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Academic Load Policy

The student of average ability should be able to take successfully 15-18 semester hours. The student should regularly consult with his/her academic adviser, but the student must know the academic requirements of his/her degree program and plan accordingly for a timely graduation. After consultation with the academic adviser, the student will select the appropriate courses and number of credit hours to be taken each semester. Decisions regarding the number of hours to be taken and class scheduling will differ among students based upon many variables (e.g., academic preparedness and commitments to out-of-class activities). The University's Web-based registration allows a student to register for up to 18 semester hours once classes have begun (To assure equitable access to courses, students are limited to fewer than 18 hours prior to the first day of class. Students seeking to register for more than 18 hours must take written approval from the academic dean to the Office of the Registrar. Students enrolled through the Office of Extended Education must obtain approval of the director to register for more than seven semester hours. 

Determining Full & Part Time Enrollment

Undergraduate Students

  • Full time enrollment for undergraduate students is 12 hours.
  • 9.00-11.99 hours is 3/4 time.
  • 6.00-8.99 hours is 1/2 time.
  • 3.00-5.99 hours is 1/4 time.
  • Round down to nearest cut-off. 

Exceptions for undergraduate students are made when:

  1. Their academic program restricts them from enrolling in 12 hours. For instance, students enrolled in student teaching may only enroll for six hours. Students such as these will be considered full time for that semester except for purposes of federal financial aid.
  2. Students enrolled in the last semester necessary for graduation may be considered full time if their enrollment is less than 12 hours except for purposes of federal financial aid.

Graduate Students

  • Full time enrollment for graduate students is 6 hours.
  •  4.50-5.99 hours is 3/4 time.
  •  3.00-4.49 hours is 1/2 time.
  • .50-2.99 hours is 1/4 time. 

Graduate students enrolled in the last semester necessary for graduation may be considered full time if their enrollment is less than 6 hours except for purposes of federal financial aid.

Summer Academic Load Policy

While as many as 15-18 credit hours may be earned during the several summer sessions, a student may not be enrolled in more than seven credit hours at any one time and no more than four credit hours concurrently during the three-week MAY session. Study abroad programs are not affected by this policy. Any exception to this policy must have written approval of the dean of the major.

Summer School Class Availability Information

Any Summer School Class with less than the required number of students enrolled will be subject to cancellation. Cancellation decisions will be made just the week prior to the start of the class.

In the summer school term:

  • undergraduate classes require at least 8 enrolled students
  • graduate classes (50000 and above) require 8 enrolled students
  • in some graduate programs, a summer class will be expected to have 8 for-credit enrollees or one (1) more than half of the number of students in the program as of the previous fall, with a minimum of 5 students enrolled in the class.

Student Access & Accommodation Services

Students that require academic access and accommodations may reach out to the access & accommodations office for assistance in setting up accommodations.

Access & Accommodation

Academic Probation and Suspension Policies

Students who fail to achieve:

  • A 2.00 cumulative TCU GPA in any semester of attendance following academic warning will be placed on academic probation, or,
  • A 2.00 cumulative TCU GPA in any semester of attendance will be placed on academic probation if they have attempted 18 or more cumulative semester hours at any accredited institution.

Academic probation will become part of their official transcript.

Students who have been placed on academic probation at any time during their matriculation at TCU will be subject to academic suspension if they fail to maintain a 2.00 cumulative GPA at TCU in any subsequent semester of attendance.

Students who are subject to academic suspension will have their academic progress reviewed by their academic dean and will be notified in writing as to the academic suspension decision and any special conditions for re-enrollment. A student's suspension may be for a single semester or for a full calendar year and may or may not include summer terms, at the discretion of the dean of the student's major. A second suspension will be for a minimum of a full calendar year.

Following suspension, the student must apply for re-enrollment to the University. Re-enrollment requires the approval of the academic dean of the student's intended major. Credit earned from another college or university during a period of academic-related suspension may not be transferred to TCU. A student re-enrolled in the University following a period of suspension is automatically on probation.

Academic suspension will become part of their official transcript.

Students will be placed on academic warning if they have attempted (i.e., received a grade) at least nine semester hours but fewer than 18 total semester hours at any accredited institution and their cumulative TCU GPA falls below 2.00. Academic warning will not become a part of the official transcript. Students will be placed on academic warning only once during their matriculation at TCU.

Only students in the Honors College may sign up for honors section courses.

Honors sections (designated by section numbers in the 600s) are scheduled each semester to enable Honors Program students to meet their curriculum requirements. Other students capable and willing to accept the challenge of Honors-level work are permitted into Honors sections on a space-available basis. In Honors sections with limited enrollments, the Director of the Honors Program may ask the Registrar to move pre-registered non-Honors students out of such sections if additional space is needed for Honors students.

If a course taken at TCU is repeated at TCU, the official grade is the last letter grade made, although all grades appear on the transcript. Only the last letter grade earned in the repeated course will be used in computing the GPA. 

If a course is taken at TCU and then repeated at another institution, or if a course is taken at another institution and then repeated at TCU, only the grade earned at TCU is used to compute the student's GPA. Credit for any given course, regardless of where it was taken, may be counted only once. 

The student is responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar when a course is repeated.

The purpose of student-initiated withdrawal from courses is to enhance the learning opportunity in a program of study. On recognition that a student may lack the background needed for the mastery of course content, the subject matter in a course does not match student need or interest as anticipated, or that course requirements will limit effective appropriation of learning in a semester's overall program of study, a student may officially withdraw from the course.

Mere absence from a class does not constitute withdrawal. To withdraw from a course, a student must follow official established procedure. Students may withdraw from classes with no academic penalty through 70 percent of class days. The last day to declare P/NC will be the day following the last day to withdraw. (Exam days are considered class days. The last day to withdraw will be the last whole day not to exceed 70 percent.) The date of withdrawal for all purposes, including tuition adjustment, shall be the date of official withdrawal. No withdrawals are allowed after this date during the fall and spring semesters or a comparable period during a shorter term.

Any student experiencing unusual hardship may seek special consideration through a written petition to the dean of the college of his or her major. Petitions should, where possible, be documented with supporting statements from a doctor, counselor or family member. Doing unsatisfactory work in a course is not sufficient reason for special consideration. If, in the opinion of the dean, the request is justified, a grade of "Q" (dropped by the dean's permission) may be assigned by the dean after consultation with the instructor of the course, the chair of the department and the dean of the school/college in which the course is offered. Any dean assigning a "Q" will notify the Registrar's Office.

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