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Only students who have been formally admitted to Kent State University may register for coursework and pay the appropriate fees. An official registration is a record of a student’s schedule of classes maintained online in the university’s student information system, Banner. Students who are not officially registered for a course by published university deadlines should not attend classes and will not receive credit or a grade for the course. Students are responsible for their schedules and have the ultimate responsibility to confirm the accuracy frequently during the semester before posted deadline dates. Allowing a member of the university staff to make schedule changes does not relieve the student of his or her responsibilities.
Students register for courses online through FlashLine. Students must clear any registration holds before adjusting their class schedule. Refer to the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center website for registration information, instructions, dates, deadlines and procedures. New freshmen and new transfer students register through the various campus advising and registration orientation programs.
All changes to a student's course schedule must be completed by published university deadlines. Students can find registration deadlines on their course schedule and in the Schedule of Classes in FlashLine.
Kent State University reserves the right to change the time of a course if it is deemed necessary, and it reserves the right to drop any course from the Schedule of Classes if there is insufficient student demand or if resources are unavailable to offer the course.
Late Registration Fee
Students who are not officially enrolled for any coursework (i.e., neither registered nor paid fees) as of the end (11:59 p.m.) of the seventh calendar day for the fall or spring semester will have a non-refundable late registration fee assessed for any initial registration processed. A non-payment fee will be assessed for registrations not paid by the end (11:59 p.m.) of the 14th calendar day of the semester. Visit the Office of the Bursar website for information on students’ fees.
Add, Drop and Other Schedule Adjustments
Schedule adjustments are changes to a class schedule for students who have already enrolled in at least one course (1 credit hour or more) for that semester. During registration, students may make adjustments or requests in FlashLine by the following deadlines:
- Deadline is the end (11:59 p.m.) of the seventh calendar day of the fall or spring semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses):
- Adding a course or changing the section of a course1
- Deadline is the end (11:59 p.m.) of the 14th calendar day of the fall or spring semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses):
- Adding a course or changing the section of a course with instructor approval1
- Dropping a course/section
- Changing credit hours for a variable-credit-hour course
- Changing from graded to pass/fail or audit status
- Changing from pass/fail or audit to graded status
Students must submit the Registration Exception Form when requesting schedule adjustments after the university deadlines listed above. There are no processing fees for schedule adjustments, but tuition and fees assessment may be affected.
- 1
The ability to add a course (or change the section of a course) after the semester begins will depend on available seats in the course section and the student satisfying course prerequisites and other registration requirements.
Registration Cancellation
To receive a full refund of tuition, students who register and decide not to attend the university must cancel their registration as early as possible, and no later than the end (11:59 p.m.) of the seventh calendar day of the fall and spring semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses). This may be accomplished by the student dropping all courses in FlashLine during registration periods.
Any paid registration not canceled by the end (11:59 p.m.) of the seventh calendar day of the fall and spring semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses) will be subject to the refund policy published on the Office of the Bursar website.
Any applicable refund is determined by the date the transaction is processed in the student information system.
Registration Limits
Undergraduate students are able to register each fall and spring for a maximum of 18 credit hours.
Graduate students are able to register each fall and spring for a maximum of 16 credit hours, with the exception of students in the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree who may be required to be registered for more.
For the summer term, undergraduate and graduate students have the following registration limits:
- Maximum 6 credit hours in a single five-week summer session
- Maximum 10 credit hours in an eight-week summer session
- Maximum 10 credit hours in overlapping summer sessions
- Maximum 12 credit hours for all summer sessions combined, including summer intersession
Course Withdrawal
Course withdrawal indicates that a student intends to stop attending any or all classes for the current term. Course withdrawal is permitted through the end (11:59 p.m.) of the 70th calendar day the fall or spring semester (prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses). The spring semester course withdrawal deadline may be adjusted for spring break. After that time, students are considered to be committed to all remaining courses and must complete them.
