Classification of Students

Undergraduates may enroll in one of five categories:

1. Full-Time Students

Students who are admitted as candidates for a degree are normally designated as a member of a particular graduating class and are expected to make normal progress toward graduating with that class by carrying, at minimum, 12 credits each semester.

2. Part-Time Degree Students

The category “Part-Time” is an original admissions category as well as a category into which full-time students may revert for purposes of continued part-time study. All academic regulations and standards for full-time students including a 2.000 cumulative average apply to part-time students, with the exception of the requirement to complete 12 credits per semester. Each semester of part-time enrollment is counted as a partial semester in applying the rule limiting students to 10 semesters of enrollment. Students involved in part-time study must complete their last 60 credits within five years. Part-time students are charged tuition on a per-credit basis; fees are also assessed according to the number of credits. To ensure part-time billing, the student must request a change of status in SPIRE by the end of the add/drop period.

3. Part-Time Non-Degree Students

Special Student status is a limited non-degree admission category for those who do not have a bachelor’s degree and wish to enroll in regular university courses without pursuing a degree. If a Special Student later applies for admission to a university degree program, all credits earned prior to matriculation will be evaluated by the Office of Transfer Affairs according to policies detailed in Academic Regulations. A maximum of 15 credits earned as a Special Student may be accepted as resident credit if the student later matriculates into a degree program. Credits which are accepted will be factored into the semester count. A new grade point average begins at matriculation. Students who withdraw in good standing from an undergraduate degree program and who wish to enroll on a non-degree basis must notify the Registrar of their desire to change their status.

4. Second-Major Students

A student may earn a second major and have it recorded on the permanent record provided that:

  1. The student declares the major as early as possible and in advance of graduation.
  2. The second major is completed concurrently with the first major within the 10 semesters allowed for the completion of all graduation requirements.
  3. An authorized representative of the second major certifies to the Registrar that all requirements for that second major have been completed.
  4. The second major lies in the same school or college as the first or declared major or the academic dean of the second school or college certifies to the Registrar that all requirements for graduation from that school or college have been satisfied.
  5. Students wishing to obtain their second major from the Isenberg School of Management must formally apply prior to the start of their sixth semester of full-time study (75 completed credits for part-time students). Applications should be made through the Isenberg School of Management Undergraduate Counseling Office.

5. Second-Bachelor’s Degree Students

Individuals interested in pursuing a second bachelor’s degree must apply through the Admissions Office. Prior to acceptance, they must obtain the support of an authorized representative of a department and an undergraduate dean in the School or College of the proposed second degree.

  1. Students and graduates of this university who wish to earn a second bachelor’s degree must complete a minimum of 30 additional credits, all of which must be in residence (i.e., students who want to work for two bachelor’s degrees simultaneously do not have to complete one and then start the other anew).
  2. Graduates of other institutions who wish to earn a second bachelor’s degree at this university must complete a minimum of 45 credits in residence at the Amherst campus, not including enrollment through the Division of Continuing and Professional Education. (For those who have previously attended this university, residency requirements are handled individually.)