Undergraduate Policies and Procedures

Registration Policies

Classification of Students

Freshmen and sophomores are lower-level students. Juniors and seniors are upper-level students.

• Freshman: A student who has successfully completed fewer than 30 semester credit hours.
• Sophomore: A student who has successfully completed 30-53 semester credit hours.
• Junior: A student who has successfully completed 54-89 semester credit hours.
• Senior: A student who has successfully completed 90 or more semester credit hours.

Registration

Before registering for classes, all students entering a Texas university must receive a vaccination or booster (if the vaccination is five years old) against bacterial meningitis before enrollment in accordance with Texas Education Code, Section 51.9192 as of January 1, 2012. Entering students who are 22 years of age or older are exempt. Please contact the Office of the Registrar, 972-883-2342 or go to registrar.utdallas.edu for additional information.

Students may participate in a course only after officially registering and paying through the proper procedures. Students are not permitted to sit in classes without being officially enrolled or auditing the course. The Office of the Registrar officially notifies an instructor of the names of the students enrolled in a course utilizing the Orion class roster. Students will not receive credit for courses for which they are not registered.

Registration in UNIV 1010 is a University requirement for incoming freshmen. Registration in UNIV 2020 is also a University requirement for students, including transfer students, who complete their core curriculum at UT Dallas.

The University's goal is to encourage each student's success and timely graduation. A student's major, minor or concentration determines the ability to register in some upper-level courses. Please consult with your advisor.

Dates for Registration

Registration dates are listed online in the Academic Calendar or Comet Calendar. All dates and formal procedures for registration and late registration are listed at registrar.utdallas.edu/registration.

Continuing students will receive an enrollment appointment to register during the early registration period. Early registration helps to ensure enrollment in classes needed to fulfill degree requirements. All freshmen, undeclared continuing students, and students who changed their major must meet with their academic advisor prior to registering for classes.

Newly admitted students for the semester will have an opportunity to register at orientation. All newly admitted students must meet with their academic advisor prior to registering for classes.

In Absentia Registration

In absentia registration provides an opportunity for a degree candidate to register for the semester in which the degree is to be completed without taking formal coursework. In absentia registration is permissible for a degree candidate who is removing an incomplete grade (I) or for a degree candidate who has left the University and is transferring authorized and approved credit to qualify for completion of a degree. In absentia registration requires a nonrefundable/nontransferable fee.

Concurrent Enrollment at Other Public Institutions of Higher Education

A student should obtain prior written approval from their school to ensure that a course taken at another institution while the student is concurrently registered at The University of Texas at Dallas will count toward the student's degree.

In accordance to Texas Education Code, Section 54.011, when a student registers at more than one public institution of higher education at the same time, the student shall pay the full tuition charge to the first institution at which the student is registered.

If, at the time of registration, a student can produce evidence of having already paid his or her tuition at another public institution of higher education in Texas, the student should present a copy of the fee receipt from that institution to the Bursar Office. For more information about fees for students enrolled concurrently at two institutions, contact the Bursar Office at bursar.utdallas.edu.

Cooperative Agreements

A concurrent enrollment agreement is in place between The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas at Arlington, and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Branch. This agreement allows any student enrolled concurrently between these institutions to receive a waiver of certain fees. Students must be enrolled in at least one semester credit hour at their home institution to be considered concurrently enrolled. Students must apply for concurrent enrollment with The Office of the Registrar in the Student Services Building, first floor customer service area.

Visiting UT System Students Program

The Visiting UT System Students Program is designed to allow upper-level and graduate or professional students enrolled in an institution of the UT System to take courses or engage in research at another institution within the UT System during a regular semester or summer session. Each campus must appoint an individual designated to coordinate the visiting student program at both the home and host institutions. Every campus has the responsibility to determine the academic qualifications necessary for their students to participate in the visiting program. Approval of a student's proposed visitation will be contingent upon space and desired courses being readily available in the proposed visitation program and, for participation in a research laboratory, upon approval of the director of the laboratory (Regent's Rules 50701).

Deadlines for Adding or Dropping a Class

NOTE: Students should retain copies of all add and drop forms for at least one year following the end of the semester in which the student initiates a drop or add course action.

Deadlines vary during the shorter summer sessions. It is the student's responsibility to review the Comet Calendar or the online Academic Calendar for specific summer deadlines.

Deadlines for dropping a course are based upon the course and not the student. For example, when an undergraduate student takes a graduate course, the drop procedures for graduate courses take effect.

Add

Beginning the first (1st) day of class through the sixth (6th) class day, students may add a class without the instructor's or advisor's signature. However, students in the following categories must still meet with an academic advisor before adding classes:

• Students newly admitted to The University of Texas at Dallas (including transfer students and freshmen),
• Students without declared majors and those students who are not in good academic standing. Please see the Comet Calendar's academic section for specific deadlines.

Drop

Courses dropped on or before Census Day will not appear on the student's transcript.

Students may drop a class without any permission required until the end of business on Census Day.

After Census Day, permissions to drop are required from the school or college in which the student is admitted.

W Period

Through the sixth (6th) class week of a long semester, students may withdraw from courses by completing a drop form and having it signed by their academic advisor. A grade of 'W' (withdrawn from course) will appear on the student's transcript.

WL Period

During the seventh (7th) through ninth (9th) class weeks of a long semester, students who submit a completed drop form will receive a grade of 'WL' (withdrawn late). The student must obtain the advisor's signature on the form.

After the ninth (9th) class week of a long semester, a student may only withdraw from a class for non-academic reasons.

