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Office of the University Registrar

Selected Academic Policies for Registration

Course Load Policy

 Undergraduate students: A full-time undergraduate student carries between 12 and 17 hours. For enrollment verification purposes, 12 hours is considered full-time for undergraduate students for Fall and Spring semesters. A student wishing to carry more than 17 hours in a semester may seek permission to do so from the chairperson or director of his or her major department or school. The granting of this permission will depend on the student’s scholastic record. A freshman may not carry over 17 hours during his or her first semester. Six (6) hours is considered full-time for the Summer session. A student considering enrolling in any classes, including extension or correspondence, at another college or university with concurrent registration at Illinois State University should consult with his or her advisor.

 

Graduate students:  Nine (9) to 12 hours is the usual load and 15 hours the maximum load for a graduate student during the Fall and Spring semesters. In the 12-week Summer session the maximum load is 12 semester hours. Students are considered full time if they register for nine (9) or more hours during the Fall and Spring semesters and six (6) or more hours in the 12-week Summer session.  See Graduate Catalog for additional information.

Credit/No Credit (Pass/Fail) Option

An undergraduate student (except a first-semester freshman) who is not on academic probation may choose to register in some courses under the Credit/No Credit (Pass/Fail) option.  A student cannot sign up for this option if the course fulfills a requirement in the major, minor, professional education or General Education Inner or Middle Core. This option is also not permitted for repeated courses in which the student earned a letter grade of B, C, D, F, or a WF for the initial enrollment.   A student choosing this option should do so as part of the registration process.  No more than six (6) semester hours of work under the credit/no credit (Pass/Fail) option may be taken each semester, with a maximum of 25 semester hours under this option being used for graduation.

Spring 2009 Semester
The Credit/No Credit (Pass/Fail) option for Spring 2009 may be requested during registration periods through Monday, January 26.  It may not be added after January 26.  The last day to remove this option is March 6.

Repetition of Course(s) Requirements

Undergraduate Students

If a student completes a course, or drops a course after the tenth day of classes receiving a grade of WX, WP, or WF, he or she may repeat that course once. For students receiving a letter grade of B, C, D, F, or a WF, the course repetition must occur at Illinois State University and may not be taken under the credit/no credit (pass/fail) option. Students seeking to repeat a course a second time must obtain permission from their academic advisor who will submit a substitution waiver form to the University Registrar for final approval. When a course has been repeated at Illinois State University, the most recent grade (A, B, C, D, F, WF) that the student earns will replace the previous grade in the cumulative GPA calculation. A grade of WP or WX will not replace the previous grade.


The previous grade(s) will not be removed from the student’s transcript, and the credit hours from only the last attempt can be used toward meeting minimum hourly requirements. Students repeating a course to improve their GPA should be aware that many professional and graduate schools recalculate GPAs to include all courses attempted.

Note:  Students with permission to repeat a course a second time are to obtain a Registration Clearance Permit from their advisor and bring it to the Student Service and Referral Center, Moulton Hall 107 with photo I.D.

Graduate Students

If a student completes a course or drops a course after the tenth day of classes receiving a grade of WX, WP, or WF, he or she may repeat that course once. For students receiving a letter grade of B, C, D, F, or a WF, the course repetition must occur at Illinois State University. 

When a course has been repeated at Illinois State University, the most recent grade (A, B, C, D, F, WF) that the student earns will replace the previous grade in the cumulative GPA calculation. A grade of WP or WX will not replace the previous grade.The previous grade(s) will not be removed from the student’s transcript, and the credit hours from only the last attempt can be used toward meeting minimum hourly requirements. Students repeating a course to improve their GPA should be aware that many professional and graduate schools recalculate GPAs to include all courses attempted.

Requests for a third or subsequent enrollment for a course are initiated with the student's advisor. The advisor then reviews the request and forwards it to the Graduate School.  This regulation does not apply to general courses or courses marked as repeatable.

Withdrawal Policies

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For more policies consult the most recent edition of either the undergraduate or graduate catalogs or the University Policy website.