Most courses meet three hours a week in the fall and spring semesters and have a credit value of three hours for one semester or six hours for two semesters. In a six-week summer term, courses meet seven and a half hours a week for three semester hours of credit. Fall or spring semester classes that meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are scheduled for an hour (fifty minutes with a ten-minute interval between classes); classes that meet on Tuesday and Thursday are scheduled for an hour and a half (seventy-five minutes with a fifteen-minute interval between classes). To facilitate movement between classes, Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes normally begin on the hour and are dismissed after fifty minutes; Tuesday-Thursday classes normally begin on the hour or half-hour as appropriate and are dismissed after seventy-five minutes. Summer session classes normally are scheduled every day for an hour and a half (seventy-five minutes with a fifteen-minute interval between classes).
Course numbers. Courses are designated by numbers, or by numbers with a capital letter following. The numbers indicate both the rank and the credit value of the course. Course numbers 201 through 299 denote a value of two semester hours, 301 through 399, a value of three semester hours, and so on. A zero as the first digit indicates that the course is noncredit. The last two digits specify the rank of the course; if 01 through 19, the course is of lower-division rank; if 20 through 79, of upper-division rank; and if 80 through 99, of graduate rank.
Two courses that have the same abbreviation and the same last two digits may not both be counted for credit unless the digits are followed by a letter. For example, Chemistry 610 and Chemistry 810 may not both be counted because they are substantially the same; however, English 325 and 325K may both be counted.
The letter A following a course number designates the first half of a course; B, the second half. For example, Music 612A is the first half of Music 612; Music 612B, the second half. The letter X following a course number designates the first third of the course; Y, the second third; Z, the last third. For example, Law 621XY means that the first two-thirds of the six-hour course Law 621 is being given during one semester.
All nonexempt students entering Texas public colleges and universities are subject to TASP regulations. Nonexempt students who have accumulated nine or more semester hours of college-level credit, including posted credit by examination, from all Texas public colleges attended, must have TASP Test scores on file with the University to be eligible to register. Transfer students must submit official documentation to the TASP Office showing compliance with TASP regulations before registering at the University. Transient students pursuing degrees from private or out-of-state institutions are not required to take the TASP Test.
Students who are blind or deaf are subject to testing if they have not completed at least three semester hours of college-level credit prior to September 1995. Blind students are required to take the TASP Test with appropriate accommodations; deaf students are required to take the Stanford Achievement Test. Information about accommodations for students with disabilities may be found in the TASP Test Registration Bulletin.
Nonexempt students who score less than 230 on the reading or mathematics subtests, or less than 220 on the writing subtest (including omitted subtests and canceled scores) are required to participate in developmental studies instruction until they are able to achieve the state standard on all three subtests. A student who scores below the state standard may not register for upper-division courses that, when completed, would give the student a total of sixty or more semester credit hours, including transfer credit.
Students who qualify for an exemption from TASP requirements are responsible for providing documentation to the University to establish the exemption. A student who meets any of the following criteria is eligible for an exemption.
| Test Date | Postmark Deadline for Regular Registration[2] | Late Registration Period[3] |
| September 28, 1996 | September 6, 1996 | September 9 - September 18, 1996 |
| November 9, 1996 | October 11, 1996 | October 14 - October 30, 1996 |
| February 22, 1997 | January 24, 1997 | January 27 - February 12, 1997 |
| April 19, 1997 | March 21, 1997 | March 24 - April 9, 1997 |
| June 21, 1997 | May 23, 1997 | May 26 - June 11, 1997 |
| July 19, 1997 | June 20, 1997 | June 23 - July 9, 1997 |
Registration to take the TASP Test is handled by National Evaluation Systems, Inc. The required form is included in official TASP registration bulletins, available at Texas public colleges and most public high schools. Information and registration materials may be obtained on campus from the TASP Office, Flawn Academic Center, Room 33; the Measurement and Evaluation Center, 2616 Wichita Street; the General Information and Referral Service, Main Building, ground floor; and the Office of the Dean, College of Education, Sanchez Building 216. Further information is available at the TASP Office, (512) 471-8277.
Maximum hours in the summer session. Except as permitted by his or her academic dean, no undergraduate student may register for more than fourteen semester hours in a twelve-week summer session (exclusive of credit by examination), not to exceed eight semester hours earned during either the first six-week term or the second six-week term. A student whose maximum period of summer registration is nine weeks may not register for more than ten semester hours except as permitted by his or her academic dean.
Minimum hours in the fall and spring semesters. An undergraduate student may not carry fewer than twelve semester hours of credit without the approval of his or her academic dean. An undergraduate engineering student may not enroll in fewer than fourteen semester hours of coursework except with the written approval of the dean. Twelve of the fourteen hours must be applicable to the degree.
Failure to obtain approval may jeopardize the student's continuance in school. A student who is a minor must present a written statement from a parent or guardian accepting the conditions under which permission to carry a reduced course load is granted.
Graduate students are not subject to minimum course load requirements except as noted on the following page. International students must have written permission from the International Office as well as their dean to carry fewer than twelve hours if undergraduate students or nine hours if graduate students.
Minimum hours in the summer session. There is no minimum course load in the summer session.
