Attendance Policy
Study Overload
(Fall/Spring)
Study Overload (Summer)
Attendance Policy
Attend all your classes regularly. We do not have a system of
permitted "cuts."
Students are expected to attend the first meeting of class, or
have permission from the instructor or chair of the department
to be absent. Those who do not attend the first one or two days of
class may be required to drop the course if there are others who
wish to add the course. If required to drop the
course, it is the students responsibility to officially drop the
course through the Records Office or on the web.
If you enroll in a course and cannot begin attending until after
classes have already started, you must first get permission from
the department offering the course. Otherwise, you may be
required to drop the course.
Your instructors will explain their specific attendance policies
to you at the beginning of each course. Be sure to follow them.
If you must be absent, tell your instructor why. If you can't
reach your instructors in an emergency, visit the
Student Academic Advising
Center, Room 103, SSC, or call them at 715-346-3361.
If you don't make satisfactory arrangements with your
instructors regarding excessive absences, your dean may dismiss
you. If you are dismissed from a course, you receive an F in
that course. If you are dismissed from the university, you
receive an F in all the courses you are taking.
If you take part in an off-campus trip by an authorized
university group such as an athletic team, musical or dramatic
organization, or a class, make appropriate arrangements in
advance with the instructor of each class you will miss.
If you are absent from classes because of emergencies,
off-campus trips, illness, or the like, your instructors will
give you a reasonable amount of help in making up the work you
have missed.
Study Overloads (Fall/Spring)
STUDY LOAD and CREDIT OVERLOADS:
The typical study load is 14-16 credits per semester (including
courses through correspondence, at other campuses, and distance
education). You may take 17 credits with the permission of your
adviser.
Study loads of 18, 19, or 20 credits must be approved prior to
registration. Check the table below for the appropriate authorizing
official for your department/program. Permission may be granted
electronically or in writing but must be obtained before you will be
permitted to register for the overload.
The dean of your college must approve study loads of 21 credits or
more. Requests are granted only for extraordinary reasons and only
for students with outstanding academic records. Permission must be
obtained in writing and brought to the Registration and Records
Office.
Graduate students enrolled for 16 or more credits must have the
approval of their adviser and the college dean. Permission must be
obtained in writing and brought to the Registration and Records
Office.
If you add enough credits during the ADD period to result in a
credit overload, you must obtain the appropriate authorization at
that time. Forms for obtaining written authorization are available
in the academic departments and the Registration and Records Office.
Note that you will be limited to 12 credits IF you: (1) do not
complete required remedial courses before you earn 30 credits; or
(2) do not complete freshman English, Math 100 or 105 before you
earn 60 credits. Check with the Registration and Records Office for
more information.
In order to qualify for either Social Security Benefits or full
Veterans Benefits (Public Law 550), you must carry at least 12
semester hours of courses.
Study Overload (Summer)
GRADUATE CREDIT LOAD:
You may register for no more than 9 credits (6 credits in
any four-week period) for the summer session. If there are
exceptional circumstances, you can appeal to the dean of your
college for permission to carry more than the maximum load. To do
this you will need to submit an overload form for your dean's
signature BEFORE you register for the overload. You will not be
allowed to register unless your overload has had prior approval. The
normal graduate course load for the eight-week summer session is 6
credits (3 credits in each four-week term or 6 credits in the
eight-week term). If you register for 5 or more credits in the
summer you are considered a full-time graduate student. You may
register for up to 9 credits in the summer. However, be aware that
the concentrated nature of summer courses with the extra commitment
of time and energy places a strain on your academic performance.
Taking more than 6 credits in the summer is not advised.
UNDERGRADUATE CREDIT LOAD:
Credit overloads must be authorized. Such authorization
must be obtained in writing, on a SPECIAL REGISTRATION
AUTHORIZATIONS form, before registration. As a general rule, you
should plan to carry no more than one (1) credit per week of
instruction. For example, 3 credits in a three-week session, 4
credits in a four-week session, 8 credits in an eight-week session,
11 credits in the combined three-week and eight-week session.
Combining work in the eight-week session with work in a concurrent
short session or taking more than one course in a short session can
mean a substantial credit overload. For example, two 3-credit
courses in the same four-week session is equivalent to 24 credits in
a regular semester.