Javascript is currently not supported, or is disabled by this browser. Please enable Javascript for full functionality.

   
    Nov 03, 2024  
2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2012-2013 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Enrollment Status


Full-time undergraduate students can be registered for sufficient credits each semester to complete their academic programs in four years (eight regular semesters). For most programs, this means students must average 15 credits per semester to earn the minimum of 120 credits required for graduation. Some programs require more than 120 credits.  Check with the Department Office for degree credit requirements.

The University treats undergraduate students registered for 12 or more credits as full-time students for purposes of calculating student financial aid, determining eligibility for campus housing, athletic eligibility, veteran’s benefits, student fees, and for all other activities which vary according to enrollment status. Failure to register for at least 12 credits per semester will jeopardize eligibility for financial aid, athletic eligibility, veteran’s benefits and campus housing.  Classes that are taken with an Audit status (no grade or credit hours earned) are not counted when determining enrollment status or eligibility for Financial Aid.

Exception(does not apply to financial aid) The University may grant full-time privileges to students with documented disabilities who register for fewer than 12 credits but more than 6 credits per semester. This exception requires the positive recommendations of the University of Maine Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities and of the Special Student Services Advisory Committee, and must be approved by the Provost (or designee). Students requesting this accommodation must provide current, comprehensive evidence of a documented disability from a health care or psycho-educational professional, as well as a copy of their academic records from institutions attended prior to enrolling at the University of Maine. Eligibility of reduced-load students for certain benefits is contingent upon payment of appropriate fees.

The University of Maine may consider students who formally registered in courses in select Cooperative Education, Field Experience, or Internships as part of their UMaine programs, to be full-time students. Also, graduating seniors who need less than 12 credits to complete requirements and have applied to graduate are considered full-time.

Definition of an Undergraduate Student Credit Hour

The University of Maine defines a Student Credit Hour in an undergraduate program as an expectation, on average, of approximately 45 clock hours of student academic engagement per credit hour per course. Student Academic Engagement in a course can take many forms including, but not limited to: class time, testing, reading, writing, studying, discussion group time, laboratory work, internships, practica, practicing, performing or otherwise working on course content. 

Non-Degree Students

Students wishing to take courses at the University of Maine but who are not working towards a University of Maine degree are non-degree students. These students typically register for classes through the University’s Division of Lifelong Learning (DLL, located in Chadbourne Hall). Except for courses offered through Continuing Education/Summer Session, the University allows non-degree registration in regular courses on a space-available basis.

Some non-degree students register and are advised through the appropriate academic colleges rather than through DLL. These include:

  • Students holding a degree but who are pursuing a certificate (e.g., a teaching or professional certificate)
  • Students who are degree students elsewhere but are attending the University of Maine under a formal student-exchange program (e.g., National Student Exchange, Canadian-American Exchange, New England Land-Grant University Student Exchange)

Non-degree students registered for 9 or more (Orono campus) credits per semester are eligible for campus housing on a space-available basis. The University of Maine does not normally award student aid to non-degree students.

Away Status

UMaine students temporarily registered for a course, semester or an academic year at another institution should fill out an “Away Registration” form. “Away” registration keeps the student as a fully enrolled University of Maine student while on Away status. This is important for student aid purposes and for maintaining enrollment in one’s degree program at UMaine. Students seeking to register “away” must be in good academic and financial standing at all UMaine System institutions. Students with Academic or Financial holds on their student accounts will not have their Away Registrations processed and will be notified. To ensure that the maximum number of credits transfer to the UMaine program from the “away” institution it is important that students plan “away” registrations carefully with their academic advisor and obtain the prior approval of the Associate Dean of their college. Grades earned while on “away” status do appear on the UMaine transcript, but do not affect the UMaine GPA.

Absence from the University

Leave of Absence
Undergraduate students in good academic standing and who have no financial indebtedness to the University may request a leave of absence from the University for up to two semesters. Students returning from leave normally are required to return to the college in which they were enrolled when leave began. Students must obtain approval for a leave of absence the semester prior to the desired leave. Students desiring a leave of absence should contact the associate dean of their college.

Withdrawal from the University
Students thinking about withdrawing from the university should consult the associate dean of their college for information about the correct procedure. Withdrawing officially is preferable to simply ceasing to attend because it may prevent the assignment of failing grades that then are forever part of one’s transcript.  Refer to the Academic Calendar  for specific dates and information pertaining to withdrawn classes.

Registration for Classes

Maine law prohibits students born after 1956 from registering for classes until they have filed proof of immunization against measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, and diphtheria with the Office of Student Records. New students will receive information about how to comply with this law upon admission to the University.

Students select and register for classes in consultation with an academic advisor.  Students wishing to register for more than 18 hours in a semester must obtain permission from the associate dean of their college.

