessions. It is open book, open note and researching is encouraged. You have ONE try and you must pass with a 70% or better to earn your certificate. Since the test is open-book, open-note and researching is encouraged, we feel this is very fair.
To obtain certification, trainees in the full course must complete 8 online classes and pass the comprehensive final (open-book, research encouraged) with a 70% or better.
Upon completion of the course, you’ll receive a Colorado Gardener Certificate. However, because there is no subsequent volunteer commitment, participants do not become Colorado State Extension Master Gardeners. The title of ‘CSU Extension Master Gardener’ is a federally registered mark and only to be used for CSU Extension events and purposes.
The Colorado Gardener Certificate may be displayed in a place of business and used in business marketing.
Short Course participants will receive a Certificate of Completion for the specified short course. All courses must be completed to earn this certificate.
While we can’t transfer you to the next semester, you do have access to all of the curriculum, online courses and ALL recordings for a full year. This means, you can catch-up and watch everything within one year of starting. AND if you have questions along the way, you can still contact any instructor listed in Canvas by subject/course.
Oh yes! We’ve got so much information and many excellent resources that will be shared as we go through the course. Here are a few available for free: