Registration

B-130 ASB
Provo, UT 84602-1114
(801) 378-2824

Eligibility

Upon receipt of an official letter of acceptance from the Office of Graduate Studies, new graduate students are eligible to register. Continuing graduate students are eligible if they have fulfilled the minimum registration requirement (6 hours per year) in the preceding academic year.

Registration Materials

The current class schedule bulletin contains complete registration instructions, deadlines, and a list of all classes offered, including times, instructors , and locations. It is mailed to all new students with U.S. or Canadian mailing addresses. Continuing students may purchase one at the BYU Bookstore or the Registration Office. International students may obtain class schedule bulletins and register when they arrive on campus.

Registration Process

The current class schedule contains a complete description of the registration process. What follows is a brief summary of that process:

Brigham Young University allows students to register by Touch-tone telephone or by using Academic Information Management (AIM) computer terminals (located in advisement centers and various campus locations). For fall and winter semesters, the process begins when the Registration Office mails a Registration Notice to all eligible students. This form indicates the time the student can begin to register, allows for a change of address, and shows any prior balance due that must be paid before registration is possible. Beginning registration times are assigned on a priority basis with graduate students given the first priority. Registration for fall begins in April, for winter semester in October, and for spring and summer terms in February. With the Touch-tone system and AIM terminals, students can register and make registration changes until classes begin.

A Tuition Billing Statement with a listing of classes is mailed three weeks prior to the tuition deadline to each student registered for at least one class. Students who fail to pay tuition by August 15 for fall semester, December 15 for winter semester, and mid-April and mid-June for spring and summer terms will be assessed late tuition fees.

Once a student registers for classes, that student is officially enrolled and committed to attend. A student who then decides not to come must drop all classes. Prior to the first day of school, classes may be dropped using the discontinuance action code on the Touch-tone telephone registration system. Once school begins, students should contact the Discontinuance Office in B-150 ASB, Provo, UT 84602-1114, or telephone (801) 378-7705. Classes that are not dropped will remain on the student's record and be charged tuition. Tuition will be charged starting the first day of class to the date of discontinuance at the percentage rate listed in the current class schedule.

Changes in Registration

Students may add or drop classes twenty-four hours a day by Touch-tone telephone or AIM terminal until classes begin. After the semester or term has started, however, each academic department determines how classes are added in that department. Final dates, fees, and instructions for adding and dropping classes are printed in the current class schedule.

Auditing Classes

U.S. students who wish to audit classes (attend but not receive credit) may add such classes on a space-available basis with instructor approval during the first ten class days of a semester (six days of a term). International students may not audit classes. Audited classes do not appear on the transcript, will not be considered in calculating enrollment verifications, will not fulfill the minimum registration requirement, and do not apply toward a graduate degree. In addition, audited courses may not be paid for by graduate scholarship funds.

Registration Requirements

First Semester

Because acceptance is granted for a specific semester, students are required to register for at least 2 hours in the semester for which acceptance has been granted, or the acceptance is forfeit. New students who do not enroll the semester or term for which they are accepted and who wish to enroll in a subsequent semester must inform the Office of Graduate Studies immediately. Acceptance in one semester or term does not guarantee acceptance in a subsequent semester or term.

Minimum Registration Requirement

U.S. Students, Semester or Term. U.S. graduate students are required to register for at least 2 credit hours during any semester or term in which they use any university facilities, consult with faculty, or take comprehensive or oral examinations. The number of graduate credit hours for which they register must, in the judgment of the faculty advisor, accurately reflect the student's involvement in graduate study and use of university resources such as libraries, laboratories, and computer facilities. In no case will the registration be for fewer than 2 credit hours per semester.

U.S. Students, Academic Year. To retain active status and to qualify for subsequent registration, graduate students must register for at least 6 semester hours each school year and receive acceptable grades (no D, E, UW, NS, or I grades are allowed, nor are audits or correspondence courses). Students who do not fulfill this yearly requirement are dropped from their graduate programs; they lose their graduate status and must apply for readmission if they wish to continue.

