Registrar
Frequently Asked Questions
General Information
- How can I get an audit of my major and/or CPLE courses?
- How many hours are required to make class standing and to graduate?
- How do I change my graduation date?
- How do I declare my major?
- How do I declare my minor?
- How do I get transfer credit for taking summer classes at another institution?
- What are the GPAs required for Latin honors?
- How can I get into the honors program in my major department?
Registration: Students
- How do I get my adviser approval code?
- How do I get on the Wait List for a course?
- How do I register for a course on a Pass/Fail basis?
- How do I register for an overload or an underload?
- What should I do if I have a course conflict?
- How do I drop/withdraw from a course?
- How do I register for a graduate-level course?
- How do I register for an independent/directed study course?
- How do I register for an internship?
- How can I register for an honors class in my major department?
Faculty: Registration & Advising
- It’s getting close to the Course Request Period and I still don’t have my adviser approval codes. May I have them?
- I am going on sabbatical for a year, so my advisees will need to be reassigned. How can I get those changes made?
- One of my advisees’ major audits shows Not Satisfied. A substitution will satisfy the missing requirement, allowing for completion of the major. To whom should notification of the substitution be sent?
- One of my advisees’ CPLE audits is not showing a class to satisfy a requirement that the Undergraduate Catalog says it should satisfy. Who can fix this?
- One of my advisees needs a substitution for a CPLE requirement. To whom should I refer him?
- One of my advisees would like to take classes at another institution during the summer. To whom should I direct him?
- Is there a website to which I can direct advisees with general questions about declaring a major/minor, adding/dropping a class, taking a class on a Pass/Fail basis, etc?
General Information: Students
Q. How can I get an audit of what major and/or CPLE requirements I have fulfilled?
A. Students who began their academic career in the College of Arts and Science prior to Fall 2005 will audit their degree and major requirements using the online degree audit system and may pick up a CPLE audit in 311 Kirkland Hall. Please have an I.D. ready.
All other students can review degree, major, and AXLE requirements using the online degree audit system: https://webapp.mis.vanderbilt.edu/student-search/
Q. How many hours are required to make class standing and to graduate?
A. Sophomore Standing: 24 hours
Junior Standing: 54 hours
Senior Standing: 84 hours
Graduation: 120 hours
Must complete last 30 hours at Vanderbilt
Q. How do I change my graduation date?
A. Changes to your graduation date must be made in person. You may do so by filling out a form in the Arts and Science Dean's office or the Office of Records and Institutional Research in 311 Kirkland Hall. Please have your I.D. ready.
A. Students may declare a major after their second semester at Vanderbilt, but you must have declared a major by the last Friday before Spring Break in your sophomore year.
Sophomores and juniors who wish to declare a major or make changes to their major may download a Declaration of Major form. (Forms also are available in the Deans office in 311 Kirkland Hall.) Students will need to print enough forms to leave one each with the major department(s) and the Arts and Science Registrar's office.
Students will take the form(s) to the department office of the subject area(s) in which they wish to major, where they will be assigned an adviser. Advisers will discuss the major requirements with the students, and sign both major declaration forms. Students will leave one form with the major department, and return one form to the Arts and Science Registrar's office in 311 Kirkland Hall. For students with multiple majors, the form to be returned to the Registrar's office must have the signature of all major advisers.
Students who wish to declare three majors first must petition the Administrative Committee. Petition forms are available in the Deans office.
Seniors who wish to make changes to their majors may do so only before the fifth class day of their senior year.
A. If you wish to declare a minor or make changes to your minor, you must pick up two Declaration of Intention to Minor cards from the Arts and Science Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall. You will then go to the department office of the subject area in which you wish to minor, where you will be assigned an adviser. Your minor adviser will discuss the minor requirements with the you, then sign both minor declaration cards. Leave one card with the minor department, and return one card to the Office of Records and Institutional Research, located in the Dean's office.
If you wish to declare two minors, you will need to pick up three cards from the Dean's office, one of which you will return to the Office of Records with both advisers' signatures. One card will be left with each minor department.
Please keep in mind that the minor is optional--it is not a requirement for graduation.
