1.6 | Student Registration
Student Identification Cards: Upon initial registration, each student is issued a student identification card (more commonly called a Buffalo Gold Card, or Buff ID). This card, designed to be a career identification card, is the property of West Texas A&M University and is validated each semester upon payment of fees.
i. Possession, alteration, use or attempted use of an ID card for the purpose of identification or to receive services, by anyone other than the person whose name, ID number and photo appear on the card, is considered unauthorized use. The offender will be subject to penalties and confiscation of the ID card by university officials.
ii. A student is required to produce their identification card upon the request of a university official.
iii. It is a student's responsibility to report a lost or stolen identification card immediately by calling (806) 651-4653, Monday through Friday between 8am and 5pm. Students will be assessed a fee to replace the lost or stolen card.
iv. The name as submitted at the time of the application to West Texas A&M University establishes the official record for the student at the university. This record is considered an official record for the State of Texas. Any change of name request must be accompanied by legal, federal, or state documentation. A social security card or driver's license cannot be used as documentation to request a change of name; a birth certificate, passport, court issued name change document, marriage license, or common-law certificate are acceptable.
1.6.B | Current Address: To avoid missing important communications from the university, it is the student's responsibility to keep the registrar informed of current, local, and permanent addresses. Communications mailed to either address of record, or to a student's official WT email account, will be deemed adequate notice.
i. Every student is required to register when entering the university and thereafter as announced by the registrar.
ii. Students who were previously enrolled at West Texas A&M but did not attend class through the official census date of the previous long semester must apply for readmission.
iii. Registration is not complete until the student has paid their fees by the prescribed deadline.
1.6.C | Curriculum Violation: Degree-seeking graduate and undergraduate students.
i. A student is expected to register for a schedule of courses that follows the program of study for a degree in their college. A student who elects not to follow the program of study must obtain approval from their academic advisor, department head or college dean or designee, and the dean or designee of the college offering the courses. A student who fails to obtain approval may be, by the dean or designee, held from registering, removed from the inappropriate course(s), and/or required to register for a prescribed schedule of courses.
ii. A student whose work is unsatisfactory, or who is on scholastic probation, may be required by their college, or department, to register for a prescribed schedule.
iii. A student whose work is held from registration because of the scholastic deficiency in a major and who changes their curriculum into a new college may not register for hours in their previous major during the next semester without specific approval from the new dean or designee. Violation of this rule constitutes academic dishonesty.
iv. A student must be enrolled in order to use the facilities of the university or the time of any member of its staff in connection with work for which they expect to receive academic credit.
v. A full-time undergraduate student is defined as one who is enrolled in at least 12 semester hours during a fall or spring semester, or either hours in a summer semester. A "Q" grade, or "W", does not count toward the certification of enrollment status. Only hours for which a student is currently enrolled at West Texas A&M University can be used toward certification of enrollment. During their last semester prior to graduating, if an undergraduate student is enrolled at West Texas A&M in all remaining hours needed to complete their degree and has applied for graduation, they may be certified as a full-time student for that final semester even though they may be enrolled in less than 12 semester hours during a fall or spring semester, or eight (8) hours in the summer semesters.
vi. Students participating in student teaching, internships, and cooperative education programs, and student abroad programs who are enrolled in less than 12 hours during the fall or spring semester, or either (8) hours in the summer, may be eligible to be certified as a full-time student with the approval of the dean of their college or their designee. These certifications listed above based on exceptions might not be used to qualify for Federal Financial Aid as federal regulations determine financial aid eligibility.
vii. A student participating in an advanced dental education graduate program may be classified as full time. These postdoctoral advanced dental specialty curricula require a mandatory course of study and various experiences including extensive patient treatment, internships, external rotations, research, and special enrollment. Federal regulations determine eligibility for financial aid recipients. Policies and procedures within the Scholarship and Financial Aid Office will address enrollment definitions for financial aid purposes.
1.6.D | Undergraduate Degree Plans: All degree-seeking undergraduate students admitted to West Texas A&M University in or after Fall 2013 must complete and annually update an undergraduate degree plan.
i. Initial Submission: All degree seeking undergraduate students must submit their initial degree plan the term following the term in which they complete 30 semester credit hours. Students admitted with 30 or more cumulative semester credit hours must submit their degree plan the semester they are admitted.
ii. Annual Review and Resubmission: All degree-seeking undergraduate students must review, update, and resubmit their undergraduate degree plan every year until graduation in accordance with deadlines published in the academic calendar.
iii. Undergraduate Degree Plan Approval: All initial and resubmitted degree plans must be approved by one or two processes.
a. Self-Approval: The undergraduate degree plan as submitted by the student meets 100% of degree requirements.
b. Advisor Approval: An academic advisor or designee within the student's home department approves the undergraduate degree plan.
c. Registration Holds: Undergraduate students required to submit an undergraduate degree plan who do not have an approved initial or resubmitted undergraduate degree plan on file by the published deadline will be held from registering for the future semester.
d. Graduation Requirements: To be a candidate for a degree, a student must complete all academic requirements published in their catalog and meet all applicable requirements and deadlines published in West Texas A&M University Student Rules.
e. Completion of an undergraduate degree plan does not guarantee admission to a specific major or upper division. Federal regulations determine eligibility for financial aid recipients. Policies and procedures within the Scholarship and Financial Aid Office will address enrollment.
1.6.E | Undergraduates Registering for Graduate Courses:
i. A senior undergraduate student with a cumulative grade point ratio of at least 3.0 or approval of their academic dean or designee, is eligible to enroll in a graduate course and reserve it for graduate credit by filing a petition obtained from the student's undergraduate college and approved by the course instructor, the student's major department head, the dean or designee of the college offering the course, and the dean or designee of the student's undergraduate college. Graduate credit hours used to meet the requirements for a baccalaureate degree may not be used to meet the requirements for a graduate degree.
