Academic Regulations

The regulations published in the Undergraduate Catalog are a digest of the rules of the institution. Changes may be made in the regulations at any time to promote the best interests of the university and its students. Students are responsible for knowing the published regulations, policies, and standards of the university and of their college or school.

Class Schedules And Registration

Advising and Student Responsibility

The university provides an academic advising system that requires each student to consult with an academic adviser prior to each registration period. The adviser’s role is to assist the student in making course selections and to approve the student’s schedule. The student, however, bears the ultimate responsibility for making appropriate choices when scheduling classes, including schedule changes made during the drop-add period. Although colleges, schools, and departments may monitor the final class schedule of students in their respective programs, the student also bears the ultimate responsibility for meeting all degree requirements. Where there is doubt concerning requirements, authoritative information may be obtained from the office of the student’s academic dean.

Prerequisites

Some courses have prerequisites, which are listed in the Courses of Instruction part of this catalog. A student may not take a course unless these prerequisites have been met. Exceptions can only be made in special cases with the prior consent of the instructor, the department chair, and the dean.

In a continuous course sequence (such as Writ 101, 102 or Math 261, 262, 263, 264), the prior courses are prerequisite to the subsequent courses unless otherwise stated. Thus, a student who has failed one semester of a continuous course sequence may not take a subsequent course in that sequence until the failed course has been passed. In the case of modern language sequences (such as Span 101, 102, 201, 202), a student may begin at any level but then must take any subsequent courses in order.

Registration Eligibility

To be eligible to register for classes, a student must be: (1) a new student who applies for admission and receives a CERTIFICATE OF ADMISSION, (2) a continuing student from the preceding regular semester or summer term, or (3) a former student, not enrolled in the preceding regular semester or summer term, who applies for re-admission and receives a CERTIFICATE OF RE-ADMISSION.

New Student Registration

Each new undergraduate student attends an orientation session prior to, or at the beginning of, the student’s first semester. During this session, new students are given special assistance in setting up their first class schedule and are able to register for their classes.

Full-time Course Load and Maximum Course Load

Full-time enrollment at the undergraduate level and maximum course load are defined in the chart given below:

This definition does not depend on the mode of course delivery or the location of the course. Students are advised not to take more than 18 hours without a compelling reason and a cumulative GPA four-tenths of a point above 2.0 for each extra hour desired. **To register for more than 18 hours, a student must seek permission from his or her dean’s office.

Priority Registration

Continuing students may register online by using their WebID through the myOleMiss portal. Online class schedules for an upcoming priority registration period are available approximately two weeks prior to the beginning of priority registration. An academic adviser must approve each student’s schedule. The time when a student may begin registration varies for different categories of students. Students accept the responsibility for maintaining acceptable grades and for the payment of fees at the time they register.

Late Registration

Students who do not register before classes begin have until the last day to register, which is the 10th day of classes of a regular semester, to complete the process. During this period, a late registration fee will be assessed. No student will be permitted to register for classes after the last day to register without a serious and compelling reason approved by the dean of the student’s school or college. In no case may a student register after the last regular class day in any semester.

Late Withdrawal from a Course

After the course withdrawal deadline, a student may drop a course only in cases of extreme and unavoidable emergency as determined by the student’s academic dean. Unacceptable reasons for late withdrawal include dissatisfaction over an expected grade or a change in a student’s degree program or major. In no case may a class be dropped after the last regular class day in any semester, session, or term. Courses dropped after the course withdrawal deadline will still appear on the student’s official transcript. The W mark will be recorded if the student is passing the course at the time of withdrawal; the F grade will be recorded if the student is failing.

Drop-Add Procedures

Students may add courses, using the myOleMiss portal, through the fifth day in which classes meet during a regular semester. After the fifth day, students must have the approval of the instructor in the course. After the 10th day of classes (the last day to register), courses may be added only under extraordinary circumstances approved by the dean of the school or college in which the student is enrolled, and a small fee will be assessed per added course. In no case may a student add a class after the last regular class day in any semester.

A student may drop any course, using the online system, until the course withdrawal deadline, which is the 30th day in which classes meet during a regular semester. However, after the 10th day of classes a small fee will be assessed per dropped course. No indication of enrollment in a course properly dropped will be shown on any University of Mississippi record.

Withdrawal from the University

A student who wishes to withdraw from the university (i.e., withdraw from all courses) during the course of a semester, intersession, or summer term can withdraw online at myOleMiss.edu or can provide written notification via fax, mail, or in person to the Office of the Registrar. Appropriate university offices (Student Housing, Financial Aid, Bursar, ID Center, Library, and Academic Dean) will be notified of the withdrawal. Full refunds of tuition and fees (minus a processing fee) are given for withdrawals during the first 10 days of classes of a regular semester, and no refunds are given after the 10th day of classes. Students who withdraw must apply for readmission if not enrolling for the subsequent term.

A student required to withdraw from the university for involuntary military service may be given full credit for course work in progress provided at least four-fifths of the course requirements have been completed. The student’s academic dean will decide if the four-fifths requirement is met, and the student’s instructors will decide whether or not final examinations will be required.

An unofficial withdrawal is defined as occurring when a student simply stops attending classes without going through the formal process to withdraw. If a student unofficially withdraws before completing the period of attendance of which federal aid eligibility is based, there are additional consequences. As noted in the Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook, the U.S. Department of Education mandates that universities develop a mechanism for determining whether a student recipient of a Title IV grant or loan has ceased attendance without notification during the period of enrollment. To meet this requirement, the Office of Financial Aid has created a term-based report that identifies all students who received federal aid and posted all “F” and/or “W” grades. For students falling into these categories, the university must determine if the student actually began attendance and, if so, when the attendance ceased. Based on this information, these students are processed as schedule cancellations (if never attended) or as unofficial withdrawals (if attended and left without officially withdrawing). For schedule cancellations, the student account will be charged for all disbursed aid. For unofficial withdrawals, a calculation is performed for refund purposes. Each student is responsible for having class instructors contact the Office of Financial Aid with a last date of attendance or class-related activity by the accounts receivable posting date that is shown in the student’s Unofficial Withdrawal letter. If acceptable documentation is provided, the later date will be used for the unofficial withdrawal calculation.

Summer Term Deadlines

During a summer term, the last day for full refunds on complete withdrawals is the third day of classes, which is the last day to register or add courses, and the course withdrawal deadline is the 10th day of classes.