Registration and Schedule Changes

This is an archived copy of the 2016-17 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.msstate.edu.

Registration

When a student is admitted into a degree program or as an Unclassified graduate student, the following steps are followed to register for class.

Graduate student admitted to a degree program: the student must meet with his/her advisor to determine course(s) for the subsequent semester and receive a release for online registration.
Unclassified graduate student: the student uses an Unclassified Registration Form to secure permission from the academic department(s) of choice. This permission includes a staff or faculty member in the department entering a major override in Banner for each course, enabling the student's registration. When permission is obtained, the student submits the form to the Graduate School to receive the registration release.

To register, the student accesses the Registration menu on MyBanner for Students and clicks on Register for Classes to enroll.

Course Retake Policy

Course Retake Policy is provided in the Program of Study Subsection of the Academic Policies Section.

Audit a Course

Upon recommendation from the relevant course instructor and subject to approval by the appropriate dean and Registrar, a student may enroll to audit a course. The approval to audit must occur prior to the official enrollment count day (tenth class day for spring and fall semesters; third class day for summer school sessions). A student may not change from credit to audit or audit to credit status after the official enrollment count day. An audited course counts as part of the regular load. Students auditing a class are not required to take tests and/or examinations or to prepare other written assignments. Otherwise, conformity to regular classroom rules including attendance requirements is the same as for students taking the course for credit. At the time the request for audit is approved, the professor will inform the student auditing the class of attendance expectations. Failure to meet any or all of these requirements may result in an auditor being administratively dropped from the class roll. No audited course may be counted as part of the required hours of any degree or program requirements.

A student who must be enrolled full-time cannot count an audited course as part of full-time enrollment; an audited course must be taken in addition to enrollment in 9 hours. This is especially important for graduate assistants.

Dual (Concurrent) Degrees

An applicant may apply and be admitted into more than one degree program concurrently. Concurrent degree matriculation requires prior approval of each department using the Dual Degree form. The approved form must be submitted to the Graduate School Admissions staff. If the student is approved to pursue two degrees concurrently at MSU, no more than 9 hours of coursework used in one degree program may be applied toward meeting the requirements for the second degree.

Add/Drop

Schedule Changes - Fall and Spring Semesters

A student has through the fifth class day into the semester to drop a course and through the sixth class day to add a course without being assessed a fee or academic penalty.
From the fifth class day through the 30th class day, a student who elects to drop a course must receive the approval of his/her advisor, will be assigned a “W” on his/her academic record, and be assessed a fee.
After the 30th class day, a student cannot drop courses except in documented cases of serious illness, extreme hardship, or failure of the instructor to provide significant assessment of his/her performance. A request to drop a course after the 30th class period must be approved by the student’s advisor and academic dean. A student receiving permission to drop will receive a “W” on his/her academic record and be assessed a fee after the last day to drop a course.

Summer Five-Week and Ten-Week Terms

A student has through the first class day into a 5-week summer term and through the second class day into a 10-week summer term to drop a course without being assessed a fee or an academic penalty.
A student may not add a course after the second class day into a 5-week summer session or after the third class day into a 10-week summer session.
After the first class day through the 14th class day in a 5-week summer term and the second class day through the 28th class day in a 10-week summer term, a student who elects to drop a course must receive the approval of his/her advisor, will be assigned a “W” on his/her academic record, and be assessed a fee.
After the 14th class day into a 5-week summer term and after the 28th class day into a 10-week summer term, a student cannot drop a course except in documented cases of serious illness, extreme hardship, or failure of the instructor to provide significant assessment of his/her performance. A request to drop a course during this period must be approved by the student’s advisor and academic dean. A student receiving permission to drop will receive a “W” on his/her academic record and be assessed a fee.

Summer Intersession

A student has through the first class day to drop a course and through the second class day to add a course without being assessed a fee or an academic penalty.
Note: A student may NOT drop his/her last or only remaining class in a semester or part of term.
A student who wishes to drop the last class and add a different class or section must complete an add/drop slip. The Registrar’s Office must process this change.
To drop a course after the first day through the fifth class day of a term with 10-15 class days, a student must receive approval from his advisor, will be assigned a “W” on the academic record, and will be assessed a fee.
For a term with 16-24 class days, students may drop through the ninth day but must receive approval from his advisor and will be assigned a “W” on the academic record and be assessed a fee.
After this period, a student cannot drop a course except in documented cases of serious illness, extreme hardship, or failure of the instructor to provide significant assessment of his/her performance. A request to drop a course after this period must be approved by the student’s advisor and academic dean. A student receiving permission to drop will receive a “W” on his/her academic record and be assessed a fee after the last day to drop a course.

Withdrawal

(Drop entire current semester schedule)

To drop an entire current semester schedule, the student accesses the Withdrawal Request found on the MyBanner for Students Registration Menu. By completing this process, the student avoids the automatic assignment of grades of F and assessment of outstanding tuition and fees, even if the student never attended class. Following the outlined procedure also avoids future difficulties in obtaining transcripts or reentering the University. In most circumstances the student is permitted to register for the subsequent semester without penalty.

A summer semester student uses the Withdrawal Request when dropping the entire schedule for Maymester or either of the 5-week terms or the 10-week term. Withdrawing from one summer term (e.g., Maymester) does not affect the student’s schedule for another summer term (e.g., 2nd 5-week).

The withdrawal of a student is not effective for any date prior to the actual date of withdrawal except in documented cases of serious illness or extreme hardship, and then only upon approval of the student’s academic dean.

The student is responsible for payment of all tuition and fee charges unless he/she CANCELS HIS OR HER SCHEDULE before classes begin. See the refund schedule at http://www.controller.msstate.edu . Failure to take prompt and appropriate action may result in significant payment obligations and holds.

Retroactive Withdrawal

(Drop entire prior semester schedule)

In rare and unusual circumstances, a student may request a retroactive withdrawal for a previous semester by submitting a completed petition. A copy of the petition form can be obtained online at the Retroactive Withdrawal Form Webpage . The student must also submit all required documentation. The student’s academic dean, the dean of the Graduate School, and the Provost must approve the request for retroactive withdrawal.