2012–2013 UNIVERSITY CATALOG - Florida Institute of Technology

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gEnEral studEnt inFOrmatiOn
Registration
Students must be properly registered and have their tuition and
fees paid for all courses they are attending. No student shall
be permitted to attend a class without processing a registration
form, regardless of whether that class is being taken for credit,
audit or continuing education units (CEU).
Melbourne Campus and Extended Studies
The Panther Access Web System (PAWS) enables enrolled
students at Florida Tech to use the Internet to register for
classes, make schedule changes, and access and print their
academic and personal information. Students may view and
print course descriptions, semester class schedules, address
and telephone information, all grades to date and a financial
account summary by term, in addition to making payments.
The PAWS home page may be accessed from the Florida Tech
home page at www.fit.edu or directly at www.fit.edu/paws.
Obtaining access to student-specific information on PAWS
requires a TRACKS account username and password assigned
to students by the institution.
Florida Tech University Online
Registering prior to admission allows students to begin classes
while gathering all application components. Students are
required to complete the online application and submit the
required documents including a complete academic history.
Students may register for up to two consecutive 8-week terms
before being fully admitted.
Registering before admission and pending formal acceptance
requires a determination of a high probability of eventual
acceptance into the program applied for and that registration
before admission is in the best interest of both the academic
unit and the student.
Students who register before admission are not eligible to
receive federal student financial aid until fully admitted to the
university. Such registration requires a preliminary review of
written documentation from the degree-granting institution
(not necessarily official) showing previous academic courses
taken, grades received and degrees awarded. In the event that
applicants are denied admission while enrolled, they will be
given the option of either withdrawing with full tuition refund
or completing the courses underway. If the applicant completes
one or more courses before being denied admission or completes
a course for any other reason, he or she will not be given
the option of withdrawing or receiving a tuition refund after
completing the course.
definition of full time/Part time
Melbourne Campus
A Melbourne campus undergraduate student is considered full
time each term if he or she is enrolled for 12 or more credits,
half-time for six to 11 credits and less than half-time for one to
five credits. A graduate student is considered full time when
enrolled for nine or more credits, half-time with five to eight
credits and less than half-time with one to four credits. See
“Veterans Accounts and Benefits” for credit hour standards
used for certification of students receiving veterans education
benefits.
Florida Tech University Online
For the purposes of reporting and financial aid, Florida Tech
University Online students are considered full time if enrolled
for six credits, half-time for three credits and less than half-time
for fewer than three credits per term.
Florida Tech University Online undergraduate students are
strongly encouraged to limit their enrollment to two courses per
8-week term. An additional class may be requested for a maximum
course load of nine credit hours per term by contacting
their enrollment adviser or program coordinator.
Extended Studies
The graduate student policy above under “Melbourne Campus”
applies equally to extended studies students.
english language Proficiency
All Students/Campuses
English language proficiency is required of all students whose
home language is not English and who are taking academic
courses at Florida Tech.
See “Languages and Linguistics” under the College of
Psychology and Liberal Arts in the Degree Programs section for
information on acceptable proof of English proficiency, the availability
of TOEFL examinations online and on campus, and help
with English proficiency provided by Florida Tech to students
whose home language is not English.
Demonstrating English Proficiency
English language proficiency is not required for admission,
but enrollment in academic courses will be limited for all
whose home language is not English until proficiency can be
demonstrated. Florida Tech University Online students must
provide proof of English language proficiency before attending
courses. See “Languages and Linguistics” under the College
of Psychology and Liberal Arts in the Degree Programs section
for more information, along with references to the Florida Tech
courses available to help establish proficiency.
student advising
Each student is assigned an academic adviser in his or her major
academic unit at the beginning of the first semester or term
of attendance. The academic adviser monitors the student’s
academic progress toward a degree. A conference is held with
each student before registration to ensure courses are scheduled
in proper succession, all relevant academic policies are adhered
Academic Overview 25
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