Enrollment General Information
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.
Summer Academic Load Policy
The amount of required classroom/laboratory time for students enrolled in a summer session course conforms to TCU standards. In summer sessions, the time frame in which this work must be accomplished is significantly compressed. Even superior students may find academic pursuits difficult under such conditions. 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 mini-term. Study abroad programs are not affected by this policy. Any exception to this policy must have written approval of the dean of the major.
Declaration of an Academic Major
The premajor option is intended to provide students with more time to explore academic majors. Students may not remain nor declare as premajors after they have earned fifty-four (54) semester hours of credit. The premajor student must formally declare a major by logging on to my.tcu.edu, Student Center, Academic Home Page, and View or Change Major/Minor or by filling out the “Change of Major” form with the Office of the Registrar. Students desiring to change their major in the Registrar's Office should bring some form of picture I.D. to complete the paperwork.
Repeating a Course
If a course taken at TCU is repeated at TCU, the official grade is the last letter grade earned although ALL grades appear on the transcript. The student is responsible for notifying the Registrar when a course is repeated. 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.
Access and Accommodations
Texas Christian University provides reasonable accommodations for each student who has a physical, medical, psychological, or learning disability. If you have a disability and have not submitted information concerning that disability to the university, please contact the office of the Access and Accommodations as soon as possible.
Students who are eligible for Access and Accommodations are encouraged to consult with the Coordinator as early in the semester as possible. It is to your advantage to file all medical or assessment reports, and meet with the Coordination before the semester begins.
For more information regarding Access and Accommodations, contact (817) 257-7486.
Medical Requirements
Immunization and Health History
All new students, as well as students re-entering after a spring/fall break in enrollment, must submit the TCU Meningitis Form, TCU Student Health Form, and a current immunization record. Necessary medical forms can be downloaded from the Health Center's website. Immunization records should include dates of all required immunizations.
Students will not be allowed to register for classes if the necessary medical documentation is not submitted prior to their orientation or enrollment appointment, whichever comes first.
More information can be found on the Health Center's website at healthcenter.tcu.edu.
Health Insurance
All undergraduate students carrying nine or more semester hours MUST have health coverage. Coverage can be provided through a plan offered by the University or through an individual/family plan. If coverage is provided by an individual/family plan and the student does not choose to participate in the University’s plan, it is necessary to file a Waiver of Insurance” with the Brown-Lupton Health Center. The waiver is in effect for the entire academic year in which it is filed and must be filed each year. Please check with the Health Center for deadline dates. Failure to file a waiver by the deadline will result in automatic enrollment in the plan offered by the University. Students majoring in Nursing must have health and accident insurance at any time they are enrolled in a clinical course regardless of the semester hours carried. Graduate students, Brite Divinity School students, Ranch Management students and undergraduate students carrying less than nine hours may elect to participate in the plan offered by the University by enrolling during the 2-week enrollment period at the beginning of each semester.
Nursing Majors
Prior to patient contact all students must submit a copy of written verification of:
- Measles vaccine in combination with rubella and mumps vaccines (MMR Trivalent vaccine).
- One dose of tetanus-diphtheria vaccine within the last 10 years.
- A completed three-dose series of Hepatitis B Vaccine (takes 6 months to complete the series).
- Current health-care-provider level CPR certification, renewed annually.
- A negative tuberculosis Mantoux test (or chest X-ray or physician’s recommendation). If the student has previously tested positive or has recovered from TB, certification from a physician must be provided indicating the student is not contagious. This test must be renewed annually.
Students will not be allowed to enroll in any clinical nursing courses unless they are current with their immunizations, CPR certification, and negative TB testing.
Honors Sections
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.
Financial Aid Recipients
Before preparing course schedules, students are strongly encouraged to review the requirements for renewal of scholarships and financial aid. General policies for all programs and specific requirements for academic scholarships may be found in current Texas Christian University Bulletin for Undergraduate Studies and Texas Christian University Bulletin for Graduate Studies. All students should review the Student Financial Aid Statement of Satisfactory Academic Progress in the Bulletin.
The Financial Services Office will have information on estimated aid; therefore, financial aid recipients do not ordinarily need to contact the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid. Students who applied for loans and did not authorize TCU to apply directly to their student accounts must obtain a loan check release from the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid to present to the Financial Service Office for receipt of loan proceeds.
Auditors
Auditors are admitted to classes on a space-available basis and are subject to an audit fee. Application and information can be obtained in the Office of Extended Education, 3015 Merida, or call (817) 257-7130. TCU Scholars may audit one class (for which auditing is permitted) without fee within twelve months after notification of eligibility. REQUEST CREDIT FOR THE FREE AUDIT IN THE OFFICE OF STUDENT ACCOUNTS. The following regulations apply for all auditors:
- Laboratory and clinical classes, day Ranch Management classes, laboratory sections of lecture classes, activity and performance classes such as the various studio are courses, music performance courses, and ballet classes may not be audited. Evening Ranch Management classes may be audited at full tuition.
- Registration to audit or change a credit class to audit is from the second day of late registration to the last day of late registration as published in the university calendar. Audit fees are non-refundable if the audit class is dropped. Prospective students should seek permission to audit from course instructors before registration.
- Students wanting to audit graduate courses must be admitted for graduate study and have written approval of the instructor of the course. Non-degree graduate students wanting to audit graduate courses must be admitted to graduate study through the Dean of the appropriate school/college and have written approval of the instructor of the course prior to registration. Students wishing to audit MLA courses must be admitted to the MLA program and have written permission from the instructor of the course prior to registration.
- Students interested in auditing a course through Brite Divinity School must consult the Director of Admissions at Brite Divinity School.
- Classroom recitation and participation may be restricted at the discretion of the instructor; no grade is assigned and no credit is awarded auditors. If credit is desired, the student must register for and repeat the regular course after paying regular tuition.
- The student’s name will appear on the instructor’s class roll. “AU” will appear on the transcript if the instructor certifies at semester end that the student has attended as an auditor. Audits not certified by the instructor, as a final grade will be omitted from the student’s record.
- Students who wish to take courses for audit in addition to credit courses need to go to the Office of the Registrar, The Harrison, Suite 1300 to sign up for the audit classes.
- Students who will be enrolled only for audit courses should contact the Office of Extended Education, 3015 Merida, for admission as an auditor.
Cancelled Classes
Classes cancelled by the University due to insufficient enrollment will require that students log in to my.tcu.edu to change to an alternate section or add a different course to their schedule.