Students will use FlashLine to withdraw from one or more courses by the deadline. If students are unable to complete the term because of extreme circumstances that first occur after the deadline, they should consult their college or campus dean’s office. Any course withdrawal(s) processed on or after the 15th calendar day of the fall or spring semester (or prorated deadline for summer or flexibly scheduled courses) will appear on the students’ academic record with the Withdrawal (W) administrative mark. For more information on the W mark, refer to Grading Policies and Procedures in the University Catalog. Any applicable tuition credit (policy published on the Office of the Bursar website) is determined by the date the transaction is processed on FlashLine.
International students on J1 and F1 visas are required to contact the Office of Global Education if a course withdrawal causes them to be less than full time.
Graduate students who withdraw from all courses with an intention to return at a later date may be eligible for a leave of absence (refer to Leave of Absence for Graduate Students policy in the University Catalog).
Students in the College of Podiatric Medicine who fail to complete registration requirements by the deadline will not be enrolled in classes for the following academic year and may be withdrawn from the college. These students may also be subject to a professionalism deficiency evaluation. Podiatric Medicine Students who request withdrawal after seven weeks of course instruction will receive on their academic record the administrative mark WP or WF if passing or failing, respectively, for each withdrawn course. Refer to the college policies in the College of Podiatric Medicine section of the University Catalog for more information on the procedures for withdrawal.
Course withdrawal does not negate a student’s financial obligation, and students will be held responsible for all balances due to the university.
Course Overload
Undergraduate Students
Eligible undergraduate students wanting to register for more than the maximum listed under registration limits may do so through an automated overload process.
Criteria for eligibility
- Students who have a minimum 12 Kent State earned credit hours and the following GPA are eligible for an automatic overload:
| GPA | Overload Credits |
|---|---|
| 2.500-2.749 | students may register for 19 credit hours in fall and spring |
| 2.750-2.999 | students may register for 19-20 credit hours in fall and spring |
| 3.000-4.000 | students may register for 19-21 credit hours in fall and spring |
- First-semester transfer students and freshmen without a Kent State GPA are excluded from qualifying for an automatic overload. They must seek approval from their advising office.
- Students not meeting the above criteria or requesting more than 21 credit hours in the fall or spring semester (more than 12 credit hours in all summer terms) will be blocked from registering for an overload unless approval is granted from their advising office.
- Students on academic probation may not register for more than 15 credit hours and may receive a prescription from the dean of their college or campus that they further reduce the credit hours carried until removed from probation.
Exceptions to this rule must be approved by the appropriate college dean.
Graduate Students
Graduate students wanting to register for more than the maximum listed under registration limits should request permission from their advisor, who will consider such factors as academic standing, progress to degree and the rigor of their proposed course schedule in deciding whether to approve the overload. Graduate students with an approved overload will have their course limit adjusted to register for the approved overload class(es).
Enrollment Definitions
For financial aid eligibility and enrollment certification for loan deferments, insurance coverage and other purposes, the enrollment status of students is defined as the following:
Undergraduate Students
| Enrollment Type | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Full-time | 12+ |
| Three-quarter-time | 9-11 |
| Half-time | 6-8 |
| Less-than-half-time | 1-5 |
Graduate Students
| Enrollment Type | Credit Hours |
|---|---|
| Full-time | 8+ |
| Three-quarter-time | 6-7 |
| Half-time | 4-5 |
| Less-than-half-time | 1-3 |
For summer, the statues listed above may be fulfilled by enrollment in one or more sessions within the summer semester, including summer intersession. Courses receiving an AU, NF or SF mark are not counted in enrollment credit hours. This definition differs from the one used for assessing tuition and fees (for more information, see Office of the Bursar website).
Flexibly Scheduled Course Sections
Some courses are offered as flexibly scheduled sections, that is, the course does not meet for the full semester. Eligibility for processing registration transactions for these courses (adding, dropping or withdrawing) is determined by the beginning and ending dates of the section. Students can find registration deadlines on their course schedule and in the Schedule of Classes in FlashLine.