Registration

In consultation with advisors, students plan their class schedules prior to registering for courses each term. Because demand may exceed the number of available seats in a section, students should identify alternative courses and sections prior to the opening of registration.

Registration dates and times are announced in advance of the opening of registration each term. Students register in the Banner student information system following procedures established by the Office of the University Registrar. The registration system checks for seat availability and ensures that students have satisfied prerequisites and are otherwise eligible to register for each course and section.

After initial registration, students may make adjustments to their class schedules in accordance with deadlines and procedures established by the Office of the University Registrar (see below).

Student Responsibility

Students are solely responsible for the accuracy of their class schedules and registration. Students may review their class schedules online at any time through their Banner self-service account.

No registration or schedule adjustment transaction is official until it has been properly submitted, approved, and recorded through the Banner student information system. All transactions must be submitted prior to the announced deadlines.

Class attendance, even with the professor's approval or encouragement, does not constitute registration. Non-registered students who attend class will not receive credit. Conversely, students may not drop or withdraw from a course simply by failing to attend. Students who fail to attend a course for which they are registered are likely to fail the course.

Credit Load 

Advent and Easter Semesters

The normal course load for full-time undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences is four full courses or the equivalent (16 semester hours) in each of eight semesters. The minimum full-time course load is three full course credits or the equivalent (twelve semester hours) not including audited classes. Students who fall below this minimum are classified as part-time students. Prior to the beginning of the semester, students are limited to enrollment in a maximum of 19 semester hours.

Enrollment in more than 19 semester hours, including audited classes, after the beginning of the semester is a credit overload and requires special permission. Students seeking to overload should complete an overload request form and submit it to the Office of the University Registrar no later than the end of the first week of the semester. Approval for credit overloads is dependent upon a thorough review of the applicants collegiate academic record and is not guaranteed. Credit overloads will be approved when the student a) has a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.17 or above, b) earned no fewer than 16 semester hours in the previous semester, c) received no grade below B-minus in the previous semester, and d) had a semester grade point average (GPA) of 3.17 or above in the previous semester. 

First-year students in their first semester of enrollment are ineligible for a credit overload, i.e., the maximum credit load is 19 semester hours. In their second semester of enrollment, first-year students approved for an overload may enroll in a maximum of 20 semester hours. New transfer students in their first semester of enrollment who were previously enrolled at another college or university as full-time students for fewer than two semesters are ineligible for a credit overload, i.e., the maximum credit load is 19 semester hours. New transfer students in their first semester of enrollment who were previously enrolled at another college or university as full-time students for two or more semesters and who are approved for an overload may enroll in a maximum of 20 semester hours. All other students approved for a credit overload may enroll in a maximum of 22 semester hours. No student will be permitted to register for more than 22 semester hours.  

Approval for a credit overload does not constitute registration in and does not guarantee availability of any particular course or section.

Summer School (Regular Six-Week Term)

The maximum course load for undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences Summer School is two full courses or the equivalent (8 semester hours). With approval from the Office of the University Registrar, an undergraduate student may enroll in an additional four semester hours (i.e., a maximum of twelve semester hours) when the additional class does not overlap the meeting dates of the College Summer School.    

Schedule Adjustment (Adds, Drops, and Withdrawals)

While students may sometimes find it necessary to add or drop a course after a term begins, they should make every effort to finalize their class schedules before the beginning of the term. Students who miss the initial meetings of a course may find themselves behind on assignments, readings, lectures, and discussions. Moreover, students entering and leaving courses after the beginning of the term may disrupt professors' planned instructional schedule as well as the learning experiences of other students. Finally, students who are registered for courses they do not plan to take are effectively denying other students the opportunity to register for those courses.  

Deadlines for adding, dropping, and withdrawing from courses are published each term by Office of the University Registrar. The generous registration and schedule adjustment periods allow ample opportunity for students to finalize their class schedules and registration each term. As such, schedule adjustment deadlines are strictly observed and apply not only to regular sections but also to independent studies, honors theses, applied music instruction, physical education, varsity sports, audited classes, and all other coursework. Students must properly and successfully submit all drops, adds, and withdrawals through the Banner student information system prior to the announced deadlines.

Adding a class

There are two periods in which students may add courses after the beginning of a term: an add period and a late add period.

• Add period - A student who meets all prerequisites and is otherwise eligible to register may add a course 1) if a seat is available and there are no other students on the waitlist or 2) if the student has received an automated waitlist notification for the section that has not expired.

