Student load
Fall/spring
Graduate students may schedule as many as 16 hours during any fall or spring term/semester. For the purpose of fulfilling the graduate residence requirement, a load of 9 graduate semester hours is considered to be a full load.
Graduate students enrolled only in undergraduate courses, for undergraduate credit, may request special consideration by the graduate dean.
Note: Special restrictions apply to the load permitted to graduate teaching fellows and teaching assistants. The total load of course enrollment and teaching assignment may not exceed 16 semester hours in any fall or spring term/semester. Approval of the graduate dean is required for loads in excess of this amount, but approval will not be granted for a combined load in excess of 18 semester hours.
Summer
A full-time graduate student with a GPA of at least 3.000 may select from sessions for a maximum of 18 hours. Constraints apply to graduate courses. Graduate students may schedule a maximum of 4 hours in a three week session (3W1), a maximum of 7 hours in each five week session (5W1, 5W2), a maximum of 9 hours in an eight week session (8W1), or a maximum of 9 hours in a ten week session (10W). At no time during concurrently running summer sessions can graduate student enrollment exceed 10 semester hours.
For purposes of fulfilling the graduate residence requirements, a load of 9 graduate semester hours is considered a full load.
Graduate students enrolled only in undergraduate courses may request special consideration from the graduate dean.
Overload
A graduate student can request an overload of the maximum number of hours allowed in a term/semester through the Toulouse Graduate School. All requests are reviewed and the student notified of the status of their request prior to the end of registration for a term/semester.
Enrollment certification
Enrollment verification and loan deferments are completed in the Registrar’s Office based upon a student having registered and paid tuition and fees according to the following criteria. See “Special Conditions for Financial Aid Recipients ” in the Financial Information section of this catalog for loan deferment requirements.
Undergraduate
Full Time: fall, spring or summer terms/semesters, 12 or more hours.
Three-Quarter Time: fall, spring or summer terms/semesters, 9 to 11 hours.
Half Time: fall, spring or summer terms/semesters, 6 to 8 hours.
Graduate
Full Time: fall, spring or summer terms/semesters, 9 or more hours.
Three-Quarter Time: fall, spring or summer terms/semesters, 6 to 8 hours.
Half Time: fall, spring or summer terms/semesters, 5 hours.
Extension courses are considered non-traditional credit and are excluded for certification purposes.
International students also may request International Advising (Sycamore Hall, second floor) to issue letters of enrollment for the use of foreign governments, embassies, scholarship agencies and banks.
Auditing
With the written permission of the department chair and the dean of the college or school in which the course is taught, an individual fully eligible to enroll in the university may attend a class as an auditor without receiving college credit. The auditor’s name will not be entered on the class roll, and the instructor will not accept any papers, tests or examinations from the auditor.
Attendance as an auditor may not be made the basis of a claim for credit in the course. Only one audit fee is required per term/semester regardless of the number of courses audited. Tuition and fees information is available online at www.unt.edu/tuition.
Permission forms for auditors are not available during the official registration period, but may be requested in the offices of the academic deans after classes begin.
A person 65 years of age or older may enroll as an auditor and observer without credit and without payment of a fee, if space is available and if approved by the department chair and the appropriate dean. Such enrollment entitles the person to library privileges, but not to instruction in applied music or physical education, the use of laboratory equipment and supplies, or admission to university-sponsored fine arts events.
Registration
All registration and student requested schedule changes are conducted via web registration at my.unt.edu. Specific information and instructions as well as dates are found online at www.unt.edu/registrar and at my.unt.edu.
Late registration
Students who did not enroll during the official registration periods must pay an additional fee to enroll late. Refer to www.unt.edu/registrar for late registration information.
Concurrent enrollment at another institution
Graduate students must secure written permission from the graduate dean before registering for any course or courses at another institution while registered for any courses at UNT. (Exception: Enrollment at UNT for courses offered by Texas A&M–Commerce or Texas Woman’s University under the cooperative enrollment program of the Federation of North Texas Area Universities is not considered to be concurrent enrollment.)
Failure to secure the required permission for concurrent enrollment prior to registration at the second institution may cause UNT to refuse degree credit for the work taken elsewhere. In no case may the combined total of semester hours enrolled for at the two institutions exceed the maximum load permitted to graduate students at UNT.
Federation of North Texas Area Universities enrollment
Under arrangements agreed upon by the members of the Federation of North Texas Area Universities (University of North Texas, Texas A&M University–Commerce [TAMU–C] and Texas Woman’s University [TWU]), graduate students in specified degree programs offered jointly by the members of the federation may enroll at their home institution for graduate courses offered by the other two universities. To be eligible for cross-registration at either of the other two universities, students must be admitted to a degree program or be working on a certification plan at the home institution. A list of jointly offered degree programs appears in The University section of this publication.
