1. Student Registration

(Revised: 2023)

1.1 Student Identification Cards: Upon initial registration, each student is issued a student identification card. This card, designed to be a career identification card, is the property of Texas A&M University and is validated each semester upon payment of fees.

1.1.1 Possession, alteration, use or attempted use of an ID card for the purpose of identification or to receive services, by anyone other than the person whose name, ID number and photo appear on the card is considered unauthorized use. The offender will be subject to penalties and confiscation of the ID card by university officials.

1.1.2 A student is required to produce his/her identification card upon the request of a university official.

1.1.3 It is the student’s responsibility to report a lost or stolen identification card immediately through http://myaggiecard.tamu.edu 24 hours a day, seven days a week or by calling (979) 845-4661, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Students will be assessed a fee to replace lost or stolen cards.

1.1.4 The name as submitted at the time of application to Texas A&M University establishes the official record for the student at the University. This record is considered an official record for the State of Texas. Any change of name request must be accompanied by legal federal or state documentation. A social security card or driver’s license cannot be used as documentation to request a change of name; a birth certificate, passport, court issued name change document, marriage license, or common-law certificate are acceptable.

1.2 Current Address: To avoid missing important communications from the university, it is the student’s responsibility to keep the registrar informed of current local and permanent addresses. Communications mailed to either address of record, or to a student’s official TAMU email account, will be deemed to be adequate notice.

1.3 Every student is required to register when entering the university and thereafter as announced by the registrar.

1.3.1 Undergraduate students who were previously enrolled at Texas A&M but not attend class through the official census date of the previous long semester must apply for readmission.

          1.3.2 Graduate and professional students who were previously enrolled at Texas A&M but did not attend during the previous 12 months must apply for readmission.

1.4 Registration is not complete until the student has paid his or her fees by the prescribed deadline.

1.5 Curriculum Violation: Degree-Seeking Graduate and Undergraduate Students

1.5.1 A student is expected to register for a schedule of courses that follows the program of study for a degree in his or her college. A student who elects not to follow the program of study must obtain approval from his or her academic advisor, department head or college Dean or designee, and the Dean or designee of the college offering the courses. A student who fails to obtain approval may be, by his or her Dean or designee, held from registration, removed from the inappropriate course(s) and/or required to register for a prescribed schedule of courses.

1.5.2 A student whose work is unsatisfactory or who is on scholastic probation may be required by his or her college or department to register for a prescribed schedule.

1.5.3 A student who is held from registration because of scholastic deficiency in a major and who changes his or her curriculum into a new college may not register for hours in his or her previous major during the next semester without specific approval from the new Dean or designee. Violation of this rule constitutes academic misconduct.

1.6 A student must be enrolled in order to use the facilities of the university or the time of any member of its staff in connection with work for which he or she expects to receive academic credit.

1.7 A full-time undergraduate student is defined as one who is enrolled for at least 12 semester hours during a fall or spring semester or eight hours in a summer semester. A Q grade or W grade does not count toward the certification of enrollment status. Only hours greater than 0 for which a student is currently enrolled at Texas A&M University can be used toward certification of enrollment. During his or her last semester prior to graduation, if an undergraduate student is enrolled at Texas A&M in all remaining hours needed to complete his or her degree and has applied for graduation, he or she may be certified as a full-time student for that final semester even though he or she may be enrolled in less than 12 semester hours during a fall or spring semester or eight hours in a summer semester. Students participating in student teaching, internships, and cooperative education programs, and study abroad programs who are enrolled in less than 12 hours during a fall or spring semester or eight hours in a summer semester may be eligible to be certified as a full-time student with the approval of the Dean of the College or his or her designee. These certifications listed above based on exceptions cannot be met by enrollment in zero credit courses(s) and might not be used to qualify for Federal Financial Aid as federal regulations determine financial aid eligibility.

1.8 A full-time graduate student is defined as one who is registered for nine semester hours during a fall or spring semester or six hours in a summer semester. A Q grade or W grade does not count toward the certification of enrollment status. Only hours greater than 0, for which a student is currently enrolled at Texas A&M University, can be used toward certification of enrollment. During his or her last semester prior to graduation, if a graduate student is enrolled at Texas A&M in all remaining hours needed to complete his or her degree, has applied for graduation and does not hold a graduate assistantship, he or she may be certified as a full-time student for that final semester even though he or she may be enrolled in less than nine semester hours during a fall or spring semester, or six hours in a summer semester. Students participating in student teaching, internships, and cooperative education programs who are enrolled in less than nine semester hours during a fall or spring semester or six hours during a summer semester may be eligible to be certified as a full-time student with the approval of the Dean of the College or his or her designee. These certifications listed above based on exceptions cannot be met by enrollment in zero credit courses(s) might not be used to qualify for Federal Financial Aid as federal regulations determine financial aid eligibility.