Assistant instructors, teaching assistants, assistants (graduate), and graduate research assistants. To be employed as an assistant instructor, teaching assistant, assistant (graduate), or graduate research assistant, a student must be admitted unconditionally to the Graduate School, be in good academic standing, and be making satisfactory progress toward a degree. Students employed in teaching or research positions must be registered for at least nine semester hours each semester. Summer registration depends on the type and amount of employment.
In the fall or spring semester, the total of a graduate student's work appointments as a teaching assistant, assistant instructor, graduate research assistant, or assistant (graduate) may not exceed twenty hours a week during the first year and thirty hours a week in subsequent years. International students may not exceed twenty hours a week without the approval of the graduate dean. Forty-hour appointments are allowed during the summer session.
Assistant instructors, teaching assistants, assistants (graduate), and graduate research assistants may not accept payment from a student for tutoring services except on the recommendation of the department chairman and with the approval of the dean. If approved, the graduate assistant may tutor only in a course with which he or she has no connection.
Other student employees. An undergraduate student's combined University employment and semester-hour course load may not exceed forty hours a week in any semester or summer term. Any academic unit may require a lower work-study load of their students who are employed by the University than that described above. Any student who wishes to exceed the maximum work-study load set by his or her college must have the approval of the dean of the college.
After a grade is reported to the registrar, it may not be changed unless an error was made by the instructor. Grades are given by semesters; however, in a course extending through two semesters, credit is not counted toward the degree until both semesters of the course are completed.
A student is expected to complete a course, including self-paced courses, in a single semester, summer term, or summer session. If the course is not completed as expected, the student normally will not be given additional time to complete it, or to do additional work to achieve a better grade. In rare instances, for nonacademic reasons and subject to the approval of the instructor, a temporary delay of the final course grade, symbol X, may be given. If no final grade is reported by the end of the next semester, excluding any intervening summer session, a grade of F is recorded as the final grade in the course.
Members of the staff are not authorized, without the academic dean's approval, to withhold a final grade or to defer reporting a final grade at the end of the semester other than by the use of the symbol X. If a grade is withheld without the dean's approval, the grade may not be added to the official records later without the written approval of the student's dean.
If an undergraduate student receives a symbol X in a course, the student must complete the requirements for the course and have the instructor report a final course grade on or before the last date for grade reporting in the next semester, excluding any intervening summer session, or an F will be recorded as the final grade in the course. The period for completion of the coursework may be extended only for unusual circumstances beyond the student's control, as recommended by the instructor and approved by the student's academic dean. A student who has received an X in a course may not register for that course again until a final grade has been recorded, unless the course is one that may be repeated for credit.
If the symbol X appears on a student's record, the course for which the symbol is recorded is not used in the calculation of the student's University grade point average. When the instructor assigns the final course grade, and it is approved by the student's dean and reported to the registrar by the appropriate deadline, the grade is entered on the record and counted in computing the student's grade point average. The symbol X remains on the record.
Approved uses of the symbol X. An undergraduate student may, with the approval of the instructor, be assigned the symbol X in a course for one of the following reasons:
Provided the following conditions are met, an undergraduate student may take a maximum of five one-semester courses, including correspondence courses, on the pass/fail basis as part of the hours required for the student's degree.[6]
Course credit by examination may be accepted with the symbol CR in required subjects except in the College of Communication, where an eligible student must accept a letter grade rather than the symbol CR in the major. Acceptance of course credit by examination with the symbol CR will not reduce the number of elective courses for which a student may register on the pass/fail basis.
Each department may offer as many as two courses in its major entirely on the pass/fail basis.
A graduate student may take no more than 20 percent of the hours for any master's degree on the credit/no credit basis, and no more than a comparable portion of the Program of Work for the doctoral degree. The option to take a course or courses on the credit/no credit basis must be approved by the graduate adviser and should be elected at the time of registration. A graduate student may change the basis of registration in a course no later than midsemester; see the calendar for specific deadlines. Dissertation, thesis, and master's report courses must be taken for a letter grade. Coursework requirements and methods of evaluation in a course must be the same for students registered on the credit/no credit basis as for those registered on the letter-grade basis. Performance at the level of C or above for an undergraduate or graduate course taken on the credit/no credit basis is required to earn credit (CR). Courses taken on the credit/no credit basis are not included when the grade point average is computed.
Grade scores. Although a grade of D is sufficient for an undergraduate to earn credit in a course, a cumulative University grade point average of at least 2.00 (C) is necessary for satisfactory progress toward a degree. In computing the grade point average, an A has a value of four points a semester hour; a B, three points; a C, two points; a D, one point; and an F, zero points. The symbols X (temporary delay of grade), CR (pass on the pass/fail basis), and S and U (for developmental courses) yield zero points. A course for which the symbol X, CR, S, or U is given does not count as hours undertaken for the purpose of calculating the grade point average, and no grade points are earned; a course taken on the pass/fail basis in which a grade of F is earned does count as hours undertaken and no grade points are earned.
A student who enrolls in the University of Texas at Austin must drop any correspondence work in progress or obtain the approval of his or her academic dean to continue the correspondence work.
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28 August 1996. Registrar's Web Team
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