UNT graduate students who have been admitted to a jointly offered degree program and who wish to enroll for graduate courses offered by one of the other universities should first secure their major advisor’s approval of registration for a specific course or courses. Students register at UNT for the desired TAMU–C or TWU courses under the appropriate UNT departmental prefix and course number 5900 or 5910 (for master’s-level courses) or 6900 or 6910 (for doctoral-level courses). Section numbers for such enrollment are 790 through 799. The course title appearing on the UNT academic transcript will be identical to that of the course as offered by the other institution. Class schedules for both TAMU–C and TWU may be consulted in the office of the graduate dean, UNT.
The registration procedure described above is available only to graduate students admitted to one of the degree programs jointly offered by the federation, and applies to graduate courses only.
Enrollment at the Universities Center at Dallas
Students enrolling for graduate (or upper division undergraduate) courses offered by the partner universities of the Universities Center at Dallas (UCD), a Multi-Institutional Teaching Center (MITC) located in downtown Dallas, may enroll at their home institution for courses offered by the other UCD universities. Enrollment is open to all UNT students, and students from area universities may also cross-register into courses offered at the UCD. For details, an application for admission and course offerings, call UCD at 214-915-1900 or visit the UCD web site at www.ucddowntown.org. UCD is located at 1901 Main St. in downtown Dallas.
Enrollment at the Collin Higher Education Center
In 2009 the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC), where UNT cooperates with Collin College and other universities in the offering of undergraduate and graduate courses and degrees. Enrollment is open to all UNT students.
The CHEC is located at 3452 Spur 399, McKinney, Texas 75059. For current information about the CHEC, call 972-599-3126, visit the CHEC web site at www.collin.edu/chec/, or call the UNT Office of Admissions at 940-565-2681.
UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth
UNT’s Health Science Center—Fort Worth’s medical school and more—is one of the nation’s distinguished graduate academic centers, dedicated to education, research, patient care and service. It comprises the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM), the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), the School of Public Health (SPH) and the School of Health Professions (SHP), which includes the departments of physician assistant studies and physical therapy.
In 1999, the UNT Health Science Center became part of the University of North Texas System. See the dedicated section later in this catalog.
Evening and Saturday classes
A large number of classes at the graduate level are scheduled for one three-hour meeting per week during the spring and fall terms/semesters, usually on Saturday morning or on a weekday evening. These classes carry residence credit, thus enabling many people in the Dallas–Fort Worth area to pursue graduate study while continuing their employment. Consult the online schedule of classes at www.unt.edu/registrar, available prior to spring and fall registration, for schedule details.
A few of these classes also are available during summer terms/sessions. Consult the online schedule of classes at www.unt.edu/registrar.
Off-campus courses
Many graduate courses for residence credit are available at various locations in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Registration procedures for off-campus residence courses are the same as for courses offered on the UNT campus. Initial application for admission to the Toulouse Graduate School must be submitted to the graduate dean’s office on the Denton campus. Information concerning specific off-campus courses is available prior to and during each registration period.
Students considering enrollment for courses at off-campus centers are reminded of the rule of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, that at least one-third of the semester hours required for any graduate degree from UNT must be completed in courses on the Denton campus.
Schedule changes
Adding courses
Graduate students must initiate all requests for adding courses in their academic department. Departmentally approved adds must then be delivered to the Toulouse Graduate School, ESSC Room 354, for final approval. Consult the online academic calendar for dates during which adds are allowed.
Dropping courses
Students who wish to drop a course before the 12th class day of fall or spring terms/semesters or before the equivalent dates for summer sessions may do so in the Registrar’s Office or at my.unt.edu. After the 12th class day for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions, students must first receive the written consent of their instructor prior to dropping a course. The instructor may withhold consent for students to drop for any reason provided the instructor has informed students in writing at the beginning of the term/semester. Students applying for financial aid are required to notify Student Financial Aid and Scholarships before dropping any class to learn how it will affect current or future financial aid eligibility.
The grade of W is recorded for any course dropped with the instructor’s consent prior to the end of the sixth week of classes for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions. After that time the student must have a passing grade for the instructor to assign a grade of W for a dropped course; otherwise, the grade WF is recorded.
Instructors may drop students with grades of WF from courses for non-attendance at any time after the completion of the sixth week of classes for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions. See “Class Attendance.”
No student may drop any course after the designated day of a given semester’s 10th week for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions.
Drop procedures must be completed by 5 p.m. on the deadline dates specified in the online academic calendar (at www.unt.edu/catalog). After these dates a student may not drop a course.
See the online schedule of classes at www.unt.edu/registrar for drop procedure and instructions.
