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The student is responsible for selecting and
registering for courses necessary for reasonable
progress toward the degree sought. The minimum
requirement for reasonable academic progress is
that the student must pass a minimum of 24
semester hours of coursework in an academic
year.
The Office of Registration and Academic Records
is responsible for registration, recording and
reporting grades, maintaining current and
permanent records on all students, enforcing
rules on academic warning; probation and
suspension, certifying students for graduation,
and issuing transcripts. The office is located
in Room 207, Hill University Center, 1400
University Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama
35294-1150.
(205) 934-8222.
Students must notify the Office of Registration
and Academic Records of address changes so that
notices and other materials are sent to the
current address.
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There are three academic terms during a calendar
year: fall semester, spring semester, and summer
term. The fall and spring semesters each consist
of approximately 15 weeks of classes, followed
by one week of final examinations. The summer
term consists of five sessions, each with its
own time and format. The five summer term
sessions are as follows: a twelve-week session
that runs throughout the summer term; the
intensive May session, consisting of the first
three weeks of the summer semester; a nine week
session, beginning after the May session ends
and running until the end of the summer
semester; and the summer A and summer B
sessions, which are both four and a half weeks
long and run back-to-back concurrently with the
nine-week session. The courses to be offered
during a particular term are listed in the UAB
Class Schedule, published two times per year.
Summer/Fall class schedules are available to
students in early March; spring semester
schedules are available in late October. Early
registration in April allows students to enroll
in fall semester classes on a priority basis.
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Students are classified as
sophomores when they have earned 30 semester hours of
credit, juniors when they have earned 60 semester hours
of credit, and seniors when they have earned 90 semester
hours of credit.
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Degree students must declare a major within
their first 60 semester hours of course work
before registering for additional courses.
Students enrolling at UAB for the first time and
who already have earned 60 semester hours will
have a maximum of two terms within which to
declare a major. Conditions for acceptance of a
student into a major vary by department and
school. Majors should be declared or changed
using the official form available from the
Office of Registration and Academic Records.
Some majors are subject to additional admission
requirements and enrollment limitations.
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The unit of credit at UAB is the semester hour.
Course descriptions indicate the number of
semester hours that may be earned for a
particular course. A standard course load for a
full-time student is 15 semester hours of course
work in a semester. At least 12 semester hours
of course work are required for full-time
status. Registration for more than 18 semester
hours in a term or more than three semester
hours in the May Session requires approval by
the dean or the dean’s representative of the
school in which the student is majoring.
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All UAB students must have written
proof of immunization against rubella (red measles) in
order to register for classes.
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A student wishing to attend any of
the three academic terms must register for that specific
term. A student is eligible to register if he/she has
been admitted to UAB, the student’s financial records in
the Student Accounting Office are clear, and the student
is in good academic standing. An early registration
period for fall semester will occur every spring
immediately before registration for summer term.
A degree student who has not registered for course work
over a period of 24 months must reapply for admission to
resume study as a degree student. If accepted, the
student is subject to the policies of the catalog
current at that time.
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It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that
prerequisites for a course are met before registering
for the course. Advisors are available to help with this
determination. Prior to the end of the designated drop
period, the instructor has the prerogative to drop from
the course a student who does not meet the
prerequisites.
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An instructor has the prerogative to drop a student
from a course if the student is absent without prior
notification from the first class of a term. Such action
is at the discretion of the instructor, and absence from
the first class does not automatically drop the student
from the course. If a student wishes to drop or withdraw
from the course, the student must follow official drop
or withdrawal procedures. A student who misses the first
class of a term is responsible for determining his/her
status in the class.
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Part of the value of a good undergraduate education
is the opportunity to participate in a variety of
university-sponsored activities, as long as these
activities do not jeopardize students academically.
Students who expect to miss class because of university
related activities are encouraged to discuss the
anticipated absence with the instructor, preferably
during the first week of classes. Policies concerning
class attendance and the availability of makeup
opportunities for any class requirements are set by the
individual course instructor. However, faculty are
encouraged to make reasonable allowances for students
who miss class due to participation in official
university-sponsored activities. Examples of such
activities include participation in state, regional, and
national meetings where the student is a delegate or
presenter, and participation in music performances and
athletic events.
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In the case of fall and spring semesters and the 9
and 12 week sessions in the summer term, the last day to
drop a class without paying full tuition is the eighth
calendar day of the term; the last day to add a class is
the eighth calendar day of the term. It is the student’s
responsibility to initiate add/drop procedures. Dates to
drop and add for May session, A Session and B session
are published in the UAB Class Schedule for summer term.
Registration during late registration (the add period)
for any class requires the signature of the instructor
unless the class has not met for the first time and
there are seats available. The official add/drop form
must be used, and there is a fee for each
change-of-course form used during late registration. The
add/drop form may be obtained in the Office of
Registration and Academic Records. A student beginning
the registration process during the late registration
period will be assessed a late registration fee.
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The University of Alabama at Birmingham recognizes
that the academic success of individual students is
related to their class attendance and participation.