Courses are numbered to indicate their level. Those numbered 000-099 are considered remedial and do not count towards a University degree. Courses numbered 100-299 are often introductory in nature and intended to be taken during the first two years of a baccalaureate degree program. The numbers 300-399 usually indicate advanced courses with prerequisites designed for the junior and senior years of the undergraduate program. Courses numbered 400-499 are advanced baccalaureate courses, but graduate students may take them for graduate credit with appropriate permission of their graduate committee. Courses numbered 500-599 are designed for students working for graduate degrees, but undergraduates may take them with the permission of their academic advisor and of the professor teaching the course. Courses numbered 600-699 are highly advanced courses for graduate students exclusively.

With advance request from a student and appropriate departmental and Graduate School permission, 400-level courses taken while an undergraduate can be transferred toward a graduate degree if the courses are not used to fulfill undergraduate degree requirements. They will be treated as graduate transfer credit and, as such, the grades will not be calculated into the graduate GPA.

Not every course is offered every semester. The Schedule of Classes lists the courses scheduled to be taught in a given semester, showing the days, times, and building locations where they meet. Students should use the Catalog and the Schedule of Classes to prepare a tentative class schedule before meeting with their academic advisors.

The University of Maine gives priority in registration to those students who are closest to graduation and therefore have the fewest semesters in which to complete all course requirements. Thus the registration priority is seniors (students having 84 or more degree credits) and First-year, Sophomore and Junior student-athletes who have competition in the fall, for fall registration and competition in the spring, for spring registration, juniors (students having 54 or more degree credits), sophomores (students having 24 or more degree credits), first-year students (students having less than 24 degree credits), and non-degree students.

The details of the registration procedure may vary depending upon which of the University’s colleges, schools or departments offer the student’s major program. In general, after meeting with an academic advisor, students are enabled to perform the actual registration using a personal computer.

Wait List for Registration
Some classes have been designated to maintain a Wait List in MaineStreet. If this is not an available option for a desired class, students may contact the department offering the class and inquire about a Wait List maintained within the department. Each department has the option of utilizing the automated Wait List feature in MaineStreet, or to manage lists manually. In either case, the following applies:

  • Departments will review the Wait List and when openings occur, staff will either enroll or reorder students with the highest need based on class level, need for major, or classes needed to remain in course sequence.
  • Responsibility lies on the student to be certain that classes for which they have been placed on a Wait List do not conflict with classes for which they are already enrolled. Should any conflicts exist, no enrollment from the Wait List will occur and the student will remain on the Wait List.
  • Responsibility lies on the student to drop a class in which they have been enrolled as a result of the Wait List process, should the student no longer desire the class. Students enrolled in a class as a result of the Wait List process will receive email notification via the @maine.edu email address.
  • A student may have a maximum of five total Wait List hours. Wait List hours count toward the total number of hours enrolled for a term.

Continuing Education Registration
The Continuing Education Division (CED) schedules courses in the evenings and on weekends for the convenience of students who can attend the University only on a part-time and evening basis. The content of these courses is the same as that of the same courses offered during the regular daytime hours. Degree students may register for a CED-sponsored course during the first week of the semester if the course has met its minimum enrollment criteria and space is available. Special policies for CED-sponsored courses governing cancellation, adding and dropping, and obtaining refunds are published in the CED fall and spring course schedules and the Summer Session catalog. A complete listing of courses offered through CED is available from the CED Office, Division of Lifelong Learning, 5713 Chadbourne Hall. Students may use MaineStreet to determine if openings exist in specific CED-sponsored courses.

Schedule Changes after Registration (Add/Drop)
The University of Maine allows students to add courses, to change sections within a course or to alter the grading option for a course through the first five class days of each semester.  Courses may be dropped over a much longer period, but students will receive no tuition refund for courses dropped after the tenth day of classes each semester.  Withdrawal from individual courses is reflected on the academic transcript using the same guidelines as withdrawal from the University.

Occasionally the University may cancel a class during the first week because of insufficient enrollment. Courses with numbers from 100 to 299 may be cancelled if fewer than 12 students enroll; those numbered from 300 to 499 may be cancelled if fewer than 8 students enroll (fewer than 12 students for courses offered through the Continuing Education Division).

Participation Policy for Online Courses

The University of Maine expects all students enrolled in online coursework to actively participate in the course. For fully asynchronous courses and for asynchronous elements of hybrid courses, “participation” is defined as the student’s virtual presence for, and participation in discussions, activities, and related forms of electronic contact occurring in a course’s learning environment(s): e.g. participation in on-line discussion about academic matters, podcast viewing, group writing sessions, whole-class or one-on-one chat, completion of assignments. Broad discretion regarding the required frequency and quality of a student’s participation rests with the instructor of record and should be delineated in the course syllabus.