Cross Enrollment/Transient Student

Have you considered taking courses outside of USF while you are a student here? Many students look to other Florida colleges and universities, as well as Florida community colleges for options to fill out their schedules. This is particularly true during the summer. If you are considering this option, please consult with your advisor in advance! Your advisor can help you determine if the courses you are planning to take are appropriate and if they can be counted as credit toward your USF degree.

If you are planning to take courses at both USF and another institution during the same term, you will be "cross enrolling". Before registering for courses at the other institution, you need to fill out a Cross Enrollment Form and have it signed by your advisor. The form is available in the TRAC office, and online on the Registrar's website.

If you are planning to take courses only at another institution during a term, you will be a "transient student". Before registering for courses at the other institution, you need to fill out a Transient Student Form and have it signed by your advisor. The form is available in the TRAC office and online on the Office of Financial Aid's website.

Declaring a Major

Declaring a major can be a daunting task! But don't worry! There are a number of resources available to assist you.

Are you ready to declare your major? If so, contact the TRAC Office and/or your advisor to get a Change of Major form. This will begin the process. See the list of colleges below for more information.

CLAST

The CLAST is a requirement for graduation. Students may acquire registration holds if successful completion of the CLAST exam components, or waiver/exemption from the requirement, is not completed in a timely manner. Some students can be exempt from the CLAST test based on standardized test scores or completion of specific courses. However, some colleges require all potential students to complete all sections of the exam. Please see your Academic Advisor for information on exemptions.

FERPA

FERPA is an acronym for "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act". This is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

Essentially, this law protects the privacy of student educational records and affords students the right to refuse to permit USF (and other educational institutions) from releasing or disclosing any information about them. The purpose of FERPA is to identify the rights students have pertaining to their educational records.

The primary rights of students include the right to:

• Inspect and review their educational records,
• Seek to have their records amended, and
• Control the disclosure of information from their records.

Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell students about directory information and allow for a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information.

For additional information please refer to the following:

Associate of Arts (AA) Certificate

It is possible to receive an Associate of Arts Certificate at USF. This is recommended to students who are considering transfer to other Florida state colleges and universities.

Requirements:

• Complete 60 semester hours of university credit. (Note: Physical Education and Military Science credits do not count towards this total.)
• At least 20 of the last 20 hours of university credit must be completed at USF.
• Minimum overall GPA of 2.0.
• Minimum USF GPA of 2.0.
• Complete all General Education Requirements of USF.
• Complete the CLAST requirement
• Complete the Gordon course requirements.

Application:
The Application for an Associate of Arts Certificate can be obtained from the Transitional Advising Center (TRAC) prior to the application deadline. Plan to apply at the beginning of the semester in which you will complete the requirements listed above.

Deadlines:
The application deadline for the A.A. is the Graduation Application Deadline established by the university. There is an application deadline effective for each semester. These dates can be found in the USF Academic Calendar in the Undergraduate Catalog.

Processing:
Final processing for the Associate of Arts will be done after grades are posted at the end of the semester. All work, including transfer work, taken in that semester will be evaluated with respect to the requirements for the Associate of Arts Certificate.

For more information about pursuing the Associate of Arts Certificate at USF, contact your Academic Advisor.

Academic Probation, Dismissal, and Renewal

The first time an undergraduate student's GPA falls below a 2.00 counting only USF grades, he/she will be placed on Academic Probation (AP). If the cumulative GPA is not raised to 2.00 or higher at the end of the next term of enrollment, the student will be placed on Final Academic Probation (FP). A student on Final Academic Probation who fails to raise his/her cumulative USF GPA to 2.00 or higher at the end of the next term of enrollment will be Academically Dismissed (AD) from the university.

The determination and notification of probationary status or academic dismissal will be made by the Registrar's Office on the student's semester grade report and academic record.

If a student who has accumulated fewer than 60 semester hours is academically dismissed from USF or falls below a 2.0 GPA and subsequently achieves an A.A. degree or an articulated A.S. degree from a Florida public community/junior college (or other SUS institution), that student, when returning to the University, will return with the USF GPA earned prior to dismissal unless he/she exercises the option of "Academic Renewal I".

If a student who has accumulated 60 or more semester hours is academically dismissed from USF or falls below a 2.0 GPA and subsequently receives an A.A. or an articulated A.S. from a Florida public community/junior college (or other SUS institution), that student, when returning to the University, will begin with the USF GPA earned prior to dismissal unless he/she exercises the option of "Academic Renewal II".

Please refer to the USF Undergraduate Catalog for more details about Academic Renewal.

Academic Regulations Committee (ARC) Petitions

Students are provided with the opportunity to petition the university on a number of issues. The Academic Regulations Committee (ARC) meets regularly to review petitions submitted by undergraduate students to waive University academic regulations.

Typical reasons students request waiver of University academic regulations include:

• Waive deadlines, i.e. registration, late add, late drop
• Readmission to the University after having been academically dismissed
• Total withdrawal from an entire term

USF has implemented a statute of limitations on student petitions for retroactive adds, drops, withdrawals, and registration. A student will be limited to two calendar years (six academic semesters/terms) for such appeals whether the student is in attendance or not.

The ARC traditionally meets once a week on Tuesday. To petition the committee, a student must secure the appropriate form from the Office of the Registrar and consult with the ARC representative from his/her college prior to submitting the petition form. Completed forms should be returned to the Office of the Registrar no later than the preceding Thursday, to be reviewed at the next week's meeting. Students will receive notification of the committee's action the following week.

It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the ARC Petition process and to provide all required forms and documentation. The forms can be found through the Transitional Advising Center and online through the Registrar's Office. Students must also provide a written personal statement presenting a reason why the University regulations should be set aside in their case. The ARC Petition process does not ensure that the student's request will be granted, but instead provides a place for the student's request to be heard and considered.

Holds

A student may be placed on administrative hold for failure to meet obligations to the University. When a student is on administrative hold, he/she may not be allowed to register, receive a diploma, or receive a transcript. Settlement of financial accounts must be made at the University Cashier's Office. Each student placed on administrative hold should determine which office(s) placed the holds and how to fulfill any necessary requirements in order to have the hold(s) removed. The following is not an inclusive list of all possible administrative holds, but a list of those most frequently encountered by students.

CC - Cash Collections
MJ - Major
OA - Advising
OB -
TC - CLAST
TS - CLAST