Policies & Procedures
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Add/Drop/Withdrawal
One-Time Q-Drop Policy
Repeting a Course
Grade Replacement
Academic Dishonesty
Change of Major
Concurrent/Dual Enrollment
Full-Time Student Status
Flat-Rate Tuition & Four-Year Graduation Rates
Incompletes (X’s)
Scholastic Probation
Grade Contract
Maximum Semester Hours
Dismissal
Testing
Transfer Courses
Tuition Rebate
Residency Requirements
E-Mail
ADD/DROP/WITHDRAWAL [top]
Natural Sciences uses the UT calendar for purposes of registration, adding and dropping courses, and withdrawing from the university.
The general schedule is as follows:
- Day 1 – 4, add via ROSE
- Day 5 – 12, add in the departments (at their discretion)
- Day 1 – 12, drop via ROSE
- Day 13 on, come to WCH 1.106
Dropping a class up to the 12th class day results in tuition money refunded if the drop is to a different level on the flat-rate tuition scale and classes do not appear on the permanent record. Not attending does not automatically drop you from classes or withdraw you from UT; you need to do that yourself through the CNS Dean’s Office. Always double-check your final schedule before the 12th class day.
Withdrawal from The University is done after a student has competed registration for a semester or summer session, and then decides not to attend any classes that semester or session.
After Day 12 transactions can be initiated in the CNS Dean’s Office (WCH 1.106) or in the student’s assigned major advising center.
On Days 13 - 20 students may drop for any reason by coming to WCH 1.106 or an assigned advising center. A “Q” appears on the record to indicate a drop with a passing grade and with no refund. This is considered to be “without a possible academic penalty.”
On Day 21 through the 10th week of classes (exact dates are on the university calendar in the Course Schedule), the instructor will assign a “Q” or “F” if you choose to drop a class, and if the instructor agrees to approve the drop. If the student has a grade of “C” or higher, a “Q” is assigned. If an “F” is assigned, the “F” will be on the record and is calculated into the GPA.
ROSE will not permit you to withdraw. You must do this in the CNS Dean’s Office. If it is not possible to come to the office, please call (512) 471-4536. During the first four weeks of class there is a pro-rated refund for withdrawing from school. A full refund, less $15.00, is ONLY given if a student withdraws prior to the first day of class. Failure to properly withdraw results in failing grades in all semester coursework. Leaving UT without a formal withdrawal is the same as failing all classes and has the same consequences.
After the final deadline, students may not drop or withdraw unless there are serious non-academic circumstances, which occurred after the Q/F deadline date. Appeals will only be considered for documented, non-academic reasons. Contact the CNS Dean’s Office, WCH 1.106, (512) 471-4536 for non-academic issues.
ONE TIME Q DROP POLICY FOR 1ST SEMESTER STUDENTS [top]
The College of Natural Sciences has a Q drop policy for first semester students at UT. First semester students are allowed to drop one course with a “Q”, after the Q/F drop deadline and prior to the last class day, if that class has a final scheduled during the final exam period. f the class does not have a final during that period, the drop request must be prior to final coursework and exams that complete the basis for a grade. Students who have a C or better in a course will NOT be allowed to drop. Students who do not have the drop request with the necessary signatures turned in by the deadline date, will NOT have the drop processed. For additional information, please see your academic advisor.
REPETITION OF A COURSE [top]
No student may enroll in any course offered in the College of Natural Sciences more than twice, even if the course is needed to meet degree requirements, without first obtaining the written consent of the major advisor and the department that offers the course; students in colleges other than the College of Natural Sciences need only departmental approval. A symbol of Q or W counts as enrollment in a course unless it has been approved by the Dean's office for nonacademic reasons. Some departments in the College of Natural Sciences may have additional restrictions for students who repeat courses.
GRADE REPLACEMENT [top]
There is no grade replacement policy at The University of Texas at Austin. If a student repeats a course, both grades will appear on the student’s transcript and both will be calculated into the student’s overall GPA,
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY [top]
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, using, buying, stealing, and/or divulging the contents of an examination, removing a test from the examination room, substituting for another person, having someone take a test for you, misplacing or damaging property of the University or destroying information so another student may not have materials, falsifying research data, misrepresenting facts including providing false grades or resumes, presenting someone else’s work as one’s own academic work and falsifying academic records. A full and comprehensive statement about what constitutes academic dishonesty can be found in Appendix C, section 11-802 in the General Information bulletin. The Student Judicial Services office in the Office of the Dean of Students has the responsibility for following up and making the final determination.
CHANGE OF MAJOR [top]
Students within the College of Natural Sciences may change their majors in WCH 1.106 or in the advising center they are changing into. Most majors require students to attend an information session prior to changing majors. Students transferring to another college go to the Dean’s office of that college by the 8th class day in a long session or the 4th class day in summer in order for the change to be in effect for the current semester. Some colleges may have a specific grade point average and/or other requirements.
