Comprehensive Registration Policies and Procedures
Drop and Add
Students may not add courses after the first three days of a regular semester and summer session. Courses may be dropped in the two regular semesters without approval and with no academic penalty provided students do not go below 12 credits (4 courses) up to the last day for dropping courses without a failing grade for that particular session, as stated on the GUST Academic Calendar.
Independent Study
A graduating student is allowed to enroll in up to two independent study courses in the major. These courses must be taken during the semester in which the student is graduating, provided that:
- The courses are not offered during that semester
- The courses cannot be replaced, with the permission of the Assistant Dean, by an equivalent course
Neither general education requirements nor electives can be taken as independent studies. Independent studies courses are only open to students who have GPAs and MPAs equal or greater than 2.00. GUST does not offer independent study courses during the summer session. Students who previously failed a course cannot take it subsequently as an independent study.
Change of Degree Major
Careful consideration should be given to changing a degree major, and students are encouraged to meet with an academic advisor prior to making a final decision. Changing a major may require studying additional prerequisite or required courses to ensure that the academic regulations for the new major are satisfactorily met.
Students considering a change of major must complete the Change of Major Request form and discuss the change with their academic advisor prior to submission to the College Assistant Dean(s). It is the prerogative of the College Assistant Dean of the college into which the student is transferring to determine the appropriateness of the proposed major change.
The final decision related to academic credit for courses completed by the applicant is made by the “new” College Assistant Dean. If a student changes majors, the major sheet in effect is that of the academic year when the major was changed.
Change of College
To change the University College in which a student is registered, approval of the Assistant Dean of the receiving college is required. Normally, the student should not have passed more than 60 credits in the College in which the student is initially registered in. A College Change Application Form should be completed and submitted to the appropriate Assistant Dean for approval. These changes may only be finalized prior to the start of a semester and will not be considered during the academic semester. The student’s academic advisor should also approve the change.
Transfer Credits for Active GUST Students
Active GUST students can transfer to GUST up to five courses (a maximum of two in the major which must be from the list of major electives only) taken during the summer sessions at other accredited institutions. Only courses with a grade of C or greater are eligible to be reviewed by the departments. Although courses are transferred, the grades are not, therefore transferred courses are not calculated in the GPA. GUST does not allow students to receive transfer credits for courses previously failed at GUST. Exceptions to this regulation must be pre-approved by the Dean of the College.
Students who plan to take courses at other colleges and universities for transfer credit to GUST must have these courses pre-approved by both their respective Head of Department and Assistant Dean.
Applicants must submit official transcripts from all institutions attended as well as a copy of the relevant sections of the institution’s catalog and course outlines, when available. In order to obtain transfer credit at GUST, students must earn a minimum grade of “C”.
Transfer course equivalency credits are awarded by the GUST Course Equivalency Committee. Applicants must provide GUST with all the required documentation and complete a Course Equivalency Form available at the Admissions and Registration Department. It should be noted that applications for GUST course equivalency take up to one month to process from the date all required documentation is submitted. Students who entered GUST with transfer credits are also eligible to follow the guidelines above provided that the total number of transfer credits does not exceed 60.
GUST-UMSL and GUST-FIU Cooperation
In conjunction with the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) and Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, full-time students who have completed 60 credits with a strong academic background (CGPA>3.00) and a composite score of 79-80 or higher on the iBT TOEFL are eligible to register for classes at GUST’s sister institutions (UMSL and FIU). These courses would count towards their degree and, because they are part of official agreements between institutions, would not count within the limits imposed on transfer credits for active GUST students above.
Withdrawal from Courses
Full-time students are required to maintain a minimum enrollment of 12 credits. Withdrawal from courses must occur no later than the end of the 10th week of classes. A grade of W will be recorded on the transcript for the course from which the student has withdrawn and will not be calculated into the student’s GPA.
