Cadet Life
Your Role as a Cadet
Participation
To be in the Army ROTC program you must be a full-time student in good standing with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. No restriction is placed on your academic major (unless you are a scholarship cadet) other than requiring normal progress toward a degree. You are expected to attend all scheduled ROTC classes and labs as well as your academic curriculum classes. If it becomes impossible to attend a particular class, report this to your instructor prior to the class.
Contracted and Enrolled students will participate in all events (classroom, field training, and physical training). Auditing and participating students will only participate in the classroom portion of ROTC. Participation in any of the extracurricular activities and organizations sponsored by ROTC is voluntary.
Conduct
Your conduct, both in and out of uniform, must be praiseworthy and you must exhibit those qualities consistent with the status and position of a commissioned officer. Specifically, you should be neat in appearance, have a neatly groomed haircut, and observe military courtesy. Take pride in your appearance, your uniform, and your conduct. While you are in uniform, you represent the Army and your fellow cadets in the eyes of others. Auditing and participating students do not need to meet Army requirements (e.g. a military haircut).
Sponsorship Program
New students are provided an upper class cadet as a sponsor. The sponsor will help the new student pick up their uniforms and equipment; teach them the proper way to wear the uniform, and provide instruction in maintaining the uniform (i.e., placement of patches.) The sponsor will also help the new student locate campus classrooms; and should answer questions about purchasing textbooks, housing, and campus life. The role of the sponsor does not end after initial processing, but continues throughout the term. Your sponsor will be able to answer most of your questions and if they are unable to then the cadre are always available to assist you.