Advising, Registration
and Withdrawal

(Law students should contact the Law Admissions Office for information on registration, schedule changes, dropping of course(s) and complete withdrawal.)

Priority Registration

Currently enrolled Undergraduate students are encouraged to take advantage of the Priority Registration period each Fall and Spring semester. After all, this helps ensure that students acquire a schedule that is to their satisfaction. Students participating in Priority Registration during the Fall semester may register for Spring only. Students participating in Priority Registration during the Spring semester may register for Summer One, Summer Two, and Fall.

When preparing for Priority Registration, students are asked to review the following Advising/Registration checklist:

• Verify your classification. This is your current classification, not what you expect to be after the end of the semester. Each classification has been assigned three days of Priority Advising followed by three days of Priority Registration.
• Check for registration holds that may prevent you from participating in Priority Registration. If you have a registration hold, contact the office that has you on hold. You may be able to register anyway. Note, students who have a hold should still meet with their academic adviser to obtain advising and pin number. When a hold is resolved, registration can occur.
• Make an appointment with your academic adviser. You may verify the name and location of your adviser on Gateway.
• Print a copy of your Degree Evaluation from Gateway under the Student Records folder.Use the Degree Evaluation and degree plans to help you determine which courses you should take next semester.
• Create a tentativeschedule prior to meeting with your academic adviser. Use the "Course Schedule Planning Worksheet: to ensure you collect all the information you need. **Include Course Reference Number (CRN) on the worksheet. It speed up the Web Registration process.**
• Students are required to meet with their adviser in order to register for courses. Upon meeting with students, advisers will give advisees a registration pin number that will allow access to registration.
• During your Priority Registration 3-day period, registration will be available 24/7 except during the weekends. Note that during Priority registration days, registration will not be available during the weekends. Access will be unavailable beginning atmidnight on Fridays and resume at 8 am the following Monday.
• To view your class shedule, select "Return to Menu" in the upper right of the screen. Then click the link entitled "Student Detail Schedule" or Week at a Glance" in the Registration Menu.
• Students planning to graduate the following semester should complete an application for degree card in the Registrar's Office upon registering for their final semester.

[See Advising Handbook Online]

***Please note that registration for Graduate and PhD students is an ongoing process. Graduate and PhD students are not required a registration pin number to register. Studentsmay continue to register ever after the Undergraduate Priority Registration period. ***

General Registration

General Registration occurs the last business day prior to the start of the semester. Returning students not registered during Priority Registration and students readmitted to St. Mary's University should register during General Registration as this is the last opportunity to register without a $150 late registration fee. (See Academic Calendar for General Registration dates.)

Registration Holds

Students are subject to registration holds for a variety of reasons (i.e. outstanding transcripts from other colleges or universities, financial obligations with St. Mary's University, and so forth). Students should contact the office that has them on hold as university offices make every effort to work out some kind of arrangement with students so students can register. The contact information for some university offices that may place students on hold follows:

Schedule Changes - Adding of Courses

During the 100% refund period (the first week of a Fall or Spring semester and the first two days of a Summer One or Summer Two session), schedule changes can be administered through a student's academic adviser (assuming the courses the student wishes to add have not closed). If a student wishes to add a course that has closed, he/she must submit an ADD/DROP form to the Registrar's Office with the appropriate signatures. During the 100% refund period, when adding a closed course (with the exception of a Biology, English, or Philosophy course), the student must obtain the signatures of the instructor and the adviser. If the student wishes to add a closed Biology, English, or Philosophy course, the student must obtain the signature of the departmental chair and the adviser. See Academic Deans and Departmental Chairpersons for the contact information for these chairs.

After the 100% refund period, all schedule changes must be processed through the Registrar's Office with all appropriate signatures on an ADD/DROP form. In addition to the signatures indicated above, this also includes the signature of the Dean of the course. See Academic Deans and Departmental Chairpersons for the contact information for these Deans.

Schedule Changes - Dropping of Courses

Please realize that it is the student's responsibility to drop a course they are no longer attending. Do not expect your instructor to initiate a course drop on your behalf. During the 100% refund period, courses may be dropped via Gatewaywith no penalty.After the 100% refund period, students must submit an ADD/DROP form to the Registrar's Office with their adviser's signature. At this point, students will receive a grade of "W" on their transcripts for the course dropped. A "W" does not hurt a student's grade point average. It simply indicates that the student withdrew from the course.