1.6.F | Registration Holds: A student may be held from registering for future semesters by the following offices, for the foll0owing reasons. This is not inclusive of all offices that can hold students, or all types of holds. A student who wishes to resolve the problem that resulted in the hold, or wishes to appeal the placing of the hold, should go to the department that placed the hold on their record.
i. Office of Graduate Studies, Academic Departments or Colleges - For scholastic deficiency or for disciplinary reasons related to scholastic dishonesty.
ii. Transportation Services - For an accumulation of overdue, unpaid parking violation citations.
iii. Student Business Services - For an outstanding bill owed to the university.
iv. Office of Admissions and Records, Office of Graduate Studies, Academic Departments and Colleges - For students admitted provisionally or on probation, or for information lacking to complete the admission process and for enrolled students who have submitted questionable records (such as transcripts or residency documents) to the registrar's office.
v. Office of Title IX, Office of Community Standards, and Department of Residential Living - For disciplinary reasons.
vi. Athletic Academic Affairs Office - To ensure compliance with NCAA regulations.
vii. International Student Services - To ensure compliance with university procedures and I.N.S. regulations.
viii. Academic Success Center - To ensure compliance with Texas Success Initiative mandate.
1.6.G | Maximum Schedule: An undergraduate student with an overall grade point ratio of 3.0, or better, may register for a course load in excess of 19 hours in the Fall or Spring semester, or six (6) hours (seven [7] if part is laboratory) in a summer term with the approval of their advisor. An undergraduate student with an overall grade point ratio of less than 3.0 must obtain approval from their dean or designee before registering for a course load in excess of 19 hours in a Fall or Spring semester, or six (6) (seven [7] if part is laboratory) in a summer term.
1.6.H | Maximum Schedule for Graduate Students: Graduate students may enroll for a maximum of 15 hours during a regular semester, six (6) hours for a 5-week summer session and 12 hours for a 10-week summer session with approval of their college dean or designee. A graduate student may enroll in more than 18 hours (regular semester), nine (9) hours (5-week summer session), or 15 hours (10-week summer session) with approval of the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies.
1.6.I | Prerequisites: It is the responsibility of the student to be sure that course prerequisites are met. All prerequisites must be listed in the appropriate catalog or schedule of classes. A student may register for a course for which they have not met the prerequisites only with the consent of the head of the department in which the course is offered. Failure to meet course prerequisites could result in a student being dropped from the class.
1.6.J | Class Schedules: All classes will meet according to schedules prepared by the registrar. Modification in these schedules, including common night exams, may be made only when authorized by the registrar and approved by the dean or designee of the college in which the course is offered.
1.6.K | Scheduling of Courses: In case a section is dropped, because of insufficient enrollment, a student may substitute other courses approved by their advisor.
1.6.L | Change in Schedule: A student may enroll in a class the first five (5) class days of the Fall and Spring semesters, or during the first four (4) class days of the summer term, or a 10-week summer semester. A student requesting to add the course after these deadlines must have the approval of the student's dean or designee and department.
i. A student may drop a course with no record during the first twelve class days of a Fall or Spring semester, and during the first four (4) class days of a summer term, or a 10-week summer semester. Following this period, if approved by the dean of the college or designee, a student may drop a course without academic penalty through the 60th class day of a Fall or Spring semester, the 15th class day of summer term, or the 35th class day of a 10-week summer semester.
ii. Undergraduate students will normally be permitted to four (4) "Q"-drops during their undergraduate studies at West Texas A&M University, regardless of transfer status. State law prohibits students from having more than six (6) dropped courses from all state institutions attended during their undergraduate career, if they entered higher education as first-time enrolled freshman beginning the 2007 Fall semester, and thereafter. For exceptions, see Rule 1.6.L.v.
iii. Courses "Q"-dropped must have approval of the student's dean or designee or department, as determined by the respective college.
iv. Undergraduate students will normally be permitted four (4) Q-drops during their undergraduate studies. State law prohibits students from having more than six (6) dropped courses from all state institutions attended during their undergraduate career. "Q"-drops in one-hour courses will not count in the West Texas A&M limit of four (4) but will be included in the State-mandated limit of six (6) dropped courses. If a lecture and companion lab are dropped at the same time, this will count as one "Q"-drop rather than two.
v. Any course taught on a shortened format or between regularly scheduled terms will have add/drop, Q-grade, and withdrawal dates proportionally the same as if the course were offered in a regular term. These dates will be determined by the registrar's office.
vi. A "W" may be approved by the dean of the college, or their desginee, if a student is allowed to drop a course anytime during the semester due to unusual or extenuating circumstances. These circumstances can include, but are not limited to:
a. A severe illness or other debilitating condition that affects the student's ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
b. The student's responsibility for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person, if the provision of that care affects the student's ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
c. The death of a person who is considered to be a member of the student's family, or who is otherwise considered to be a showing of good cause.
d. The active-duty service as a member of the Texas National Guard or the armed forces of the United States of either the student or a person who is considered to be a member of the student's family, or who is otherwise considered to have a sufficiently close relationship to the student that the person's active military service is considered to be showing of good cause.
e. The change of the student's work schedule that is beyond the control of the student, and that affects the student's ability to satisfactorily complete the course.
f. Other good cause as determined by the dean of the college or their designee.
1.6.M | Parenting Student: Per Texas Senate Bill 459, students that identify as a “parenting student”, which is a student enrolled at an institution of higher education who is the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 years of age, are provided early registration for courses. Prior to the semester registration date, students that meet these requirements will need to send an email to registrar@wtamu.edu from your Buff email account stating you are a parent of a child under the age of 18 and would like Early Registration.