• Late add period - A student who meets all prerequisites and is otherwise eligible to register may add a course only if the professor submits a late entry override and 1) if a seat is available and there are no other students on the waitlist or 2) if the student has received an automated waitlist notification for the section that has not expired. Professors are under no obligation to consent to late entry into their course sections. If a professor records a late entry override, the student must follow through by successfully adding the course through the Banner student information system. Successful registration will depend on seat availability and eligibility to register for the course.

Dropping and withdrawing from courses

Degree-seeking undergraduate students are required to maintain full-time enrollment status after the beginning of a semester, which means that they may not drop or withdraw from a course if doing so would result in being enrolled in fewer than twelve semester hours. New first-year students may not drop below 16 semester during the first fourteen days of a semester.

There are three timeframes during a term in which students may officially terminate their enrollment in a course: a drop period, a withdrawal period, and a late withdrawal period.

• Drop period - During this initial period, a student may drop a course without record, i.e. the course will not be listed on the student's transcript. Students who withdraw altogether from the College during the drop period are dropped from all courses without record.
• Withdrawal period - During the withdrawal period, a student may withdraw from a course with a grade of “W.” No credit is earned for a grade of "W" and this grade has no effect on the grade point average (GPA). Students who withdraw altogether from the College during the withdrawal period are withdrawn from all courses with grades of “W.”
• Late withdrawal period - Students who withdraw from a course late in the term receive a grade of “WF.” No credit is earned for a grade of "WF," but the grade has the same effect on the GPA as does a grade of “F.”

Schedule Adjustment Periods

Schedule adjustments periods are established and published each term by the Office of the University Registrar. Consult that office's website for the deadlines each term.

Advent and Easter Semesters

• Add period - First week of the semester (calendar days 1-7)
• Late add period - Second week of the semester (calendar days 8-14)
• Drop period - First four weeks of the semester (calendar days 1-28)
• Withdrawal period - Fifth week of the semester through the beginning of the late withdrawal period (calendar day 29 through the beginning of the last withdrawal period)
• Late withdrawal period - Final 15 class days of the semester, plus intervening breaks and weekends (ending on the last day of classes) 

Summer School (Regular Six-Week Term)

• Add period - First two days of the term (class days 1-2)
• Late add period - Second two days of the term (class days 3-4)
• Drop period - First ten days of the semester (calendar days 1-10)
• Withdrawal period - Eleventh day of the term  through the beginning of the late withdrawal period (calendar day 11 through the beginning of the last withdrawal period)
• Late withdrawal period - Final eight class days of the semester, plus intervening breaks and weekends (ending on the last day of classes) 

Auditing Courses

Students may register as auditors on or after the first day of the term 1) if a seat is available and there are no other students on the waitlist or 2) if the student has received an automated waitlist notification that has not expired. The audit registration form is available from the Office of the University Registrar. Audit registration must be completed by the published deadlines to add a course. Students may not switch from another registration status to audit status after the late add period ends. Although students receive no academic credit for audited classes, the hours from such classes are included in determining overload status.

Auditors are expected to attend class regularly. The extent to which an auditor participates in graded exercises (e.g., submits papers, takes tests) and the extent to which a professor evaluates an auditor’s work are determined by mutual agreement between the professor and the auditor. The grade of AU is recorded on the transcript for registered auditors.

Repeating Courses

Students may repeat a course taken previously at the University of the South under certain, limited circumstances. Students should consult with the Office of the University Registrar prior to registration both to determine the advisability of repeating a course and to review the procedures for doing so. The following policies apply:

• A course may be repeated only when the previous grade was lower than C- (i.e., the previous grade was D+, D, D-, F, W, WF).
• A course may be repeated only at the University of the South. Courses may not be repeated at another institution.
• Credit for the repeated course is awarded only once. A student who previously earned a grade of D+, D, or D- and was awarded credit will not earn credit a second time if they repeat the course. A student may not repeat a 
• When a course is repeated, the grade from each attempt is shown on the student’s transcript.
• When a course is repeated, each grade is calculated into the transcript grade point average (GPA) at the course’s full credit.
• In order to achieve the minimum 2.00 GPA required for graduation or to achieve the minimum GPA required to re-enroll (i.e. avoid academic suspension), a separate GPA computation will be made using only the most recent grade, even if it is the lowest grade. This computation is for internal use only and will not be reported externally.
• A student who was previously awarded credit for a course must inform the University Registrar’s Office before they will be permitted to register for the course again.

The repeated courses policies and procedures above do not apply to certain courses designated as repeatable (e.g., some special topics courses, independent studies, and ensembles), which may be taken for credit more than once subject to course-specific restrictions or limitations.