During the first half of a Fall or Spring semester, a student can continue to drop a course with a grade of "W". Thereafter, through the twelfth week, if a student is passing at the time of withdrawal from a course, the grade is "W"; if not passing, the grade is "WF". A "WF" (withdrawal failure) has the same impact on a student's grade point average as an "F". During the last four weeks of a Fall or Spring semester, a student may no longer drop courses. Please check the Academic Calendar for the last day to drop with an automatic "W" and the last day to drop courses.

Cancelled Classes

Courses with low enrollment are subject to cancellation. St. Mary's University makes every effort to determine course cancellation in advance of the first day of classes, but the final status of a cancelled course may not be resolved until the first day of classes, or shortly thereafter. Students will be notified by phone and/or e-mail when a course is cancelled.

ADD/DROP Fee

After the 100% refund period, each ADD/DROP form submitted to the Registrar's Office is subject to a $10 fee. Even drops initiated by an instructor are subject to this $10 fee. Remember, instructorsmay drop students for excessive absences. Refer to the Catalog for information on the attendance policy.

Withdrawal from All Courses

It is the responsibility of students withdrawing from all courses to inform the Registrar's Office in person or in writing with the student's signature eitherby mail or fax. According to time limits stipulated in the course schedule, the student may be entitled to some refund at the time of withdrawal. (Refer to the Academic Calendar forwithdrawal and refund dates.) Withdrawal without proper notice to the Registrar's Office may result in failure in all courses for the semester and liability for full payment. As with the dropping of courses, notice to instructors of withdrawal does not cancel registration or financial obligations.

If withdrawing prior to the first week of classes, students are asked to contact the following offices: Dr. Rosalind Alderman, Vice President for Management Retention, Business Office,User Support Services, Student Loans, Financial Aid, and Student Life.For students wishing to withdraw after the first week of classes, they should visit the Dean of Students office located in the University Center, second floor. Furthermore, turn in library books, athletic equipment, film and television equipment, and any other items which belong to St. Mary's University. This will ensure that any outstanding obligations with departments have been cleared. Also, at this time, ifstudents are planning to transfer to another college or university, we recommend that the student request an official transcript with the Registrar's Office to be sent to the student's new school. If students plan to return to St. Mary's, we remind them to complete a Readmission Application upon their return.

***Students withdrawing from St. Mary's University before the first week of a Fall or Spring semester or the first two days of a summer session may do so with no indication on their record and without financial obligations. See the Academic Calendar for drop and withdrawal periods.***

Withdrawal Procedures - Military: Active & Reserve

If a student in active or reserve military services is required by the military to withdraw from the University due to a military crisis, he or she will be entitled to a full tuition refund and no academic penalty will be incurred. Students who are using student loans will have to abide by the appropriate regulations. If a student is receiving VA benefits, he/she should also contact Veteran's Affairs. Again, Undergraduate students withdrawing from St. Mary's are asked to complete the withdrawal checklist with the Dean of Students located in Student Life, University Center Second Floor. This form ensures that any outstanding obligations with departments such as Business Office, User Support Services, Student Loans, etc. have been cleared.

With the approval of the class instructor, an extension of time may be allowed for completion of courses that are interrupted.

Support documentation must be submitted.

Withdrawals and Refunds

Students who withdraw or drop a 16-week course officially during the first four weeks of a Fall or Spring semester are entitled to a refund of tuition, but not fees as follows:

Students who withdraw or drop a traditional summer course (approx. 5 weeks) during a Summer One or Summer Two session are entitled to a refund of tuition, but not fees as follows:

A special refund policy is in effect for trimester, 8-week, and 10-week courses. Consult the academic calendar and/or the Business Office for details.

Attention Prospective New Students

Prospective new students who have already been accepted to St. Mary's University, should refer to the following information for registration details:

Undergraduate - Contact New Student Orientation at 1-800-I LIVE ON.

Graduate and PhD - Contact your Program Director or Graduate Admissions at (210) 436-3101.