Review Your UTRGV Lingo
Advanced-level Work
Courses numbered 3000-4000 are advanced or upper-division courses. Courses numbered 3000 are designated as junior level, and 4000-numbered courses are designated as senior level. Approval of the department chair or dean of the college is required for enrollment in advanced-level courses by students who have not reached junior standing. Students who have to passed all portions fo the TASP exam may not enroll in any advanced-level coursework if, upon completion of the work, the student would have completed 60 or more hours.
Attempted hours
Attempted hours are the total number of hours for courses that a student has attempted, including failing grades such as “F,” “DF” and “WF.”
Census Date
The official census date is the 12th class day for regular fall and spring semesters or the fourth class day for summer sessions. Dates for traditional programs are found in the Academic Calendar. Census dates for non-traditional students (online-accelerated programs) will be published by the registrar’s office.
Common Course Number
If the course is generally equivalent to the lower- division courses taught at universities and community colleges within the state, the Texas Common Course Number is shown in the course description for informational purposes. See p.27 further information.
Contact Hours
Number of regularly scheduled hours per week that a lecture, laboratory or clinical experience is scheduled to meet during a long semester. (See [3-0] above.)
Coursework in Residence
Coursework in residence refers to coursework actually competed on one of the UTRGV campuses. Extension, credit by examination, and transfer credit may not be used to complete the residency requirement for graduation.
Dean’s List
After each regular semester, a dean’s list is published listing the names of all undergraduate students enrolled in a minimum of 12 college-level hours who have a grade point average of 3.5 or getter for courses taken that semester. A dean’s list is not produced during the summer sessions.
Designated Electives
Students have choices within the category of designated electives but must complete the required number of courses or hours from those specified.
Elective Hours
Required credit hours for which specific courses are not prescribe are listed as elective hours.
Entering freshman
A student admitted as an entering freshman as not attended any accredited college or university.
Full-time Undergraduate
An undergraduate student who is enrolled for at least 12 credit hours during a regular semester, or at least six hours of credit during a summer session, is considered fulltime.
Half-time Undergraduate
A half-time undergraduate student is one who is enrolled for six to 11 credit hours during the regular semester or three hours of credit during a summer session.
Three-Quarter Time Undergraduate
A three-quarter time undergraduate student is one who is enrolled for nine to 11 credit hours during the regular semester.
Hours
College credit at UTRGV is measured in terms of credit hours. Ordinarily, a class that meets one 50-minute period per week for a regular semester will carry a credit of one hour. The majority of classes meet three periods or their equivalent each week and carry three hours of credit. Two or three laboratory hours per week are usually required for one hour of laboratory credit.
Maximum Course Load
The maximum load for a full-time undergraduate student in the fall and spring semesters is 18 hours and for each summer session is 7 hours. Students may be permitted to enroll for additional hours with the approval of his or her undergraduate academic advisor and the dean of the college.
Non-degree Seeking Students
Non-degree seeking students are students who take graduate coursework for professional improvement or other reasons and have not been admitted to a graduate program. If the non-degree seeking student decides to apply to graduate program, the student must submit a graduate application online, pay the required fees, and submit an official transcript shown the awarding of a bachelor’s or higher degree. Registration as a non-degree seeking student in a master’s course requires the permission of the graduate program director or the department chair. Registration in doctoral courses requires acceptance to a doctoral program and/or approval for the Graduate College Dean and may require additional documentation. A maximum of 6 hours taken at the university as non-degree seeking student can be applied to a graduate degree with the approval of the graduate department.
Prerequisite
A course listed with a prerequisite means that specified requirements must be met before on can enroll in the course. Specific prerequisites are listed I course descriptions.
Probation
Students are placed on scholastic probation when they fail to achieve the required overall grade point average. Students may be placed on disciplinary probation for infraction of any University regulation. In either case, they must satisfy specific requirements before they can return to a non-probationary status. For further information, refer to the sections on scholastic probation and suspension in the undergraduate and graduate catalogs. Student Conduct is discussed on p. 120.
Returning Semester
A regular semester is any 15-week fall or spring semester.
Returning Student
A student whose last institution attended was UTRGV is admitted as a returning student after an absence of at least one regular semester.
Special Student
A student holding a least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution who does not wish to enter the graduate school may be permitted to register as special student in one of the undergraduate colleges and is subject to all rules and regulations of the college.
Summer Session
As part of its regular program, the university offer two summer sessions, each five-and-on-half weeks long.
Transfer Students
Students admitted as transfer students have last attended an accredited college or university other than, or in addition to, UTRGV.