Transfer Student Newsletter: April 2006
Message from Dean Papovich
In this final newsletter for the fall semester, we remind you of several end of the semester concerns important to College students.
Fall 2006 Course Selection
Course Selection for Fall 2006
As we informed you in the March Newsletter, you should meet with your faculty advisor early in April. Those students who meet with their faculty advisor will gain access to ISIS during the priority course selection period. All others will have access to ISIS thereafter.
You'll find helpful information for planning for the fall semester at the College's web site Course Selection & Enrollment for Students - Arts & Sciences, U.Va. The on-line COD is available at the University Registrar's web site. COD - Course Offering Directory The COD has directions for the actual process of selecting courses for the fall.
Finishing the Semester
We draw your attention to the faculty policies listed below:
Final Examinations: Instructors are not authorized to change the announced times of examinations. Congestion of a schedule is not a basis for a student's request to change the examination date unless at least three examinations come in two consecutive days. Early exams are not permitted. Requests for a change in the spring examination schedule must be made by Thursday, April 27. Forms for doing so are in Garrett Hall.
Incompletes: If you have not finished a course, you may receive the grade of IN (incomplete). This automatically becomes an F five days after the end of the examination period unless arrangements have been agreed to in writing among you, your course instructor, and your Association Dean. Extension of Time forms for this are available in Garrett Hall. All incomplete grades must be completed no later than Friday, June 9. Your instructor may set an earlier deadline or even deny an extension.
Academic Honors and Discipline: You are placed on the Dean's List of Distinguished Students when you have earned a 3.40 semester average or better on an approved course-load of at least 12 graded credits and when no courses have been failed. NC is considered a failing grade and will make you ineligible for the Dean's List.
After the end of each semester, we check your overall record to find out if you are making "satisfactory progress" toward the degree. We do this to make sure that no student is allowed to drift along doing inferior work without an official warning. Students admitted to the University should not be doing D or F work overall, but if a student's grades are that low, we need to know about the situation in order to provide the appropriate counseling or discipline.
Full-time students are considered to be in Good Standing at the end of a semester if, in that semester, they have completed at least 12 credits of graded work with at least a 1.80 semester average and have no more than one grade below C-. If you fail to achieve Good Standing, you will be placed on Academic Warning with a notation of the cause on your transcript. Students on Warning will be required to meet with Mr. Papovich early in the next semester.
If you are on Academic Warning for two consecutive semesters, you are subject to a year-long suspension. Furthermore, if you earn fewer than nine grade-points in a regular semester you are subject to suspension, either at mid-year or the end of the school year. One full spring term and one full fall term must elapse before suspended students may return to the College.
In order to enroll for a fifth semester, students are required to have passed at least 54 credit-hours; to enroll for a seventh semester, at least 84 credit-hours. Failure to earn sufficient credits will result in our blocking your enrollment. We require students who fall behind in the number of credit-hours to make up their work in the summer session, January term, or through part-time enrollment via the Division of Continuing Education. If you expect to be below the minimum number for your academic level, please make an appointment to meet with Mr. Papovich soon.
To remain in Good Standing, students who have completed four semesters of work (at U.Va. or elsewhere) must be in a major or have obtained written permission from Mr. Papovich no later than the end of September to defer the declaration of major until the end of the fifth semester. No student will be permitted to enroll for a sixth semester without a major.
As you know, transferring to the College is an exciting challenge, but it can also be bewildering, especially during the first semester. There are many people at the University to help you; you, however, must seek out help when you have questions or problems. If you don't know where to turn, make an appointment with your faculty advisor, or with Mr. Papovich by calling 924-3350/51 or speaking with the receptionist at Garrett Hall.
We wish you the best of luck for the remainder of the semester.
Looking Ahead
The University provides a range of other services in which new transfer students are often interested.
- You should consider studying abroad. Contact the International Studies Office on the 2nd floor of Minor Hall. Nearly all transfer students find that with careflu planning they can fit in a study abroad term.
- The Center for Undergraduate Excellence Ms. Nicole Hurd is the Director of the Fellowships and Research Office. It is located in Room 305 at the Harrison Institute and Library.
- If you have not visited the University Career Services, 924-8900 (in the Carl Smith Center, Bryant Hall), you should do so soon. After familiarizing yourself with the resources there, you should make an appointment to talk with one of the special advisors in UCS who work closely with College students.
- If you are feeling stressed or depressed, call the Smith Center for Counseling and Psychological Services at 243-5150. They have a number of support groups as well as individual counseling and are located in the Elson Student Health Building. Their services are confidential and free.
See Dean Papovich
Please feel free to call 924-3350 or 924-3351 to arrange for a convenient time to discuss any questions you have with Mr. Papovich. Alternatively, you may contact him by e-mail at . Dean Papovich's office is located in Garrett Hall, room 211-A.
Best of luck for the remainder of the semester.