Aurora University - General Information

Schools · Programs · Policies · Courses · Index · Other Catalogs · AU Home
Graduate Catalog 2004-2006

Registration:

Registration

Advisement: As soon as an application for admission has been approved, students are notified and asked to contact their graduate program office to make an initial appointment with an advisor. All degree-seeking graduate students are required to consult with an academic advisor before registering for classes.

Registration: As soon as the advisement appointment is completed, a student may register at the Office of the Registrar. All accounts with the Student Accounts Office must be up to date. Students must be in compliance with the State of Illinois immunization requirements. All registration forms must bear the signature of a graduate academic advisor to indicate that the student’s proposed registration has been reviewed. Forms must also bear the signature of the student to indicate that the student accepts responsibility for the programmatic consequences of the registration and agrees to be bound by all relevant university regulations. Students-at-large may register by mail. Registration forms and information are supplied in the Aurora University Course Bulletin, published each term by the Office of the Registrar.

Student I.D. Cards: Students are issued an Aurora University photo identification card after registration. The card must be re-validated every term and must be surrendered upon withdrawing from the university. The I.D. card is required for the use of university facilities and services and for free or reduced-price admission to paid events on campus. There is a $25 fee for replacement of lost or damaged I.D. cards.

Late Registration

The normal registration period ends with the closing of the Registrar’s Office on the last university business day preceding the first day of the term or the first day of a class that officially begins at some point other than the beginning of a term. Students may late register only during the first 10% of the term and before the class has met for 10% of the published contact time. Specific deadlines are published in the Course Bulletin or may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. It is the responsibility of a late-registering student to make up missed class work, and students are permitted to late register only with the understanding that their grades may be affected by work that cannot be made up.

Accelerated Load (Overload)

Graduate students desiring to register for an accelerated load of more than seventeen (17) semester hours in any term must have the approval of their graduate program director. Each case will be considered individually against the general guidelines, taking into account other factors such as recent performance patterns.

Billing/Registration Policy

Students who have unpaid balances from prior terms that are not covered by duly approved and current installment payment plans with the university, by duly approved and current deferred payment plans, or by duly approved corporate billing agreements, or who have failed to meet any other statutory or university requirement for registration will be designated as being on hold status.

No student on hold status will be registered by the Registrar for any class until the hold status is removed by the appropriate university authority. Students who have resolved their hold status will be registered and admitted to classes only during the time period permitted under the university regulations concerning late registration.

No grades will be recorded for students who are not duly registered. In the event that a student duly registered for a class is subsequently placed on hold status, no grade(s) will be recorded and no credit for the class(es) will be transcripted until the student’s hold status is removed by the appropriate university authority.

Payment of Tuition and Fees – Tuition and fees are assessed in accordance with approved policies. Please refer to the Billing Information Form signed at the time of registration for specific payment information. Students who have been approved to participate in a university-approved installment or deferred payment plan must adhere to the terms of these plans in order to remain eligible for participation. Details of these plans are available in the Student Accounts Office. Grades and transcripts are issued to students in good financial standing.

Refunds – During the regular semester, a 100% refund of tuition is provided through the first week of the semester, 90% during the second week, and 50% during the third week; no refund is provided thereafter. Refunds for summer session classes and for classes that do not meet in accordance with the regular semester calendar are provided in accordance with refund schedules provided by the Controller. Specific information is provided on the Billing Information form signed at the time of registration. Refunds are, in all cases, governed by the actual date of filing of a written drop notice (signed letter or signed Change of Course Petition) in the Office of the Registrar.

Adding and Dropping Courses

Changing Courses – Once a student has registered for courses, he/she must file a Change of Course Petition at the Office of the Registrar to either add or drop a course, change the grading system from letter grade to Credit/No Credit or vice-versa, or to change sections of a course. Courses may be added only during the official late registration period. No course may be dropped after the end of the tenth week of classes in a sixteen-week semester or the sixth week of classes in an eight-week term (prorated for summer terms). For courses scheduled outside the regular semesters, the Registrar will calculate late registration and withdrawal deadlines and include this information with registration materials for such classes. Change of course petitions are available from the Academic Advisement Office and from the Registrar’s Office.

