Degree students must register for the next semester at the designated time, unless excused in advance by their college/school. Registration instructions are on the Office of the Registrar website. Approval of the student’s college/school is required to register for more than nineteen credits.

Students with disabilities, who are in receipt of appropriate medical certification from the Center for Health and Wellbeing, will be approved to enroll for a course load of less than twelve credits (FTE). Such students will be afforded full-time status in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Any credits earned at the University of Vermont are transferable to another institution at the discretion of the receiving school.

The designation of a student’s class shall be determined by the number of academic credits completed. The designations are as follows:

Class Standing

	Credits
First-year	0-26.9
Sophomore	27.0-56.9
Junior	57.0-86.9
Senior	87.0 and over

Course Add/Drop

Courses may be added through the first five instructional days of the semester without instructor permission, unless indicated. Adding a course between the sixth and tenth instructional day will be at the discretion of the faculty member and will occur by means of a faculty override. Courses may be dropped through the first ten instructional days of the semester. During summer and winter sessions, the Add/Drop period varies from course to course depending on when the class begins and how long it runs.

Drops will only be allowed after the tenth day of instruction if a student did not attend the class. The disposition of such cases is handled by the registrar’s office.

From the eleventh day of instruction until the second business day after the 60% point in the semester, students may withdraw from courses. To do so, students must use the registration system to withdraw from the course. The student’s advisor(s) and dean(s) will be notified. The instructor(s) will be aware of the withdrawal by the Withdraw status on the class roster and the presence of a grade of W on the grade roster.

Between the second business day after the 60% point in the semester and the last day of classes, students may withdraw from one or more courses only by demonstrating to their college/school Studies committee, through a written petition, that they are unable to continue in the courses(s) due to circumstances beyond their control. Such petition must contain conclusive evidence, properly documented, of the illness or other situation preventing completion of the course(s). Acceptable reasons do not include dissatisfaction with performance or expected grade, dissatisfaction with the course or instructor, or desire to change major or program. If the petition is approved, a grade of W will be assigned and recorded on the student’s permanent record. If the petition is denied, the instructor(s) will assign a final grade in accordance with the same criteria applied to all other students in the course(s). Final decisions rest with the student's home college/school.

Withdrawals will be permitted after the last day of classes only when the student was incapacitated before the end of the term and unable to process a late withdrawal request. To be considered, the request must be made within 60 days of the end of the term in which the course was taken, or before the end of the add/drop period of the subsequent term attended, whichever is sooner.  Final decisions rest with the student’s home college/school. 

In all instances, withdrawal grades remain on the permanent academic record, but will not affect the grade-point average.  Withdrawn courses are included in the number of credits used for billing purposes.

The Faculty Senate has defined a University of Vermont credit hour as follows:

1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester hour of credit or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours.
3. “Direct faculty instruction” must include regular and substantive faculty/student contact regardless of delivery mode (for example, face-to-face, hybrid, distance/online).

Semester courses must span the full term (15 weeks in Fall and Spring) of the semester in which they are offered, with a minimum of 45 hours of total effort per credit. Part-of-Term courses in the semester or summer must span the full part-of-term in which they are offered and distribute the 45 hours of effort per credit over a shorter time window.