1.8.1 A student participating in an advanced dental education graduate program may be classified as full time. These postdoctoral advanced dental specialty curricula require a mandatory course of study and various experiences including extensive patient treatment, internships, external rotations, research and special studies defined and accepted by Texas A&M University as adequate to constitute full time enrollment. Federal regulations determine eligibility for financial aid recipients. Policies and procedures within the Scholarships & Financial Aid Office will address enrollment definitions for financial aid purposes.

1.9 Undergraduate Degree Plans: All degree-seeking undergraduate students admitted to Texas A&M University in or after Fall 2013 must complete and annually update an undergraduate degree plan:

1.9.1 Initial submission: All degree-seeking undergraduate students must submit their initial degree plan the term following the term in which they complete 30 semester credit hours.  Students admitted with 30 or more cumulative semester credit hours must submit their degree plan the semester they are admitted.

1.9.2 Annual review and resubmission: All degree-seeking undergraduate students must review, update, and resubmit their undergraduate degree plan every year until graduation in accordance with deadlines published in the academic calendar.

1.9.3 Undergraduate degree plan approval: All initial and resubmitted degree plans must be approved by one of two processes:

1.9.3.1 Self approval: The undergraduate degree plan as submitted by the student meets 100% of degree requirements.

1.9.3.2 Advisor approval: An academic advisor or designee within the student’s home department approves the undergraduate degree plan.

1.9.4 Registration holds: Undergraduate students required to submit an undergraduate degree plan who do not have an approved initial or resubmitted undergraduate degree plan on file by the published deadline will be held from registering for future semesters.

1.9.5 Graduation requirements: To be a candidate for a degree, a student must complete all academic requirements published in their catalog (see Student Rule 14.5) and meet all applicable requirements and deadlines published in Texas A&M University Student Rules.

1.9.6. Completion of an undergraduate degree plan does not guarantee admission to a specific major or upper division.

1.10 A student participating in a first professional degree program (M.D., D.D.S., PharmD, D.V.M., and J.D.) can be certified as full time with the exception of students enrolled in the J.D. part time program. These highly structured, cohort driven curricula require a mandatory course of study and various experiences unique to the concentration of the degree and are accepted by Texas A&M University as adequate to constitute full time enrollment. (See individual first professional school student handbooks for details.) Variations of the full time curricula exist for the benefit of select student groups to allow access that may be titled split or extended. (See individual first professional school student handbooks for details, including tuition structure.) These are regarded as full time programs exceeding the basic criteria of full time status for conventional graduate students. Federal regulations determine eligibility for financial aid recipients. Policies and procedures within the Scholarships & Financial Aid Office will address enrollment definitions for financial aid purposes.

1.11 Undergraduates Registering for Graduate Courses

1.11.1 A senior undergraduate student with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 or approval of his/her academic Dean or designee, is eligible to enroll in a graduate course and reserve it for graduate credit by filing a petition obtained from the student’s undergraduate college and approved by the course instructor, the student’s major department head, the Dean or designee of the college offering the course and the Dean or designee of the student’s undergraduate college.

1.11.2 An academically superior undergraduate student with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 or approval of his/her academic Dean or designee, is eligible to apply graduate credit hours toward his or her undergraduate degree program by filing a petition obtained from the student’s undergraduate college and approved by the course instructor, the student’s major department head, the Dean or designee of the college offering the course and the Dean or designee of the student’s undergraduate college. Graduate credit hours used to meet the requirements for a baccalaureate degree may not be used to meet the requirements for a graduate degree.

1.12 Registration Holds

1.12.1 A student may be held from registering for future semesters by the following offices for the following reasons. This list is not inclusive of all offices that can hold students or all types of holds.

• • • • • Graduate and Professional School, academic departments or colleges–for scholastic deficiency or for disciplinary reasons related to scholastic dishonesty.
        • Transportation Services–for an accumulation of overdue, unpaid parking citations.
        • Student Business Services–for an outstanding bill owed to the university.
        • Office of Admissions and Records, Graduate and Professional School, academic departments and colleges–for students admitted provisionally or on probation or for information lacking to complete the admission process and for enrolled students who have submitted questionable records (such as transcripts or residency documents) to the registrar’s office.
        • Student Conduct Office and Residence Life for disciplinary reasons.
        • Athletic Academic Affairs Office–to assure compliance with NCAA regulations.
        • International Student Services–to ensure compliance with university procedures and I.N.S. regulations.
        • Academic Success Center–to ensure compliance with Texas Success Initiative mandate.

1.12.2 A student who wishes to resolve the problem that resulted in the hold or wishes to appeal the placing of the hold should go to the department that placed the hold on his or her record.