Grades for Dropped Courses – Courses dropped with 100% refund do not appear on the student’s permanent record. A grade of ‘W’ (withdrawal) will be recorded on the student’s permanent academic record between the 2nd and 10th weeks of a 16-week semester. A grade of ‘W’ (withdrawal) will be recorded on the student’s permanent academic record for courses dropped between the 2nd and 6th weeks of an eight-week module. No withdrawals will be processed after the 10th week of the 16-week semester or after the 6th week of the 8-week module. For courses scheduled outside of the regular semester, the Registrar will calculate late registration and withdrawal deadlines and include this information with registration materials for such classes.

Waiting List – Although we are aware that graduate students are more limited in their course selections, there are times that classes are at maximum capacity and students are placed on waitlists. Typically the Registrar consults with the graduate program director or dean to determine the need to move students from waitlists into the actual course. The waiting list does not operate on a first-come, first- served basis, nor do instructors have influence on the decision. The Registrar, in consultation with the graduate program director/dean makes determinations prior to the start of the term. Students authorized to add the class are contacted by telephone to confirm that they still wish to enter the class.

Full-Time and Part-Time Enrollment

Students may enroll either full or part-time at Aurora University; in some graduate programs, a student must declare his/her intention in order to be placed in the correct sequence of courses to complete the program on a full or part-time basis. Full-time graduate enrollment is defined as a minimum of nine (9) semester hours per term (18 semester hours per academic year). Half-time enrollment is defined as a minimum of four (4) semester hours per term or eight (8) semester hours per academic year.

Attendance Policy

Regular class attendance is expected of all students. Aurora University has no permissible cut policy. Because of the wide diversity that exists among the various courses within the university and the manner in which they are conducted, it is the responsibility of each instructor to establish and maintain his/her own policy in each of his/her classes. Each instructor is required to maintain attendance records. Students must comply with attendance requirements established by financial aid sources such as the VA, regardless of the attendance policy established by the instructor.

Authorized Absences from Class Policy

A student representing the university at university-sponsored events may be granted authorized absences from class provided that the student has complied with approved procedures. Note that it is the responsibility of the student to attempt to schedule courses so as to minimize potential class absences. It is generally unacceptable for authorized absences to exceed 20% of the class meetings. In such cases, alternative arrangements, such as a course by special arrangement, may be considered at the discretion of the instructor.

Regulations:

Definitions:

“A student representing the University”: The student must be duly recognized by the manager or advisor of the event. A list of student participants should be forwarded to the Office of the Provost.
“University-sponsored events”: The manager or advisor of the event or activity shall submit to the Provost a list of events and have them approved as eligible for inclusion under this policy. This definition normally includes intercollegiate-athletic, student government, student development, and fine arts events, as well as events required for the completion of another academic course.
“Event” means the actual event at which the student represents the University together with necessary travel time to and from the event site, where applicable. It does not apply to rehearsals, practices, or meetings preparatory to the event.

Academic and Procedural Considerations

Students are required to make up all work missed due to an authorized absence and, except when conditions are prohibitive, are responsible for making arrangements with faculty at least 48 hours in advance of the anticipated absence.
Faculty will make reasonable accommodations for completion of work by students who are granted authorized absences through established University procedures. It is expected that students would be able to complete makeup exams and assignments within 72 hours of the return to campus.

