Registration Information

All continuing students are expected to early-register by consulting with their faculty advisor during the period designated for this procedure. Early-registration greatly facilitates the registration procedure, and priority in registration will be given to those students who have early-registered. Early registration also assures financial aid and scholarships are available at the beginning of the term. All students not early-registered are expected to register on the designated days of general registration at the beginning of each semester and each summer session. Late registration is permitted within prescribed limits and a late registration fee of $50 is assessed. Financial aid may impacted for the students who register late.

Academic Advising

All students should meet with their advisor prior to registering. Academic advisors will provide information regarding specific advising requirements. If you have questions, please call the Counseling Center at (304) 327-4444.

Student Academic Advisors

Each degree-seeking student who is admitted to the University is assigned a faculty advisor in her/her major field of study. The advisor is expected to provide the student with careful guidance in the pursuit of his/her degree. The duties of the advisor are to render academic assistance, prepare students’ course schedules, explain academic regulations and degree requirements, and maintain academic records for each advisee. The student advisee is expected to consult with his/her assigned advisor for all academic issues. The advisee is expected to consult with the advisor during posted office hours at least two times per semester. The advisor is expected to give the advisee careful guidance in the pursuit of his/her studies at the University.

The method for changing an advisor is to consult with the Dean of the discipline the student wants to pursue, or with Enrollment Services to complete the change of major form. Any advisor changes are processed in the Counseling Center.

All undeclared majors and students requiring 101L courses are advised in the University Counseling Center. Special attention is given to provide career exploration for these undecided students.

Schedule Changes

Bluefield State University reserves the right to alter this publication and to cancel a course when the enrollment is not sufficient to warrant its continuance, divide a class if enrollment is too large for efficient instruction, change the meeting time or day(s), or change instructors if necessary. Should schedules be changed the students will be notified prior to the start of the term in which the change occurred.

After registering for the semester, a student may neither add nor drop courses, change hours or day of recitation, change instructors or make any other changes in this schedule without permission of his/her advisor or the Dean of the respective school. After the add/drop period has ended, a student must also obtain the signature of the course instructor (or appropriate Dean, if instructor unavailable), and of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, for adding or dropping courses.

Students are reminded that courses are not automatically added to or dropped from their course load merely by their attending or ceasing to attend the course; it is the student’s responsibility to complete the appropriate form and submit it to the Office of the Registrar’s Office.

Adding Courses

Adding of courses prior to the deadline date for adding courses as published within the academic calendar is accomplished by securing an add form and having it signed by appropriate persons. Blank copies of the add form are available in the offices of the Registrar, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean, and the advisor. After obtaining the advisor’s signature and course instructor, and Dean if the class is full, the student must submit the add form to the Office of the Registrar prior to the deadline date. Adding courses may result in additional tuition and fees.

Numbering of Courses

Courses are numbered at the 100 level (freshmen), 200 level (sophomores), 300 level (juniors), and 400 level (seniors). All general education requirements are numbered at the 100 and 200 levels and should be completed during the first two years of study. Most courses numbered at the 300 level and 400 level make up the fields of specialization. Courses with a 101L designation require academic advising to be conducted within the office of counseling and advising.

Pre-requisite and Co-requisite

The Catalog lists in each course description the course or courses that are required as prerequisites or co-requisites for the described course. It shall be the responsibility of the student to have successfully completed prerequisite courses and to be enrolled in co-requisite courses when enrolling for any course. (Exceptions to this rule may be made only with the approval of the instructor and the Dean of the School in which the course is to be taken as well as the Provost.) Failure to comply, without approved exceptions, with pre- and co-requisite requirements reflected in the edition of the Catalog to which the student is subject may result in the assignment of a grade of “W” for the course. Note that courses designated as 101L in English and Mathematics courses specify the exact course sections in which the student should be co-enrolled.

Academic Credit Load and Definition of Credit Unit

The basic unit of college credit at Bluefield State University is the semester hour. Generally, a semester hour is equivalent to one hour per week for a semester in a lecture section. The standard academic load is 15-18 hours. To be considered a full-time student, one must be enrolled for at least 12 semester hours. The maximum standard load is 15 hours per semester. During the summer term, the maximum permissible load is 7 semester hours for a five-week term and 14 semester hours for a ten-week term. Students who have a 3.0 or better average overall may request permission from the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs to carry additional hours. Although student loads may exceed 18 credit hours in regular semesters when justified and approved, students are advised to refrain from registering for credit loads in excess of 21 hours. Additional fees are applicable for any credits over 15 semester hours.