2.9 - Enrollment Policies

Full-time enrollment for graduate students is nine semester hours during the fall and spring semesters and four semester hours during the summer sessions. Students may not carry more than 16 hours per semester for graduate credit or more than nine semester hours per summer session without permission of the Graduate Dean.

Students enrolled in at least five credit hours in a fall or spring semester or two hours in a summer session will be considered half-time, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service.

Students must enroll in at least two graduate credit hours during the semester in which they take the general or comprehensive examination, or when defending their thesis or dissertation. Thesis/dissertation students must maintain continuous enrollment in 5980 or 6980 until the final copies are deposited with the library.

Undergraduate juniors or seniors at the University of Oklahoma who have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater may enroll in graduate level courses. Approval is required from the advisor, department, and Graduate Dean. Undergraduates desiring graduate credit for a course must have a minimum overall grade point average of 3.00 and complete and return to the OU Norman Graduate College the Application for Graduate Credit for Courses taken during the Junior and Senior Year. Students must receive permission to enroll in the course for graduate credit from the instructor, the department offering the course, and the Graduate Dean. Approval of the instructor will signify that the junior or senior will be graded in competition with the graduate students in the class. The application must be completed and returned to the Graduate College Office with the signed approvals noted above before or during the first two weeks of classes of the semester during which the course will be taken.

When the student has completed the bachelor's degree, the Graduate College will request the student's undergraduate college to verify that the course was not required for the bachelor's degree and that the student earned either A, B, or S in the course. Credit for courses so listed may not be applied toward the bachelor's degree.

Each graduate degree program has a prescribed set of courses required for the degree and not all graduate level courses can be applied to fulfill those requirements. Before enrolling in graduate level courses, the student who plans to work toward a graduate degree should consult with the department or program to plan an appropriate program of study.

To prevent a conflict of interest between the role of student and the role of faculty or staff, the following policy applies to all OUHSC faculty and staff enrolled in Graduate College course work and programs at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

A faculty member may enroll in Graduate College course work as a Special Student. If the course work is in a department in which the faculty member has an appointment, the faculty member must enroll for audit.  A faculty member may not enroll for credit and cannot be admitted into a degree program in a department in which he or she holds a faculty appointment or in an academic area of his or her faculty expertise unless the following conditions are met:

1. The faculty member’s graduate program must be for a degree higher than the one currently held.
2. The departmental Chair or Program Director in which the faculty member holds an appointment must submit a plan to manage any potential conflict of interest.  The plan must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate College and the College in which the faculty member holds an appointment.
3. A full time faculty member cannot be paid as a graduate student or receive a student grant.
4. The faculty member must relinquish voting privileges in the department or program in which he or she holds a Graduate Faculty appointment and recuse themselves from any meeting discussing items related to their Graduate College program while a student.

Staff may enroll in graduate course work as Special Students.

If a staff member is admitted to a degree program within the academic unit in which he or she is employed, the following conditions must apply:

1. A staff member may not enroll for credit in a course that is taught by a faculty member who has supervisory authority over the staff member's employment. An exception can be made for a required course taught only by the faculty supervisor if approved by the Graduate College Dean.
2. The staff member’s work and responsibility as an employee must be different from his or her work and responsibility as a student.
3. If the staff member is employed for research effort, the research activity for which the staff member receives payment as an employee cannot be used to meet thesis or dissertation requirements.
4. The criteria for the evaluation of the staff member as an employee must be identified and differentiated from the criteria for the evaluation of the staff member as a student.
5. A full time staff member cannot be paid as a graduate student or receive a student grant. 
6. It is the responsibility of the thesis/dissertation chair and committee members to be certain that these conditions are met and to monitor for any potential conflict of interest and bring it to the attention of the Graduate Dean.
7. The faculty member with supervisory responsibility for the staff member as an employee cannot chair the staff member’s graduate committee unless the following conditions are met:
   1. Prior approval must be requested by the supervising faculty member and approved by the department Chair or Program Director and the Graduate Dean.

   2. The request must include how duties as a staff member and a student are substantially different and how staff and student activities will be evaluated differently.

   3. If the request is approved, the thesis/dissertation committee members will be charged with monitoring for any potential conflicts of interest and bringing them to the attention of the Graduate Dean.

To enroll in Norman campus courses, Health Sciences Center students must receive permission from their HSC college. The HSC Office of Admissions and Records will process all enrollments, adding and/or dropping courses. Tuition and fees for OU Norman courses are paid to the OU Norman Bursar’s Office in Buchanan Hall, 1000 Asp Avenue. Norman campus courses will be listed on the HSC student's transcript. For further information, contact the HSC Office of Admissions and Records, 271-2359.

In that all courses at the HSC require special permission, Norman campus students are advised to secure that permission from the HSC instructor before beginning the enrollment process.

Once permission has been obtained, Norman campus students should contact the Norman Office of Academic Records and Enrollment Services, Buchanan Hall, 1000 Asp Avenue, Norman. HSC courses will be listed on the Norman campus student's transcript. Tuition and fees for HSC courses are paid to the HSC campus Bursar’s Office, Service Center Building, 1100 N Lindsey, Oklahoma City. For further information, contact the OU Norman Office of Academic Records and Enrollment Services, at (405) 325-4147.