Procedures:

Requesting and Granting Authorized Absences from Class

Registering University-Sponsored Events and Participants: At least one week prior to the start of each academic term, the managers or advisors of all university-sponsored events provide to the Office of the Provost a schedule of those events during that term for which a student may be granted an authorized absence. Rosters of those students duly registered to participate in each event should be forwarded to the Office of the Provost 48 hours before the scheduled event. The Office of the Provost will maintain a record of all approved events and registered participants. The manager or advisor will provide all participating students with a schedule of the days and times of all events during that term for which the student may need to request an authorized absence.
Student Requests for Authorized Absence: At least 48 hours before the class from which an authorized absence is requested, the student must contact the faculty member privately, provide the schedule of approved events, and obtain from the faculty member a written confirmation of the request, together with a statement of the work to be made up by the student. At the discretion of the faculty member, the confirmation and statement of work may be in written format. In the cases of events occurring in the first two days of the term, students will need to contact instructors in advance of the term to make arrangements for an authorized absence.
Procedure for Faculty: When a student requests an authorized absence, the faculty member provides the student with any necessary information concerning assignments to be completed. If the authorized absence will cause the student to miss in-class assignments or learning experiences that are part of the grading of the course, the faculty member may require alternative assignments of the student, as required by the outcomes of the course. Faculty members may establish in the class syllabus reasonable rules and procedures for the manner in which they wish to have students make requests for authorized absences (e.g., during office hours, by phone, by written request, before or after class, etc.).
Advisement Procedures: Whenever possible, managers or advisors of University-sponsored events will provide to participating students a tentative schedule of events for the following term prior to the beginning of the advisement period for that term. Participating students will submit, in writing, their planned participation to their academic advisors in order to anticipate, minimize, and plan for any potential conflicts with classes.

Application of Academic Regulations

Aurora University has traditionally allowed students to graduate under the degree requirements in effect when they entered the university if course offerings allow and if enrollment is continuous from point of entry to graduation. The university does retain the right, however, to modify the academic policies, procedures and regulations for all students. Modifications in policies, procedures and regulations normally become effective at the beginning of the term following their enactment or as specified in the approved form of the regulation. Academic policies, procedures and regulations encompass such things as grading systems, transfer of credit policies, academic fees and guidelines for applying courses toward the degree requirements.

Only those persons specified in an academic regulation may authorize exceptions or waivers pertaining to that policy. No exceptions to academic regulations or waivers of academic requirements are recognized by the university except in those cases where a student has followed the university’s procedures for obtaining such waiver or exception as published in the university’s Academic Regulations. Individual advisors or faculty members are not authorized to grant waivers or exceptions. All waivers and exceptions granted by authorized university officials must be made in writing, with copies provided to the student, and to all university offices and units having an interest or responsibility related to the regulation in question.

Leave of Absence Regulations

If a student has been admitted to Aurora University and must interrupt his or her course of study for more than one term (excluding summer), he/she must file an approved Leave of Absence form with the Registrar in order to be able to resume studies under the catalog in effect when he/she first entered. There is a time limit of two consecutive terms, excluding summer, for this privilege. Filing a Leave of Absence form also means the student does not need to reapply for admission if his/her return is within two calendar years, a maximum of four academic terms, excluding summers.

If a student has been absent from Aurora University for more than one term without filing a Leave of Absence form, or a Leave of Absence has expired, the student should contact the Office of Admission and Financial Aid for information on applying for readmission. Official transcripts from any colleges or universities attended since the last enrollment at Aurora University must be complete before admittance. Contact the Office of the Registrar for the complete policy.

Auditor Status

Aurora University has an Auditor (AU) status for those individuals who do not wish to earn college credit for either an undergraduate or graduate course.
Auditing privileges may include full participation in class sessions, with the exception that instructors are not required to evaluate and grade an Auditor’s performance in a course. Instructors may determine the character of participation and requirements of auditors.
The tuition fee for auditing has been established at 25% of the regular tuition rate. Any additional class fees will be at the expense of the auditor.
Auditors must register for classes on a standby basis, with the understanding that students registering for credit have priority in the class. A decision as to whether Auditors may enter classes will be made prior to the beginning of the first class session.
Audited courses will be posted on a student’s permanent academic record as an audit (AU). No academic credit will be granted for audited classes now or in the future.
Auditors may not participate in clinical experiences, field placements and practica courses.

Visitors

An individual who wishes to visit only a single class session need not register or pay the stated fee, but must secure the prior approval of the instructor for each session visited.

Schools · Programs · Policies · Courses · Index · Other Catalogs · AU Home