Registration Requirements for International Student Status
Sections
- Full Course of Study
- Normal Progress and Program End Date
- Extending Program End Date
- Exceptions to Full Course of Study
Full Course of Study
F-1 and J-1 students at the University of North Alabama are required by the laws governing F-1 and J-1 students to enroll according to these requirements every fall and every spring semester.
|
Required Full Course of Study per semester |
|||
|
Education Level |
Academic English |
Undergraduate |
Graduate |
|
Minimum Required Total Enrollment |
5 classes (term) 10 classes (semester) |
12 credit hours |
9 credit hours |
| Minimum Required Face-to-Face Enrollment |
4 classes (term) 8 classes (semester) |
9 credit hours |
6 credit hours |
If they choose, a student may take additional courses/credit hours above and beyond the minimum requirements.
Normal Progress and Program End Date
The Form I-20 or DS-2019 was issued for a specific amount of time. It has a Start Date and an End Date. The Program End Date was chosen to allow all the time necessary to finish study and earn the degree. This might be one semester or several years, depending on what the student is at UNA to do.
To finish their degree before the Program End Date, students should enroll and sucessfully pass all required courses. This is called making "normal progress". Students must make progress each semester in order to be finished with the degree before the Form I-20 or DS-2019 ends.
Extending Program End Date
If study is not complete by the Program End Date, the student should request an extension before the end date. Failure to submit a complete request extension before the Program End Date will result in loss of status and all benefits associated with the status. Learn more about extending the Program of Study here.Exceptions to Full-Course of Study
There are a few limited exceptions to enrolling in a full course of study. This is known as a Reduced Course Load (RCL) and it must be authorized in advance by your Designated School Official (DSO) or Responsible Officer (RO/ARO).
Read more about RCL on our website.
Special Student Relief
Summer Semester and Vacation
F-1 and J-1 students become eligible to take an "Annual Vacation" after completing at least one academic year of their program in the United States. All academic students are eligible for vacation during the summer term of UNA with two exceptions (see below). While UNA offers a summer term, it is not considered part of the regular academic year and the university does not offer a full schedule of courses.
Student in undergraduate or graduate programs of study who were enrolled in the spring semester and will enroll in the fall semester:
- are not required to enroll in summer semester
- can enroll in summer semester if they choose
- can be 100% online
- can remain in the U.S. with or without study
Students in the Academic English Program students who begin study in August are eligible for summer vacation (June & July). Students who begin in October, January, March, or June will need to be continuously enrolled for one academic year to be eligible for vacation; these students must enroll in summer term. UNA Academic English Program offers the necessary courses in the summer term for AEP students.
Summer as First Semester
If a students begins a new I-20 or DS-2019 during the summer semester, the student must enroll in the full course of study summer semester.
F-1 students with a Program Start Date for summer semester
SEVIS-Initial students: This student will be coming to UNA from outside the United States on an I-20 issued for initial attendance. This may be their very first enrollment in the U.S. or it may be their first enrollment after a gap outside the U.S. Noted below as Initial. Also included in this category are students moving from high school to undergraduate studies despite being a SEVIS-Initial Transfer Pending.
|
Full Course of Study for Summer for Initial students |
|||
|
ESL |
Bachelor’s |
Master’s |
Doctoral |
|
5 classes (term) |
12 credit hours |
9 credit hours |
Defined by program |
|
NA |
(min. 9 face-to-face) |
(min. 6 face-to-face) |
Only one online |
SEVIS-Initial (Change of Education Level): This student has completed their academic Program of Study at UNA and is now advancing to the next academic level at UNA. This does not apply to students moving from AEP to academic study; it is only for students going academic to academic (e.g. UG to GR). This type of student does not include SEVIS transfers. This student is noted below as Initial-COE.
|
Full Course of Study for Summer for Initial-COE students |
|||
|
ESL |
Bachelor’s |
Master’s |
Doctoral |
|
NA |
NA |
6 credit hours |
Defined by program |
|
NA |
NA |
(min. 3 face-to-face) |
Only one online |
SEVIS-Initial (Transfer Pending): This student has been enrolled at another SEVP-certified school as an F-1 student. They are transferring to UNA to continue at the same education level (e.g. UG to UG) or to begin a new program at a higher education level (e.g. UG to GR), GR to DR). This does not apply to students moving from language training to academic study or students moving from high school to undergraduate; it is only to students going academic to academic. Must show proof of enrollment and SEVIS-Active status at the transfer-out school. This student is noted below as Initial-TR.
|
Full Course of Study for Summer for Initial-TR students |
|||
|
ESL |
Bachelor’s |
Master’s |
Doctoral |
|
5 classes (term) |
6 credit hours |
6 credit hours |
Defined by program |
|
NA |
(min. 3 face-to-face) |
(min. 3 face-to-face) |
Only one online |
Summer as Final Semester
If a student takes their last classes in summer semester, the student must enroll in summer semester with the correct number of total and face-to-face credit hours to remain in the U.S. This student may be eligible for a Reduced Course Load due to completing program of study (see RCL section above).
Reduced Course Load does NOT allow a student to be completely or mostly online. Students who wish to take only online classes in the last semester must depart the U.S. upon completion of the last in-person course.