International Students. International students must register for at least 9 semester hours each fall and each winter semester to fulfill U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service requirements. Questions should be directed to International Services (350 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602-5520, telephone [801] 378-2695).

Readmission

Former graduate students who were dropped for failure to meet the minimum registration requirement, and who wish to resume their graduate studies, must submit an Application to Resume Graduate Study (available from the Office of Graduate Studies), pay a $30 nonrefundable processing fee, and submit a Reapplication Honor Code Commitment Form. International students will also need to submit a new Financial Certification Form. Students should expect their previous course work to be reevaluated and their degree requirements to reflect current expectations of the program.

Loss of Eligibility to Register

Once enrolled, a graduate student becomes ineligible to register for subsequent semesters if:

1. The student has not fulfilled the minimum registration requirement (6 hours per year), has withdrawn from the graduate program, or has had his or her graduate degree program terminated by the department.
2. The student has not submitted a study list by the third week of the second semester after admission.
3. The Office of Graduate Studies has not received official transcripts showing that the required pre-requisite degrees have been conferred.
4. The student has violated the BYU Honor Code and is not cleared by the Honor Code Office.
5. The student has failed to submit an annual continuing ecclesiastical endorsement.

Financial Aid Registration Requirements

It is the student's responsibility to comply with any registration requirements established by sponsoring agents for student loans, loan payment deferrals, assistantships, internships, scholarships, and awards.

Graduate Assistants, Interns, and Award Recipients. Graduate students receiving assistantships, awards, or internships through BYU must register for at least 2 hours per semester or for 1 hour per term. Departmental requirements may exceed these minimums, and international students must register for at least 9 semester hours each fall and winter semester.

BYU Short-Term Loans. Only degree-seeking students enrolled in day school are eligible for short-term BYU tuition loans. Since the amount borrowed is directly applied toward the cost of tuition, no minimum level of enrollment is required.

Federal Loans (Stafford Loans and Supplemental Student Loans). To qualify for federal loans, graduate students must normally register for at least 4.5 hours each semester or 2.5 hours each term. However, the regulations require that students who have used their six-month “grace” period but wish to defer payment on a previous federal loan must be registered full-time—8.5 or more hours per semester and 4.5 or more hours per term. Independent study, audit, or workshop classes cannot be used to meet the minimum hour requirement.

Verification of Enrollment Status

A student who is enrolled for 8.5 or more credit hours a semester or 4.5 credit hours or more for a term is considered full-time for tuition purposes. International students and students receiving financial assistance may be required to register for more hours to be considered a full-time student. A student enrolled for 4.5 to 8 credit hours a semester or 2.5 to 4 credit hours a term is considered a half-time student. Graduate students may request verification of their enrollment status from the Records Office, B-150, ASB, Provo, UT 84602-1114, telephone (801) 378-2631.

Master's and doctoral students who are enrolled for fewer than 8.5 credit hours per semester can petition for full-time status. To be considered for an exception a student must:

1. Have completed all required course work and have only the thesis or dissertation to complete, or be limited to less than full-time enrollment because of a required teaching assistantship, research assistantship, or internship. (The combination of TA/RA assignment and registration must be equivalent to a full-time load, e.g. half-time assistantship plus 6 credit hours of registration per semester.)
2. Be enrolled for at least 2 credit hours per semester or 1 credit hour per term.
3. Be certified by his or her department as being engaged full-time (40 hours or more per week) in pursuit of a degree.

Requests for such an exception should be directed to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Withdrawal or Discontinuance

Students who wish to withdraw from the university must initiate that process at the Discontinuance Office, B-150 ASB, Provo, UT 84602-1114, telephone (801) 378-7705.

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Please report any errors. Updated May 20, 1997, by web_grad_cat@byu.edu