Advising and Registration

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Advising

All UT students have an advising bar on their registration automatically placed by the UT Registrar. In order to register, you must be advised by your faculty adviser and turn in the EDP Advising Form to have the advising bar removed. Your adviser will help you fill out the form during your advising session. Students must go over their Program of Work with the faculty adviser during the advising session, so be sure it is updated. After you turn in your form, the EDP registration staff person will remove your advising bar (or contact you with follow-up questions, if needed). 

Registration Bars

There are other kinds of registration bars placed on student records by various UT entitites. Students must clear any bars through the department that issued it. Bars will be listed on your Registration Info Sheet (RIS). Financial bars, in many cases, may be cleared by making payment online via your What I Owe page. For non-financial bars, you must contact the department listed on the bar details to have it cleared. Tip: Be sure to update your emergency contact information in UT Direct annually, as failure to do so may result in a registration bar from UT. 

Registration

You will register for each semester online through the Registration System online. You should plan to advise at the first opportunity and register early, as courses can fill and delaying may limit your ability to add courses. General registration access periods are available via the UT Academic Calendar online, and your exact/specific registration times are available via your Registration Info Sheet (RIS). You must register as soon as possible to ensure your seat in the class, as well as ensure the course is not cancelled due to low enrollment. If you wish to register for courses not on your Advising Form, you must notify your faculty adviser and the EDP registration staff person. For restricted out-of-department courses, you must contact that department for permission to add their class. If you have issues getting into any of your EDP classes, or have other registration issues not addressed on this page, contact Kim.

Dropping and Adding Courses

Students may drop or add courses (approved by their faculty adviser and with notification of EDP curriculum coordinator) through the online registration system during the first four class days of a long semester and the first two class days of summer sessions.  

During the fifth through twelfth class days of the long semesters, and the third and fourth day of summer sessions, the EDP curriculum coordinator can make adds and drops for students who have faculty adviser approval for the changes.  After this period, EDP staff no longer have access to the registration system and adds, drops, or changes to grading basis require special paperwork and permission.  See Late Registration section below for details on late registration and late drops. 

Check your registration carefully!  Graduate students are expected to ascertain they are in the correct classes. Please be sure to verify through the online registration system, and with the instructor on the first day of class, that you are registered for the correct course. Some courses have the same course numbers but different topics, slightly different names, identically-named undergraduate versions, etc. Students have received an F or NC (no credit) grade at the end of a semester after diligently attending class and completing assignments, but for the wrong class!  An F or NC grade cannot be changed except with approval of the Graduate Dean, which involves a petition process.

Late Registration

Late Adds

Late registration is a serious matter. Late fees can be substantial, and the amount of paperwork needed to late-register is cumbersome.

If you register late (or forget to pay for your classes on time and your courses have therefore been dropped by the Registrar), you must e-mail the EDP Graduate Coordinator the circumstances that led to your late registration. These circumstances will be reviewed by the EDP Graduate Adviser and, if there is still space available in the courses you need, the Graduate Adviser may decide to petition the Graduate Dean to allow you to register late. In this circumstance, you must (1) complete the Graduate School's Late Registration Form; (2) obtain the signature of the instructor(s); (3) obtain the EDP Graduate Adviser’s signature; (4) obtain a petition letter from the EDP Graduate Adviser; (5) take this paperwork to the Graduate Dean’s Office in the Main Building; and plan to spend some time in the Main Building offices to pay the tuition, fees, and late fees that same day. 

If you foresee issues making the tuition payment deadline (including problems getting financial aid applied), UT suggests taking out a UT tuition loan in order to pay on time as the interest rate of the loan is often considerably less than late registration fees.  

Late Drops

Graduate students may drop a class through the last class day of a semester, and the instructor will assign a symbol of Q (Quit) or F (Fail).  The form you need to late-drop a class can be obtained from the Graduate Coordinator.  Because the form requires the signatures of the Graduate Adviser, it is best to decide to drop a course prior to the last week of classes.  

More information about Add/Drop deadlines and policies via the Graduate School.  

Continuous Registration

All students are expected to register and pay tuition and fees by the appropriate deadlines until graduation (this continuous registration rule does not apply to summer sessions).  

Full-Time Course Load

Full-time status is necessary to receive most University fellowships, reside in University housing, and be employed for an academic appointment (Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Assistant Instructor, etc.).  Full-time student status is typically required for visa permits for international students (until candidacy), and is frequently required for student loans or deferment of existing loans (check the Office of Student Financial Services or your lender).  Full-time registration in the summer, for the purposes of having an academic appointment (TA, RA, AI, etc.) is three hours (either summer session).

Maximum Course Load

The maximum course load for a graduate student during long semesters is 15 hours; 12 hours for the summer session.  A heavier course load must have the recommendation of the Graduate Adviser and approval of the Graduate Dean.  Approval is granted only under certain circumstances.  Contact the EDP Graduate Coordinator if you need to take more than the maximum number of hours.

Leave of Absence

Typically, a graduate student may apply for a leave of absence of no more than two long semesters.  Requests for a leave of absence must be recommended by your faculty adviser to your area's Program Director, who will email a leave of absence request to the Graduate Adviser (including details regarding duration and reason for the leave), who will notify the Dean of Graduate Studies. 

If a student has been admitted to candidacy for a doctoral degree, the GSC Executive Committee and Dean of Graduate Studies must also approve a leave of absence.  The Dean of Graduate Studies approves such leaves of absence only in rare and unusual circumstances.  In-candidacy students who leave the University without an approved leave of absence must reapply for admission and, if admitted, must pay for all semesters of dissertation missed during the leave.

Paperwork must be in the Graduate School office no later than a week prior to the beginning of classes or the student will have to pay the regular readmission application fee.  

A student on leave of absence may not use University facilities or receive advice from any member of the faculty.  A student who is on leave of absence (or not registered for some other reason) cannot gather data for research.

Federal Financial Aid

All students receiving federal financial aid are subject to the "excessive hours" limitations of the Office of Student Financial Services.  A Satisfactory Progress Appeal form must be filed and approved in order for you to receive federal financial assistance if you exceed 40 hours for a master's degree, or 160 hours for doctoral degree (without a master's) and 140 hours for a doctoral degree (with a master's - even if the master's degree is from another university, and regardless of how the degree was financed).  In addition, there is a maximum amount students may receive from federal financial aid.  You can find more complete information via UT Financial Services.

Academic Warning, Dismissal, and Termination

Registration in the Graduate School beyond the first semester or summer session depends on three factors:

1. satisfactory progress in absolving any admission conditions;
2. maintenance of a GPA of at least 3.0 in all graduate coursework; and 
3. approval of the student’s GSC.

A graduate student whose GPA falls below 3.0 will be warned by the Graduate School.  The student must attain a satisfactory GPA during the subsequent semester or be subject to termination.  The student may not drop a course or withdraw from a course during this period without approval of the Graduate Adviser and Graduate Dean.

Unless the course is only offered CR/NC, EDP students must pass all courses used to satisfy degree requirements with a letter grade of B- or better.  You don’t want to have to repeat a course, so make sure you are signed up for the correct grade status.

In general, if a student's performance is below the expectations of the area/program, either academically or behaviorally, the student can be placed on probation through written documentation outlining all the problems, the processes by which to be removed, and the deadlines by which the processes must be completed, as well as the final recourse should satisfactory progress not be achieved by the deadlines.

The GSC may recommend termination to the Dean of Graduate Studies if a student is not making satisfactory progress.  Again, contact your faculty adviser to learn what constitutes satisfactory academic progress in your area/program.  Students have the option to voluntarily withdraw from the doctoral program.