The enrollment status of undergraduate students is based on the number of hours enrolled in a term. The university recognizes full-time status as carrying a minimum of 12 semester hours in a regular (fall and spring) and summer term.  Students should be aware that the minimum number of hours is insufficient for completion of a four-year degree program in eight academic semesters (four years). Since most university degree programs require a minimum of 120 semester hours, or 30 hours per year, a student should earn 15 hours per semester to complete most degree programs in four years (eight semesters). The university offers degree-completion plans; see the Office of the Registrar’s website or the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.

The chart below shows the enrollment status for each term, based on hours enrolled.

Term Hours Enrollment Status
Fall, Spring, Summer 1-5 Less than half-time
6-8 Half-time
9-11 Three-quarter time
12 or more Full-time

Number of Hours Allowed per Semester

 The number of hours in which a student is allowed to register includes self-paced (correspondence) courses taken through Global Campus.

  1. Undergraduate students who wish to enroll in more than 18 hours in a regular term must be approved by their academic dean's office. Enrollment in an intersession is limited to a maximum of one lecture or lab course, with the exception of co-requisite courses, for a maximum of four hours.

  2. Undergraduate students who wish to enroll in more than 21 hours in a regular term must get a recommendation from their academic dean's office and  be approved by the Academic Standards Committee.

  3. Undergraduate students who wish to take more than 7 hours in one five-week summer session or more than 14 hours total in the summer term must get a recommendation from their academic dean's office and  be approved by the Academic Standards Committee.

  4. For students with severe injury or illness of a temporary or permanent nature, less than 12 hours may be certified on a semester-by-semester basis as full-time with the approval of the student’s dean and the concurrence of a physician or licensed examiner.