Each course instructor is responsible for establishing
policies concerning class attendance and make-up
opportunities. Any such policies, including points for
attendance and/or participation, penalties for absences,
limits on excused absences, total allowable absences,
etc., must be specified in the course syllabus provided
to students at the beginning of the course term. Such
policies are subject to departmental oversight and may
not, by their specific prescriptions, negate or
circumvent the accommodations provided below for excused
absences.
The University regards certain absences as excused and
in those instances requires that instructors provide an
accommodation for the student who misses assignments,
presentations, examinations, or other academic work of a
substantive nature by virtue of these excused absences.
Examples include the following:
• Absences due to jury or military duty, provided that
official documentation has been provided to the
instructor in a timely manner in advance.
• Absences of students registered with Disabilities
Services for disabilities eligible for “a reasonable
number of disability-related absences” provided students
give their instructors notice of a disability-related
absence in advance or as soon as possible.
• Absences due to participation in university-sponsored
activities when the student is representing the
university in an official capacity and as a critical
participant, provided that the procedures below have
been followed:
• Before the end of the add/drop period, students must
provide their instructor a schedule of anticipated
excused absences in or with a letter explaining the
nature of the expected absences from the director of the
unit or department sponsoring the activity.
• If a change in the schedule occurs, students are
responsible for providing their instructors with advance
written notification from the sponsoring unit or
department.
• Absences due to other extenuating circumstances that
instructors deem excused. Such classification is at the
discretion of the instructor and is predicated upon
consistent treatment of all students.
In these instances, instructors must devise a system for
reasonable accommodation including, for example,
policies allowing for dropped exams/quizzes, make-up
exams, rescheduling of student classroom presentations
or early or later submission of written assignments.
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To avoid academic penalty, a
student must withdraw from a course by the withdrawal
deadline shown in the academic calendar and the UAB
Class Schedule and receive a grade of W (withdrawn). The
withdrawal period ends at approximately 60% of the
academic term. After this deadline, the student must
receive a grade in the course.
Students are not considered officially withdrawn from a
single course or their entire registration until they
have completed a withdrawal form and submitted it to the
Office of Registration and Academic Records or until
they have written a letter to that office requesting
that they be withdrawn. It is the student’s
responsibility to initiate the withdrawal process.
Failure to attend class does not constitute a formal
drop or withdrawal, either academically or financially.
Provided the withdrawal would not violate any academic
or financial rules, the request will be honored. The
date the change-of-course form or the letter is received
in the Office of Registration and Academic Records will
be regarded as the official date of withdrawal. It is
important that students keep the official validation of
all course changes as evidence of the transaction. If a
student withdraws by mail, a withdrawal validation will
be mailed to the student’s address of record. Withdrawal
is not complete until the student receives the
validation notice. If the withdrawal validation is not
received, the student is responsible for contacting the
Office of Registration and Academic Records before the
deadline to withdraw. If the official date of withdrawal
is after the last day to withdraw without paying, no
tuition or fees will be refunded.
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As an alternative to full participation in a course,
students may audit the course. Auditors do not receive
grades and do not usually participate in the
examinations; however, instructors have the option of
establishing requirements for a satisfactory audit.
Audit is similar to regular enrollment. Students
choosing this option must be admitted to UAB; enroll in
the course by completing a UAB registration form,
indicating “AU” in the column labeled “Sem. Hrs.”;
obtain the signature of the instructor; and pay the same
tuition and fees as regular enrollees. Provided the
instructor’s requirements are met, the course will
appear on the transcript with the notation “AU” and zero
semester hours credit.
If the requirements are not met, a “W” will be entered
on the transcript.
Course registration, withdrawal, and drop policies apply
to audited courses. In instances of over-enrollment,
preference is given to students taking courses for
credit, and auditing students may be dropped.
A student is not permitted to change from audit to
credit or credit to audit at any time.
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A degree student who is in good
standing may opt to register for a course on a pass/fail
basis. The course must be one for which
the student is eligible to register and cannot be among
those used to satisfy core, major, or minor
requirements. A student must
declare the intention to take a course on a pass/fail
basis by notifying the instructor at the first class
meeting. It is recommended that
students consult their academic advisors prior to taking
any course as pass/fail.
Grades awarded for a pass/fail course are “P” (pass) or
“F” (fail).
A grade of “P” carries full credit for the course, but
the course is
not counted in calculating the grade point average. At
most,
twelve semester hours taken on a pass/fail basis may be
used to
satisfy degree requirements (not including courses for
which “P” or
“F” is the only grade awarded).
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With the approval of their
advisor, the undergraduate program
director or department chair, the instructor, and the
graduate program
director, UAB undergraduate students may be allowed to
register for a graduate course. Credits earned by
undergraduate
students may be applied to either an undergraduate
degree or a
graduate degree, but not both. If the student is
subsequently
admitted to the Graduate School, use of this credit
toward a graduate
degree requires the approval of the graduate program
director
and the Graduate School dean. (The Graduate School does
not
give credit for any grade below a “C”.) Credits that
have been used
toward the baccalaureate degree cannot be used a second
time
toward a graduate degree.
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