Message from Dean Ozment
In this final newsletter for the fall semester, I remind you of several end of the semester concerns important to College students.
Spring Course Selection
Students should have already met with his or her faculty advisor. You'll find helpful information for planning for the spring semester at the College's web site, and the Schedule of Courses is available on SIS. Should you encounter technical difficulties when enrolling and navigating the new version of SIS, call the free 24/7 IT hotline: (434) 924-4357.
Applying for Graduation
Students who are planning to graduate in May 2022 should open their graduation application in their SIS Student Center and click on the Apply for Graduation option from the dropdown menu. Be sure to confirm your Diploma Mailing Address. Applying for graduation simply places your name on the graduation list; it does not guarantee graduation.
Finishing the Semester
We draw your attention to the faculty policies listed below:
Final Examinations: Instructors are not authorized to change the announced times of examinations. Congestion of a schedule is not a basis for a student's request to change the examination date unless at least three examinations are scheduled within two consecutive days. Early exams are never permitted, but students may request to postpone an exam until later in the final exam period with instructor’s permission. Requests for a change in the examination schedule must be made on a Request for Examination Postponement electronic form on the College of Arts & Sciences website. Please pay careful attention to the instructions and published deadline. Students are welcome to attend Zoom-based dean of the day drop-in advising if they have questions about the examination rescheduling process.
Incompletes: If serious mitigating circumstances prevent you from finishing a course, an instructor may be willing to report an initial temporary grade of IN (incomplete). Please note that requesting an incomplete does not guarantee that an instructor will grant one. All requests for incompletes (IN) must be formally approved by your professor and Association Dean. Electronic Incomplete Grade request forms are available on the College of Arts & Sciences website. If your professor tries to submit a temporary grade of IN without formally approving this request with the Association Dean, then the grade will automatically becomes an F five days after the end of the examination period. Please follow the College's guidelines. Incomplete request forms are available online. Please pay careful attention to the instructions and published deadline and visit drop-in Zoom advising if you have any questions about the incomplete request process.
Withdrawing from the Semester: Thursday November 18th marks the College’s deadline to withdraw from the Fall semester and remain eligible to return for Spring 2022. With the approval of your Association Dean, you may withdraw from the College (using the eForm in SIS) for personal or medical reasons. Students who withdraw from the University voluntarily will have the notation "withdrew (date)" recorded on their permanent academic record and will receive a grade of W in their courses. Please schedule a meeting with Dean Ozment or visit drop-in Zoom advising if you are considering a withdrawal from the fall term.
Good Standing and Academic Probation: After the end of each semester, your Association Dean checks your academic record to find out if you are making satisfactory progress toward the degree. We do this to make sure that no student is allowed to continue completing inferior work without an official warning. If any of your grades are below C, we wish to know so that we can provide appropriate counseling or sanctions.
We consider you in Good Standing at the end of a semester if, in that semester, you have completed at least 12 credits of course work with at least a 1.80 semester average and have no more than one grade below C-. If you fail to achieve Good Standing, you will be placed on Academic Probation with a notation of the cause on your transcript. If you are on Probation, you will be required to meet with Dean Ozment early in the Spring and will be required to complete other academic success activities throughout the semester to support your academic progress.
If you are on Academic Probation for two consecutive semesters, you are subject to a year-long suspension. Furthermore, if you earn fewer than nine grade-points in a regular semester you are subject to suspension, either at mid-year or the end of the school year. One full spring term and one full fall term must elapse before suspended students may return to the College. If you are worried that you will be subject to suspension at the conclusion of the fall semester, please make an appointment to meet with Dean Ozment soon.
In order to enroll for a fifth semester, you are required to have passed at least 54 credit-hours; to enroll for a seventh semester, at least 84 credit-hours. Failure to earn sufficient credits will result in our placing a hold on your enrollment. We require students who fall behind in the number of credit-hours to make up their work in the summer session, January term, or through part-time enrollment. If you expect to be below the minimum number for your academic level, please make an appointment to meet with Dean Ozment soon.
To remain in Good Standing, students who have completed four semesters of work (at U.Va. or elsewhere) must be in a major or have obtained written permission from Dean Ozment to defer the declaration of major until the end of the fifth semester. No student will be permitted to enroll for a sixth full-time semester without a major; no exceptions.
As you know, transferring to the College is an exciting challenge, but it can also be bewildering, especially during the first semester. There are many people at the University to help you; you, however, must seek out help when you have questions or problems. If you don't know where to turn, make an appointment with your faculty advisor, or with Dean Ozment by calling 924-3350 or speaking with the staff in 101 Monroe Hall. There is also walk-in academic advising in Monroe Hall M-F from 2:30-4:00pm. We all wish for you to be successful here, and we wish you the best of luck for the remainder of the semester.
Looking Ahead
The University provides a range of other services in which new transfer students are often interested.
You should consider studying abroad. Contact the International Studies Office on the 2nd floor of Minor Hall. With proper planning, most transfer students find that they can fit in a study abroad term.
If you have not visited the University Career Center, 924-8900 (in the Carl Smith Center, Bryant Hall), you should plan to do so soon. After familiarizing yourself with the resources there, you should make an appointment to talk with one of the special advisors in UCS who work closely with College students.
If you are feeling stressed, call the Smith Center for Counseling and Psychological Services at 434-243-5150. They have a number of support groups as well as individual counseling and are located in the Elson Student Health Building. Their services are confidential and free.
If you are low on credit hours, consider attending the January term. See the January Term Home Page for more information.
Apply to be a Transfer Student Peer Advisor (TSPA)! The TSPA program is a student-run organization designed to help new transfer students become acclimated at the University of Virginia. For more information see here.
Tutoring Resources are listed on the College of Arts & Sciences website under Resources. If you do not see tutors listed in your department, please visit the department's main administrative office and ask their staff if they will share a list of graduate student tutors with you.
Drop-in hours for Christy Rotman, the College Life Skills Coach, are Tuesdays from 2-4pm, and Wednesdays from 10:30-noon in the Georges Student Center.
Final words from Dean Ozment
The end of the semester will soon be upon us. You now need to devote your full attention to your remaining papers, projects, and examinations. It is crucial that you stay current with your readings and other assignments. If you are having trouble, do not simply hope things will improve. You must act. You must speak with your instructor(s) promptly. You must seek out tutorial assistance, work in study groups, and draw fully upon your own and the University’s resources. You must continue to sleep and eat well. And you must not hesitate to make an appointment to see me. You are all capable of succeeding here. If you are not pleased with your progress so far, now is the time to seek help and make changes. You are all here because you are qualified to succeed.
Please feel free to call 924-3351 to arrange for a convenient time to discuss any questions you have with me. You may contact me by e-mail at [email protected], but please call to schedule appointments. My office is located in 204 Monroe Hall but I will continue remote advising sessions for the remainder of the fall term.
I wish you well for the rest of the semester and look forward to seeing you soon.