Class attendance
Regular and punctual class attendance is expected. Although in general students are graded on intellectual effort and performance rather than attendance, absences may lower the student’s grade where class attendance and class participation are deemed essential by the faculty member. In those classes where attendance is considered as part of the grade, the instructor should so inform students at the semester’s beginning by a written notice. Any instructor who informs students in writing about the necessity of class attendance may request of the Registrar that a student be dropped from the course with a grade of WF upon the accumulation of the stated number of absences. Instructor drops for non-attendance may be processed up to two weeks prior to the first day of final examinations for fall or spring terms/semesters and equivalent dates for summer sessions. Refer to the Academic Calendar at www.unt.edu/catalog/calendar.htm for specific dates. Departments and similar academic units have authority to establish a department or course attendance policy, so long as the policy is in accord with the above stipulations.
If the instructor-initiated drop action falls within the time that the student is eligible to drop with instructor consent and without penalty, the Registrar’s Office notifies the student that a WF will be recorded unless the student initiates the drop procedure, in which case a W will be assigned.
Authorized absences
Absences due to participation in sponsored activities must be approved in advance by the department chair and academic dean. Within three days after the absence, students must obtain authorized absence cards from the Dean of Students Office for presentation to their instructors. Students with authorized absence cards may make up the work missed when practical or be given special allowance so they are not penalized for the absence.
Absence for religious holidays
In accordance with state law, students absent due to the observance of a religious holiday may take examinations or complete assignments scheduled for the day(s) missed, including those missed for travel, within a reasonable time after the absence. The student should notify the instructor of each class of the date of the anticipated absence as early in the term/semester as possible.
Only holidays or holy days observed by a religion for which the place of worship is exempt from property taxation under Section 11.20 of the Tax Code may be included. A student who is excused under this provision may not be penalized for the absence, but the instructor may respond appropriately if the student fails to satisfactorily complete the assignment or examination.
Students called to active duty
Texas Education Code 54.006(f) indicates, “Beginning with the summer semester of 1990, if a student withdraws from an institution of higher education because the student is called to active military service, the institution, at the student’s option, shall: (1) refund the tuition and fees paid by the student for the term/semester in which the student withdraws; (2) grant a student, who is eligible under the institution’s guidelines, an incomplete grade in all courses by designating ‘withdrawn-military’ on the student’s transcript; or (3) as determined by the instructor, assign an appropriate final grade or credit to a student who has satisfactorily completed a substantial amount of course work and who has demonstrated sufficient mastery of the course material.”
In order to be eligible for options under the law, a UNT student must produce a copy of his or her orders. Withdrawal may or may not require that the student talk with each instructor depending on the timing in the term/semester; however, the latter two options do require that the student talk with his or her instructors and come to a decision as to which solution is best for each class given the timing and circumstances. A student called to active duty may consider the following options:
- withdrawal for a full refund of appropriate tuition and fees;
- incomplete grades with the one-year I (Incomplete) removal time limit starting with the end of duty; and/or
- a final grade if the course is essentially over and the course material has been sufficiently mastered (determined by the instructor).
Withdrawal from UNT
A student may withdraw from UNT at any time prior to two weeks before the first day of final examinations for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions by making a request in the Dean of Students Office. For withdrawals processed prior to the end of the sixth week of classes for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions, the grade of W is recorded for each course in which a withdrawn student was enrolled. After the sixth week of classes for fall or spring terms/semesters or the equivalent dates for summer sessions, a withdrawn student receives grades of W only for those courses in which there were passing grades at the time of withdrawal; otherwise, the grade WF is recorded.
Official dates and deadlines for withdrawing are specified in the online academic calendar at www.unt.edu/catalog.
To receive a refund for a parking permit, a student must return the permit to Parking Services, located in the Highland Parking Garage.
Pre-finals week
So that students can more adequately prepare for their final examinations, special rules apply to the seven calendar days preceding the final week of each fall and spring term/semester.
During pre-finals week, student organizations do not meet; activities requiring student participation such as field trips, athletic events or performances by dance, drama or music ensembles, are not scheduled unless approved in advance by the appropriate dean or the Director of Athletics.
On the Friday of the week immediately preceding final exams (reading day), no classes are held.
Final examinations
Faculty members are expected to administer final examinations at the designated times during the exam week of each long semester and during the specified day of each summer session. Any deviation from the published schedule of final examinations must be approved in advance by the appropriate academic dean.
Students who have as many as three final examinations scheduled on one day may appeal to their academic dean to reschedule one of those examinations on another day during the final examination period.
Commencement exercises
Commencement exercises are held in December and May. Diplomas are mailed to candidates approximately eight weeks after graduation has been verified. |