CONCURRENT/DUAL ENROLLMENT [top]
Concurrent enrollment refers to being enrolled at UT and to another educational institution or UT Extension or UT Distance Education at the same time. The College of Natural Sciences permits concurrent enrollment with certain restrictions. Permission must be granted by the CNS Dean’s Office prior to enrollment. A student must be enrolled in 12 hours in residence at UT, may not take math and science courses required for his/her degree at another educational institution, and must submit a Concurrent Enrollment Petition at https://utdirect.utexas.edu/ns/
FULL-TIME STUDENT STATUS [top]
To be a full-time student, you must register for, and be enrolled in, a minimum of 12 hours at UT. Full-time status is usually necessary to receive financial aid, live in on-campus housing, compete on a University athletic team, be covered under parents’ health or car insurance or be an international student. If full-time status becomes a hardship for non-academic reasons, please see your academic advisor or contact the CNS Dean’s Office for a CNS counselor.
FLAT-RATE TUITION & FOUR-YEAR GRADUATION RATES [top]
Your tuition and fee bill will be calculated based on a 14-hour semester courseload. The policy was implemented to encourage an increase in the four-year graduation rate. Four year degree plans are available on-line at http://cns.utexas.edu/students/advising/degree_plans/ and in the advising centers, but usually require 15-16 hours per semester. Please see your academic advisor for more information.
INCOMPLETES (X’s) [top]
Students who are unable to complete the semester because of non-academic reasons should discuss this situation with their professors or contact a CNS counselor. Under certain situations an incomplete grade (X) may be given at the discretion of the instructor, and if it meets The University criteria for incomplete. However, note that it must be completed by the end of the following long semester or a grade of “F” is automatically assigned. An incomplete does not allow a student to repeat an entire course.
MAXIMUM SEMESTER HOURS [top]
Students may take a maximum of 17 credit hours in one semester. If a student wishes to carry more than 17 hours, approval is required in the Dean’s Office (WCH 1.106). During summer a student can take up to 14 hours with no more than 8 hours in either summer session.
SCHOLASTIC PROBATION, CNS GRADE CONTRACT, AND DISMISSAL [top]
Students whose GPA is less than 2.00 are placed on scholastic probation by The University. In the CNS, a student on probation must do a CNS Grade Contract – https://utdirect.utexas.edu/ns/ - every long (Fall/Spring) semester his/her GPA is less than 2.00. A student who completes the requirements of the Contract will be continued by the College. If a student does not meet the requirements, he/she will be dismissed from The University. The exception to this policy is when a student earns 12 hours of failing grades in his/her first semester. This results in an automatic dismissal after the first semester.
Students dismissed for the first time are automatically eligible to return to The University after being away for one long semester. However, if attending another college or university, students should contact the Office of Admissions at UT about the GPA requirement to be able to return to UT. A second dismissal requires permission from the CNS Dean’s Office to return to The University. A student dismissed for the third time may not apply for readmission.
TESTING [top]
Placement tests can be taken at UT Austin through Instructional Assessment and Evaluation. Test Schedules and other information are available at http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mec/
In order to receive credit for testing, a student must complete an online petition. Do not claim credit until you have been at UT for at least one semester and have talked with an academic advisor. A student can claim credit for an exam at any time prior to his/her senior year. A student may also elect not to claim any credit. Placement credit could affect eligibility for Tuition Rebate (see below).
TRANSFER COURSES [top]
Many students transfer academic credit from other colleges. Speak to your advisor if you plan to take courses at another institution. Information about how coursework transfers to UT from schools in Texas can be found on the Office of Admission website http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/ate/
Students transferring courses from out-of-state schools should go to the Office of Admissions, MAI 7. Any courses completed at another educational institution MUST be transferred to UT.
TUITION REBATE [top]
An undergraduate may be eligible for a tuition rebate of up to $1,000 if, at graduation, he or she has attempted no more than three semester hours beyond the minimum number of hours required for the degree. Credit by exam hours could make you ineligible. Discuss this with your advisor before claiming credit.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS [top]
Candidates for all undergraduate degrees must complete at least 60 semester hours of coursework in residence at The University. A transfer student who has completed a substantial amount of transferable, degree-applicable coursework may be obliged to take more courses at the University than his or her degree program requires, simply to meet the residence requirement. UT Austin Distance Education (Correspondence) courses and UT Austin Extension courses do not count as in residence coursework.
E-MAIL [top]
E-mail is a mechanism for official University communications to students. The University expects that e-mail communications will be received and read in a timely manner. CNS Students are directed to obtain a free UT e-mail address and check it at minimum twice per week. Many outside e-mail providers (ex. Hotmail, Yahoo) treat university communications as spam messages. It is the student’s responsibility to regularly read e-mails sent by the University, the College and his or her academic advisor.
