Term Enrollment Policies

The following policies apply to the Term Enrollment Program. They supercede standard CSU Policies as published on the CSU website and catalogue for students enrolled under the Term Enrollment Program. Standard CSU policies continue to apply if a separate Term Enrollment Agreement is not articulated.

Term System Description
The CSU Term System is divided into two tracks - Schedule A and Schedule B. Schedule B starts approximately four weeks after Schedule A allowing students to begin their degree program almost any month of the year. Students may register for multiple courses within a term. Students should refer to the Academic Calendar for term start dates, end dates and registration periods. The Term System utilizes the same independent study course format as used in the CSU Open Enrollment system. However, in the Term System, final course grades will not be reported until the end of the term, even if the student completes all course requirements early.

Students can register for a course in an upcoming term by submitting the online Term Registration Form.

OR 1010 Student Orientation
The first course you will complete is CSU’s two-week orientation course. This course will familiarize you with the process here at CSU, and our web orientation tools will enable you to become quickly comfortable with the virtual resources available to you.

Course Schedule
Most CSU courses are available for registration during any term. However, before term registration, students should verify course availability through the CSU Online Bookstore, or by calling CSU. CSU’s Online Bookstore maintains a catalog of CSU courses. If a course is currently closed, it will be noted in this catalog.

Student Classification
Full Time: Six hours or more
3/4 Time: Four to Five Hours
Part Time: Three Hours

Automatic Credit Card Payment Plan

CSU offers an Automatic Credit Card Payment Plan to enable students to spread tuition payments out over time by having them automatically charged to a credit card on a pre-set schedule. The student’s credit card will be charged for ½ of the tuition due for the term upon registration and ½ at the start of the fifth week of the term.
To be eligible for this plan, the student must:

Have declared an undergraduate or graduate degree as their academic goal
Use a credit card as payment
Have an acceptable credit history with CSU (New students automatically qualify if the first tuition payment is approved).

Course Drop/Withdrawal Policy

Course Drop: Students are allowed to drop a course prior to the term start date. A grade of “DP” will be recorded for the course. Dropped courses do not appear on student’s official transcript. The date of the drop will be the date the request is received by the registrar's office. Students may request a tuition refund or account credit. Course

Withdrawal: Course drop/withdrawal requests submitted after the start of the term and before or on the term/course end date will be considered a course withdrawal. A grade of "W" will be issued. The Grade of "W" will appear on the student's transcript but will have no effect on the student's cumulative CSU GPA. Tuition refunds for course withdrawals are based on the Term Enrollment Tuition Refund Policy. All students that drop/withdraw from a course after five calendar days from which the Enrollment Agreement is signed/submitted will be charged a 20% Registration Fee. The remaining tuition will be refunded based on the course start date and the tuition percentage amounts listed below.

1st Week = 80%
2nd Week = 60%
3rd Week = 40%
4th Week = 20%
5th Week = 0%

Students are not permitted to withdraw from a course after the term end date.

Course Incomplete/Extension Policy

If a course is not completed by the term end date, a grade of "I" (Incomplete) will be posted to the student’s record. Students are allowed up to two 30-day extensions (a maximum of sixty days beyond the term end date). A $50 Course Extension Fee is charged for each 30-day extension. If a Course Extension Request is not received within 14 days from the term end date and/or the course is not completed before an extension expires, the grade of "I" will be replaced with a course grade. Any assignments not submitted will be assigned a grade of zero so the course grade may be calculated. The final course grade will appear on official transcripts and will be counted in the cumulative CSU GPA.

Enrollment Hold
A student who is enrolled in the current term but has courses on extension from the previous term, may not enroll in the upcoming term. The courses on extension must be completed prior to the end of registration for the upcoming term. Students in this situation should complete the courses on extension prior to the registration period end and then submit their enrollment.