Audit enrollment is for non-credit and used by students who want to take a class for information, not to count toward a degree. Students enrolling as an auditor must meet guidelines as outlined below. Enrollment as an auditor is permitted in all courses, subject to the approval of the instructor(s) and the Dean of the college in which the course(s) is offered. Enrollment as an auditor must be completed by the last day of enrollment in any term.

Enrollment as an auditor is indicated with an "AU" or "W" grade on the student's permanent academic record and no credit/clock hour values designated. Fee charges and refund policies for audit enrollments are the same as for credit enrollments. Students enrolled "exclusively" as auditors may withdraw only during the fee refund period and the enrollment will be canceled. No entry will be made on a permanent academic record.

In accepting a student as an auditor, it becomes the responsibility of the instructor to make clear to the student the instructor's requirements for the audit enrollment. For example, if the student is to attend regularly, to participate in specific class exercises, perform experiments, take tests, etc., this must be relayed to the student at the time permission is given to enroll as an auditor. Satisfactory completion of the audit enrollment is identified as an "AU" grade. An instructor, at his/her discretion, may assign a "W" grade to an auditor who, in the instructor's opinion, did not perform according to the specific requirements as identified at the time of enrollment.

Students enrolled exclusively as an auditor may change their enrollment to "credit," providing the student gains admission to the university during the first two weeks of classes of a semester or the first week of classes of a summer session with the approval of the instructor(s) and appropriate college Dean.

A change of enrollment from "credit" to "audit" may be made no later than the end of the sixth week of classes of a semester or the end of the third week of classes of a summer session, providing the student is passing and receives the approval of the instructor and the appropriate Dean. A change of enrollment to audit supersedes the original enrollment for credit, and no withdrawal from the credit enrollment is posted to the student's permanent record. For more information, contact Admissions and Records, LIB 121 or (405) 271-2359.

Only officially enrolled students (either for credit or audit) may attend class. Each student is responsible for the content of courses in which he or she is enrolled. Specific policies concerning attendance requirements, announced, and unannounced examinations are the responsibility of the individual instructor. If absences seriously affect a student's class work, the instructor is required to report this fact to the appropriate Dean, who will transmit the information to the Office of Admissions and Records. Classes are not to be dismissed or rescheduled for extracurricular functions.

Students may request a leave of absence from their graduate studies for up to but not to exceed 12 consecutive months (three consecutive academic terms). Leave of absence has no effect on time limits for expected graduation. The student should complete the ‘Student Leave Request’ form found on the Admissions and Records website. The request must be approved by the student’s graduate advisor, department chair, and Graduate Dean. Students on probationary status, if granted a leave of absence, will resume their probationary status upon return from their leave. Students receiving financial aid may be required to return a portion of the aid. They must check with their financial aid officer.

Students should contact their department to initiate the drop or withdrawal procedure. Withdrawing from the Health Sciences Center refers to withdrawing from all enrolled courses for a given term. Dropping refers to the dropping of one or more courses while remaining enrolled in at least one course for a given term. Consult the class schedule for grading regulations and deadlines relative to withdrawals and drops. Withdrawing or dropping courses may require students receiving financial aid to return a portion of the aid received. Students must check with their financial aid officer. Appropriate forms found at Admissions and Records.

Drop:
During the first two weeks of class (first week of a summer session), no record of a grade on a dropped course will be recorded. From the third through sixth week of class (second and third week of summer), an automatic grade of W will be assigned to each course the student is dropping. From the seventh through 10th week (fourth and fifth week of summer), a grade of W (passing but indicating student withdrew from the course) or F (not passing) is submitted by the course director according to Graduate College grading policy guidelines. Grades of A, B, C, and S are passing or satisfactory grades and grades of D, F or U are failing grades in the Graduate College. From the 11th week through the last day of classes (sixth week through the last day of class in the summer), a petition to the Graduate College Dean requesting permission to drop a course is required. The petition should outline the specific reason(s) for dropping the course(s). If the Dean approves the drop, the course instructor renders a grade of W or F (following the above Graduate College grading policy guidelines) that reflects the student’s letter grade at the time of the drop request.

Withdraw:
The transcript of students withdrawing prior to the beginning of the semester will not reflect enrollment in the courses. From the third through sixth week of class (second and third week of summer), an automatic grade of W will be assigned to each course the student is withdrawing from. From the seventh week through the last day of class (fourth week through last day of class in summer), a grade of W (passing but indicating student withdrew from the course) or F (not passing) is rendered by the course director according to Graduate College grading policy guidelines that reflects the student’s letter grade at the time of the drop request. Grades of A, B, C, and S are passing or satisfactory grades and grades of D, F or U are failing grades in the Graduate College.

 An administrative withdrawal (AW) may be assigned to indicate that a student has been "involuntarily" withdrawn by the institution during the designated semester for disciplinary or financial reasons or inadequate attendance. Such institutional penalties must follow formal institutional procedures. Administrative withdrawals are GPA neutral.