Full-Time Student Status

Entry-Level Pathways

In general, entry-level students in the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions are expected to be full-time. The following guidelines will be used in determining enrollment status for students pursuing the Doctor of Occupational Therapy, the Doctor of Physical Therapy and the Doctor of Pharmacy degrees: 

Enrollment status definitions for Fall and Spring semesters: 

  • Full time = 12 or more credit hours
  • Three-quarter time = 9 - 11.990 credit hours
  • Half-time = 3 - 8.999 credit hours
  • Less than half-time = up to and including 2.99 credit hours 

Enrollment status definitions for Summer semester: 

  • Full time = 8 or more credit hours
  • Three-quarter time = 6 - 7.999 credit hours
  • Half-time = 3 - 5.999 credit hours
  • Less than half-time = up to and including 2.99 credit hours

Semester course loads are based on the expectation that students will register for all required and elective courses as prescribed by the pathway’s curriculum. A student may not take less than a full-time course load per semester or more than 21 credit hours for any given semester unless permission is granted by the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. The student’s academic advisor will communicate with the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs if a semester hour load greater than 21 hours is planned. The student will need the approval of the academic advisor and the Assistant/Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The student will be responsible for additional tuition charges above 21 hours.

Students are responsible for full-time tuition for all semesters in which they are enrolled and completing required didactic or clinical course work, including summers. Tuition for entry-level students is assessed for each semester of required study (including summers) on a flat-rate basis.  

No entry-level student will be allowed to pay tuition on a per-credit-hour basis without the written permission of the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. Only in unusual circumstances will part-time status be approved by the Assistant/Associate Dean in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs, which allows the student to pay tuition on a per-credit-hour basis. 

Post-Professional Pathways

In general, post-professional, Distance Doctor of Occupational Therapy students do not take more than 6 semester credit hours of didactic course work or 8 semester credit hours of clinical course work during an enrollment period. They are subject to the same policies and procedures as full-time entry-level counterpart students.