Course Attendance Policy for Students using VA Benefits
Students that enroll in the Term system must submit a course assignment for grading for each course enrolled before the end of the fourth week of the course. If a student fails to make the assignment submission, he/she will be automatically withdrawn from the course due to lack of attendance, receive a grade of “W.” The student will not be eligible for a refund. CSU will file VA Form 22-1999b with the Department of Veterans Affairs indicating course enrollment termination due to unsatisfactory attendance. This will result in the suspension of benefit payments on courses reported

Maintaining "Active" Status
All CSU students must continue to make progress toward their academic goals in order to remain in "active" status and must register for their next course in one of the next three consecutive terms. Students failing to do so will be “Inactive”. Courses from which a student drops or withdraws will not satisfy this requirement.

Leave of Absence (LOA)
Should issues arise in your personal or professional life that requires you to set your studies aside for a time, you may request a Leave of Absence (LOA) for up to six months. A Leave of Absence will only be awarded on the basis of extenuating circumstances, i.e., illness, prolonged hospital stay, death of immediate family member, etc. A Request for Leave of Absence form must be submitted to the Registrar’s office. If granted, the LOA fee is $50. Approved LOA’s are granted for up to three consecutive terms. Students may not request an LOA if currently registered in a course. See Course Drop/Withdrawal Policy.

During a student's tenure here at CSU, a student may take a total of two Leave of Absences, and these LOA's cannot follow one upon the other. From the expiration date of the first Leave of Absence, at least one calendar year must pass before a second LOA will be authorized.

Inactive Dis-enrollment
Students who have not maintained “Active” status and are not on approved Leave of Absence (LOA) will be dis-enrolled for inactivity. Dis-enrollment for inactivity does not negatively effect students’ academic standing. Dis-enrolled students must contact the Registrar’s office (registrar@columbiasouthern.edu) to be re-admitted to their studies. Students dis-enrolled for non-activity will be required to complete a new application for admission and will be subject to changes in admission/program requirements. Reinstated students will be admitted under current CSU policies and tuition rates.

Academic Progress
Students are required to have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 in undergraduate programs and a 3.00 in graduate programs. Academic standards of performance have been established to ensure satisfactory progress toward a degree. These performance standards form a basis for the following academic classifications:

1. Good Standing
2. Academic Probation
3. Academic Suspension

Guidelines and procedures for placing students in the above classification include:

Good Standing (Active)
To be a student in good standing, a minimum cumulative (all terms taken at CSU) GPA of 2.00 for undergraduates and 3.00 for graduates must be maintained.

Academic Probation
Upon the completion of a minimum of 12 credit hours, a student will automatically be placed on academic probation at anytime that his/her cumulative GPA drops below the required minimum. A student will remain on academic probation for 12 credit hours (four courses) unless the student brings the GPA up to the minimum requirement while taking any of these four courses. While on academic probation, a student will have to demonstrate satisfactory progress, and take a maximum of two courses at one time. A student will not be permitted to enroll in a fifth course after being placed on academic probation until completion of the fourth course and once the academic status is determined.

Satisfactory progress requires that a student either raise the cumulative GPA to an acceptable level, or that the student makes progress towards earning the acceptable GPA during the probationary period, as detailed below:

If after completing any of the four courses required for the probationary period, the student raises the cumulative GPA to 2.00 or higher for undergraduates and/or 3.00 or higher for graduates, the student will come off probation and be placed in Good Standing.

If the GPA for the probationary period is 2.5 or higher for undergraduates and/or 3.5 or higher for graduates, but the student does not raise the cumulative GPA to the minimum 2.00 or higher for undergraduates and/or 3.00 or higher for graduates, a new probation period will begin.

Academic Suspension
Should the probationary student fail to demonstrate satisfactory progress, he/she will be academically suspended for one term. A student may request a reinstatement during the term immediately following his/her first suspension and be re-instated the following term. If a second suspension occurs, the student must leave the university for at least two academic terms before being re-instated. The request for reinstatement in this case cannot be made until the beginning of the second academic term of suspension. If a third suspension occurs, the student must wait a minimum of one calendar year before requesting re-admission.

Requests for re-admission must be made to the Academic Dean no later than one month prior to the term in which the student desires to enroll. Readmission following academic suspension will be determined by the readmission committee and is not automatic.

Students who enroll in other colleges or universities while on academic suspension from CSU will not be readmitted to CSU until the cumulative grade point average from these other colleges and universities is 2.0 or higher for undergraduate or 3.00 or higher for graduate.