Date:         Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:13:49 -0400
Sender:       Graduate School <GRAD-SCHOOL@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         The Graduate School <grad-sch@UGA.EDU>
Subject:      IMPORTANT REMINDER: Graduate Enrollment Policy
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Dear Graduate Students,

Please note that this account does not accept replies – contact info is given below. PLEASE READ ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ENROLLMENT INFORMATION CAREFULLY TO:
o Finish your degree on time
o Learn how to save money by complying with this policy
o Learn how this affects withdrawal from courses

GRADUATE STUDENT ENROLLMENT POLICY: Degree-seeking graduate students at the University of Georgia are REQUIRED TO REGISTER FOR A MINIMUM OF 3 HOURS FOR AT LEAST TWO SEMESTERS IN EACH ACADEMIC YEAR (FALL, SPRING, SUMMER – YES, summers count). Please note that the graduate enrollment policy does not replace any more stringent policy by the Graduate School or other units of the University of Georgia affecting your enrollment.
   If you are on a graduate assistantship, you must register for the minimum hours required by that policy (9 for summer, 12 for fall and spring for one-third to one-half service assistantships).
   International students and person's receiving financial aid must register for the number of hours required by those categories.
   You must register for a minimum of 3 hours of graduate credit during the semester you complete degree requirements even if you were registered for the two previous semesters. You must register for a minimum of three hours in any semester in which you use university resources, including faculty time.

Falling out of compliance can cost you money! Penalties are explained in the policy. Please become familiar with the enrollment policy in the Graduate Bulletin at http://www.uga.edu/gradschool/academics/registration.html

APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF OUT-OF-STATE TUITION: Some doctoral students and some thesis-writing master's students will be gifted out-of-state tuition waivers as part of the enrollment policy. All master’s students meeting the criteria must submit a form requesting the waiver. Any out-of-state doctoral student who was admitted to candidacy prior to fall 2007 must submit the same form to receive the waiver. Doctoral students classified as out-of-state for tuition and who are admitted to candidacy after summer 2007 will automatically receive the waiver. You cannot receive this waiver if you have an assistantship that waives tuition. See instructions at this link for details:
http://www.uga.edu/gradschool/academics/instructions%20oos.html

This policy affects all graduate students except the following:
1. University employees on the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and
2. Students in non-degree status
TAP and non-degree students remain under the former enrollment policy and will lose registration eligibility if not enrolled for three consecutive terms. Persons in TAP and non-degree categories who have lost the ability to register must apply for readmission to the Graduate School and pay the applicable application fee if they wish to continue taking courses, but will not be assessed a penalty fee for non-enrollment. Remember that only nine hours taken during non-degree status can be used toward a degree program later.
    PLEASE NOTE: Students can request a leave of absence for extreme circumstances for a semester when they cannot register.  Students CANNOT use a request for a leave of absence from graduate enrollment to WITHDRAW from courses in the current semester.
    Students must initiate withdrawal in the OASIS system, subject to the deadlines established by the University.  Withdrawal policies and dates are available at http://www.reg.uga.edu
    If you need to do a COMPLETE WITHDRAWAL OF ALL COURSES, the petition for that goes to the Division of Student Affairs.  The Graduate School is not involved in this process.  Please see this web page for information about hardship withdrawals, http://www.uga.edu/studentaffairs/students/withdrawals.htm
  A semester during which a student withdraws from courses is counted as an enrolled semester, so students who withdraw after drop/add are not penalized by the graduate enrollment policy.

You can find answers to FAQs about registration at http://www.uga.edu/gradschool/academics/ess_faq.html#minsemester
Please contact your academic department or gradinfo@uga.edu if you have other questions.

The Graduate School
The University of Georgia
320 E. Clayton Street, Suite 400
Athens, GA 30602-4401
http://www.grad.uga.edu

This message was sent by staff in the UGA Graduate School to all active graduate students.  This is for official communication only.  This listserv does not accept replies.  Please contact the person identified in the message if you have questions.