Attendance Requirement
- The student must regularly attend all the lectures both theoretical and applied
- A student who is absent for three hours shall be given a first warning by PeopleSoft, the university’s student information system
- A student who is absent for six hours shall be given a second warning by PeopleSoft
- A student who is absent for nine hours shall be given a third warning by PeopleSoft
- A student who is absent for eleven hours shall be given a last warning by PeopleSoft which will inform the student that if they miss one more hour they would receive a FA in the course
- If a student is absent for twelve hours in any course, an FA would be issued by the PeopleSoft system
- Some courses have different limits on attendance and these limits will be in the University Bulletin and on the University web page
Discontinuation of Studies and Readmission to Active Status
Student who wish to discontinue their enrollment at GUST, may do so without penalty for up to two consecutive semesters. Students should formally declare their intent to discontinue enrollment by notifying the Office of Admissions and Registration.
Inactive students in good academic standing (CGPA ≥ 2.00) must submit a re-enrollment application (change of status) to the Office of Admissions and Registration 30 days prior to the start of the semester for which they wish to return to active status. No more than two semesters may elapse between the date of the prior admission and the change of status application if the student is going to continue on the same major sheets. Students who absent themselves for more than two semesters must, if readmitted, follow the major requirements of the program in place at the time of their readmission.
Inactive students who are not in good standing (CGPA < 2.00) will have their application reviewed by the Academic Dean before being allowed to re-enroll.
Semester Withdrawal
After the approval of Student Affairs Committee student can withdraw from the semester if he has a very severe circumstances in a period that does not exceed what is mentioned in the academic calendar, and not for more than 6 semesters which will not be accounted in his graduation period.
If the student got FA before semester withdraw, the FA remains in his record.
University Withdrawal
A student may withdraw completely from the University by filing an official request through the Registrar’s Office within the specified deadlines in the academic calendar up to 15 weeks. If the application is accepted then the designation UW is entered on the transcript next to each course in which the student was enrolled except for those courses where an FA grade has already been posted. Students who receive a UW are not permitted to register in the subsequent semester.
Leave of Absence
The student shall be considered as inactive in the following cases:
- Non registration for a semester or more
- If the student continued inactive for 3 consecutive semesters, this should be mentioned in his record
- If he readmitted, he should follow the new major sheet
Suspension
The University may suspend the student’s study in the following cases:
- If the student did not finish 67% of the credits hours required for graduation during 5 semesters (excluded foundation program and summer semesters), and his last MPA was less than 1.5 or his GPA was less than 1.75
- Suspension for poor academic performance as per decisions of the Academic Affairs Committee
- Academic dishonesty
- Cases which require suspension as per the decision of the Student Conduct Committee
- Scholarship must be removed (if the student is under scholarship)
- If he readmitted, he should follow the new major sheet
- If the student continued inactive for 3 consecutive semesters, this should be mentioned in his record
Dismissal of a Student
Student can be dismissed from the University by the President decision in the following cases:
- Failure in removing the second academic probation
- Role in his condition from Student Affairs Committee for cheating more than once
- Perpetration of what prejudice honor or honest
- Infraction of Student Affairs bylaws
- If he stayed in the University more that the allowed period for graduation
- Once dismissed the scholarship must be removed automatically (if the student is under scholarship) even if the student gets a chance to re-enroll
Summer Session Course Load and Schedule
There will be two six-week summer sessions in the 2012-2014 academic years. Students may enroll for six credits per session only. Students who need five courses to graduate at the end of the summer or students with an overall GPA of 3.0 may enroll in a total of five summer courses, three during one session and two during another. During the summer, most classes meet for eighty minutes, five times per week.
All students should plan their programs with their advisors. GUST cannot guarantee that all courses needed for graduation at the end of the summer will be offered in the summer. GUST does not offer independent study courses in the summer.
The Foundation Program Unit offers an 11 week intensive English session where they give ENGL 098.
Minimum Course Enrollment
In order for a course to be offered, a minimum of seven registered students is required for courses offered in the fall and spring semesters and 15 registered students for courses offered in the summer session.
Definition of Academic Class/Year Designation:
- Freshman – Student who has completed 0 to 29 credits
- Sophomore – Student who has completed 30 to 59 credits
- Junior – Student who has completed 60 to 89 credits
- Senior – Student who has completed 90 credits or more