1.13 Maximum Schedule

1.13.1 An undergraduate student with an overall grade point average of 3.00 or better may register for a course load in excess of 19 hours in a fall or spring semester or six hours (seven if part is laboratory) in a summer term with the approval of his or her advisor.

1.13.2 An undergraduate student with an overall grade point average of less than 3.00 must obtain approval of his or her Dean or designee before registering for a course load in excess of 19 hours in a fall or spring semester or six hours (seven if part is laboratory) in a summer term.

1.14 Maximum Schedule for Graduate Students

1.14.1 Graduate students may enroll for a maximum of 15 hours during a regular semester, 6 hours for a 5-week summer session and 12 hours for a 10-week summer session. A graduate student may enroll for up to 18 hours during a regular semester, up to 9 hours during a 5-week summer session, and up to 15 hours during a 10-week summer session with approval of his or her college Dean or designee. A graduate student may enroll in more than 18 hours (regular semester), 9 hours (5-week summer session), or 15 hours (10-week summer session) with approval of the Graduate and Professional School.

1.15 Prerequisites: It is the responsibility of the student to be sure that course prerequisites are met. All prerequisites must be listed in the appropriate catalog or schedule of classes. A student may register for a course for which he or she has not met the prerequisites only with the consent of the head of the department in which the course is offered. Failure to meet course prerequisites could result in a student’s being dropped from the class.

1.15.1  Some courses will allow concurrent enrollment when a prerequisite is not complete.  Those courses that allow concurrent enrollment must state this in the course description for the appropriate catalog and corresponding schedule of classes and syllabus. A student may register for a course without the concurrent requirement only with the consent of the head of the department in which the course is offered. Failure to register for the concurrent requirement without approval from the head of the department will result in the student
being restricted from enrollment in or dropped from the class.

1.16 Class Schedules: All classes will meet according to schedules prepared by the registrar. Modification in these schedules, including common night exams, may be made only when authorized by the registrar and approved by the Dean or designee of the college in which the course is offered.

1.17 Scheduling of Courses: In case a section is dropped because of insufficient enrollment, a student may substitute other courses approved by his or her advisor.

1.18 Change in Schedule

1.18.1 A student may enroll in a class during the first five class days of the fall or spring semesters or during the first four class days of the summer terms or a 10-week summer semester. A student requesting to add a course after these deadlines must have the approval of the student’s Dean or designee and department.

1.18.2 A student may drop a course with no record during the first twelve class days of a fall or spring semester and during the first four class days of a summer term or a 10-week summer semester. Following this period, if approved by the Dean or designee of the College or his or her designee, a student may drop a course without academic penalty through the 60th class day of a fall or spring semester, the 15th class day of summer term or the 35th class day of a 10-week summer semester. The symbol Q shall be given to indicate a drop without academic penalty. Undergraduate students will normally be permitted four Q-drops during their undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University, regardless of transfer status. State law prohibits students from having more than six dropped courses from all state institutions attended during their undergraduate career if they entered higher education as first-time enrolled freshman beginning the 2007 fall semester and thereafter. For exceptions see Rule 1.19.

1.18.3 Courses Q-dropped must have approval of the student’s Dean or designee or department as determined by the respective College.

1.18.4 Undergraduate students will normally be permitted four Q-drops during their undergraduate studies; however: State law prohibits students from having more than six dropped courses from all state institutions attended during their undergraduate career. Q-drops in one-hour courses will not count in the Texas A&M limit of four but will be included in the State-mandated limit of six dropped courses. If a lecture and companion lab are dropped at the same time, this will count as one Q-drop rather than two.

1.19 Any course taught on a shortened format or between regularly scheduled terms will have add/drop, Q-grade and withdrawal dates proportionally the same as if the course were offered in a regular term. These dates will be determined by the registrar’s office.

1.20 A “W” may be approved by the Dean of the College or his or her designee if a student is allowed to drop a course anytime during the semester due to unusual or extenuating circumstances. These circumstances include:

• • • A severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course;
    • The student’s responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person if the provision of that care affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course;
    • The death of a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s death is considered to be a showing of good cause;
    • The active duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United States of either the student or a person who is considered to be a member of the student’s family or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person’s active military service is considered to be a showing of good cause;
    • The change of the student’s work schedule that is beyond the control of the student, and that affects the student’s ability to satisfactorily complete the course; or
    • Other good cause as determined by the Dean of the College or his or her designee.

Students who no longer participate in the University’s ROTC program may drop military, naval or air science courses with a designation of “W”.A student seeking to drop a course due to unusual or extenuating circumstances should initiate this request with the Dean of the College or his or her designee. Requests should include appropriate documentation of the student’s unusual or extenuating circumstances. The Dean of the College or his or her designee may determine whether a student has demonstrated such good cause as to warrant a drop with a grade of “W”. Requests for “W” drops must be made on or before the last class day, as defined by the academic calendar, of the semester in which the course is being taken.