Credit Hour

The credit hour is the basic unit of measure for college credit. Most courses at Dallas Baptist University are offered for three semester hours of college credit. This means that the student invests the equivalent of three hours per week in the formal instruction process for each three-hour course. The student should invest much more actual time than this for each three-hour course in order to complete the necessary library and preparatory work for formal instruction periods. Laboratory classes are exceptions to this example as are certain music classes and other classes that require the development of various skills.

Enrollment status for financial aid purposes or VA benefits may or may not match enrollment status as defined by the Office of the Registrar. Each student is responsible to know both the Federal Financial Aid requirements and the Academic requirements and make decisions accordingly.  See the “Financial Aid and Academic Load” and/or “VA Academic Load” sections of the catalog for more information.

Undergraduate (UG) Academic Enrollment Status:

Special circumstances:

Students pursuing an Accelerated Bachelor’s and Master’s degree program are considered Graduate students upon the completion of all undergraduate degree requirements and shared graduate hours (see the “Accelerated Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Program Requirements” section of the catalog for more information).  Undergraduate level course requisites for a graduate program are not eligible for consideration when determining graduate enrollment status.  If an undergraduate student is permitted to begin a graduate program early (during the anticipated final term of the undergraduate program), the graduate level courses do not factor into status determination as such a student’s enrollment status is based solely on the undergraduate courses.

Academic Load

A student must be registered for a minimum of 12 hours to be designated as a full-time student. The normal course load for a full-time student during any long semester (spring or fall) is considered to range from 12-18 credit hours which will include all residential courses for credit, correspondence courses (if permitted and approved), noncredit or audit courses and approved courses taken at other institutions. Any load exceeding 18 credit hours must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major. No student may register for more than 21 hours in a fall or spring term. Any load exceeding nine credit hours for students working more than 30 hours per week must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major.

The normal course load for a full-time student during a summer or long winter term is considered to be three to seven credit hours which will include all residential courses for credit, correspondence courses (if permitted and approved), noncredit or audit courses and approved courses taken at other institutions. Any load exceeding seven credit hours in a specific summer or winter term, must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major prior to completion of enrollment. Any load exceeding 18 credit hours, including all summer terms, all mini-terms and all intramesters, must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major. Any load exceeding nine credit hours for Summers I, II, and Long Summer for students working more than 30 hours per week must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major.

The normal course load for a full-time student during a short winter term is considered to be three credit hours, which will include all residential courses for credit, correspondence courses (if permitted and approved), noncredit or audit courses and approved courses taken at other institutions. Any load exceeding three credit hours must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major prior to completion of enrollment. The maximum allowable load for mini-terms is three credit hours.

NOTE: Students may not register for both day and evening classes in any mini-term.

Academic Advisement

Upon acceptance to DBU, each student is assigned an advisor who guides in arranging a schedule of studies and in making progress in educational and professional development until the student has selected a major field. When the major field of study is determined, the student is assigned an advisor in the chosen field of study. Students may be granted an interview and secure academic advisement prior to making final plans for enrolling. Although academic advisors strive to advise students as accurately as possible, the student bears ultimate responsibility for fulfilling all requirements for graduation, certification, and/or licensure.