Dropping and Withdrawing

The University makes a distinction between dropping a class prior to the 12th class day (Census Day - Fall/Spring), an academic action that is not posted to the student's permanent record, and withdrawing from a class (following Census Day) at which point the academic action becomes a part of the student's transcript.

6-Withdrawal Rule

Texas law mandates that a student who enrolls in a Texas public institution as a first-time freshman in fall 2007 or later, not be allowed to withdraw from more than six courses over his or her entire undergraduate career including all courses taken at any Texas public institution of higher education. Legislatively-mandated reasons for withdrawing from a class that do not count toward the 6-Withdrawal limit include, among others, a severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student's ability to complete the course; the student's need to care for a sick, injured, or needy person if the care affects the student's ability to complete the course; the death of the student's family member or of a person considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student; the active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United States of the student, a family member, or a person considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student; or a change in the student's work schedule that is beyond the control of the student and that affects the student's ability to complete the course.

The University has an appeal process by which students can request exemption for a specific withdraw (See "Non-Academic Withdrawals"). Students should contact the Office of Undergraduate Education for more information.

As always, students may drop classes without penalty prior to the 12th class day (Census Day) in any semester.

Students who drop all courses in a given semester must officially withdraw from the University. (See "Withdrawal/Resignation from the University).

Students who habitually drop a significant fraction of their schedules may lose the right to drop or may be dismissed from the University for failure to make adequate academic progress (See "Academic Progress").

Administrative Drop

An administrative drop may occur due to the following reasons:

• The student has not satisfied the prerequisites for the course.
• The student has not satisfied probationary requirements resulting in suspension.
• Office of Community Standards and Conduct request.
• The student has not made appropriate tuition and fee payments.
• The student's enrollment is in violation of academic policy.
• The student was not admitted for the term in which they registered.

Drop Appeal Procedures

Students, who believe they have dropped a course, but receive a grade for that course at the end of the semester, have one calendar year in which to provide documented proof of the processed drop to the Dean of Undergraduate Education to appeal the posted grade.

Non-Academic Withdrawals

To withdraw for non-academic reasons, students must complete a written petition detailing the nature of the request and include supporting documentation. Grounds on which such requests may be granted include, but are not limited to, documented serious medical conditions and exigent family circumstances.

Non-academic withdrawal petitions are best submitted during the current semester (including summer). However students may petition for non-academic withdraw up to 5 years following the semester requested. Non-academic withdrawal petitions are to be obtained from the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education's Office. The Associate Dean will distribute the petition to the Associate Dean of the School housing the student for review and advice. Once the advice is submitted, the Office of Undergraduate Education will distribute the petition to the Advising Director's committee whose members will review the petition and either approve or deny the request to withdraw. Members of the committee from the School of the student petitioning will not review that student's petition. The Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education will inform the student of the outcome.

NOTE: It is extremely important that students petitioning to withdraw for non-academic reasons continue to attend and participate in classes, if possible, until the petition request is resolved. If the petition is approved, the student will receive a withdrawal designation commensurate with the request (see "Grading Scale" in "Academic Policies and Procedures") for the course. If the petition is denied, the student will receive the grade earned in the course.

In general, a request for non-academic withdrawal must apply to all courses in which a student is enrolled. Upon approval of a non-academic withdrawal, selective withdrawal will be permitted only under exceptional circumstances and by appeal to the Dean of Undergraduate Education. Appeal for selective withdrawal is obtained at the same time as the petition for non-academic withdrawal. The appeal should document the reason(s) the course(s) to selectively withdraw are substantively different than those to retain. Documentation supporting the reason(s) must also be included in the appeal. Grounds on which such requests may be granted include, but are not limited to, documented instructor willingness to accommodate student need and documented timing of the non-academic withdrawal event occurring after the conclusion of the course but prior to semester's end. Students should seek the assistance of their academic advisor as necessary when collecting documentation. The Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education will submit the appeal and petition to the Associate Dean of the appropriate School for review and advice as indicated above. The Undergraduate Dean's decision regarding selective course retention is final.

30 Day-Appeal of a Denied Petition for Non-Academic Withdrawal

Students whose non-academic withdrawal petitions are denied may appeal in writing to the Office of Undergraduate Education. All appeals will go to the Dean of Undergraduate Education for review. Students shall have no more than 30 business days after the non-academic withdrawal denial notification is sent to submit the appeal. No requests for extension will be approved. The Dean's decision shall be final.

Repeated Non-Academic Withdrawal

Because the grounds for an approved non-academic withdrawal are severe and outside of the student's control, the University is sensitive to such students' unique needs. Students approved for non-academic withdrawal in consecutive semesters will be automatically reviewed for adequate academic progress by the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education. As timely graduation is beneficial any student's record may be referred to the Undergraduate Associate Dean of that student's School for further review. The School Associate Dean may contact the student should there be suggestions for improving the student's academic progress and timely graduation as well as to advise the student of the requirements to maintain adequate academic progress.

Withdrawal/Resignation from the University

A student who wishes to withdraw entirely from the University must obtain a "Registration, Drop/Add and Withdrawal Form" at registrar.utdallas.edu/forms. The student must complete the appropriate section of the form to withdraw from the University. The student submits the completed "Registration, Drop/Add and Withdrawal Form" in person to the Office of the Registrar in the Student Services Building, first floor customer service area. Students must withdraw on or before the last 'WL' withdrawal day for that semester.

Refunds Following Withdrawal

Any refund of tuition and/or fees will follow the University's Refund Policy for Withdrawal or Dropped Courses at the time of the effective date of the withdrawal.