Q. How do I get transfer credit for taking summer classes at another institution?
A. Coursework taken during the summer at a four-year accredited institution can be tranferred for credit at Vanderbilt.
You may transfer up to two classes of summer work elsewhere during your four years at Vanderbilt. In order to get transfer credit for summer work elsewhere, you first must meet with one of the Advising Deans. Once the dean has approved the work, you will take a petition form to the appropriate academic department to get the courses evaluated for credit. Return this form to 311 Kirkland Hall for the approval of the Director of Records and Institutional Research.
Q. What are the GPAs required for Latin honors?
For students graduating in August or December 2009 and May 2010
- Summa Cum Laude. Students whose grade point average equals or exceeds that of the top 7 percent of the previous year’s Vanderbilt graduating seniors. GPA of 3.8600 or above.
- Magna Cum Laude. Students whose grade point average equals or exceeds that of the next 11 percent of the previous year’s Vanderbilt graduating seniors. GPA of 3.7110 - 3.8599
- Cum Laude. Students whose grade point average equals or exceeds that of the next 17 percent of the previous year’s Vanderbilt graduating seniors. GPA 3.5670 - 3.7109
Please note: GPAs are not rounded up for the purposes of determining latin honors.
Q. How can I get into the honors program in my major department?
A. You must be nominated to the departmental honors program by the Director of the Honors Program in your major department. Once you have been admitted to the honors program, you must register for any honors classes in person in the Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall.
Registration
Q. How do I get my adviser approval code?
A. Please make an appointment to meet with your adviser before the beginning of registration for each semester. Your adviser will have an approval code that will give you access to OASIS. All students must meet with their adviser to obtain an approval code.
Q. How do I get on the Wait List for a course?
A. If you wish to register for a course that is closed, you will be able to place yourself on the wait list for that course. The Wait List option is available on OASIS during the Change Period--the first week of classes during each semester. In order to add yourself to the Wait List, type WAIT, then the course information (e.g., WAIT HUM 215 01). You must update your wait list status within 24 hours to remain on the wait list. To do this, type UPDATE, then the course information (e.g., UPDATE HUM 215 01). If your registration shows "Conditionally Enrolled", type UPDATE again, then answer Yes when the system asks if you would like to be registered for the class. In order to remove yourself from the wait list, type REMOVE, then the course information (e.g., REMOVE HUM 215 01).
Q. How do I register for a course on a Pass/Fail basis?
A. Registration for Pass/Fail occurs ONLY during the Change Period--the first week of classes during each semester. Certain courses are not available for Pass/Fail status. These courses have a note attached to them in the Schedule of Courses. Please click here for an explanation of the eligibility requirements for Pass/Fail.
If you are eligible to take a class on a Pass/Fail basis: on OASIS, enter PF, then the course information (e.g., PF HUM 215 01). A "PF" notation will show on the OASIS screen next to the course listing.
Please make sure that the Pass/Fail registration is successful--once the deadline has passed, you will no longer be able to register a course Pass/Fail.
Q. How do I register for an overload or an underload?
A. If you wish to register for more than 18 hours, you must meet with one of the Advising Deans in order to get permission for an overload. If you are a graduating senior in your final semester, you may get permission to register for fewer than twelve hours. You must meet with one of the Advising Deans in order to get permission for an underload. Students who are not in their last semester cannot be registered for fewer than 12 hours without incurring probation.
Q. What should I do if I have a course conflict?
A. If you cannot register for a class because of a time conflict on OASIS, you must meet with one of the Advising Deans to get permission for a course conflict. Due to the constraints of Bumping and Balancing, you will need to wait until the Change Period begins in order to get this permission.
Q. How do I drop/withdraw from a course?
A. You can drop a course during each registration period until the end of the Change Period--the first week of classes during each semester. Use the DROP command in OASIS to make such a change to your schedule during this time. After the Change Period, and extending to the end of the eighth week of classes, you may withdraw from a course with the consent of the instructor and your adviser--and, in certain cases, the dean.
In order to withdraw from a course, you must pick up a green Change of Course form from the Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall. Once you have obtained the required signatures, return the card to the Office of Records, also located in the Dean's office.
Q. How do I register for a graduate-level course?
A. If you are a qualified senior, you may enroll in a graduate-level course by using the following procedure:
- Download an Undergraduate Enrollment Request for Graduate Level Course form (Word format), or pick up a form from the Arts and Science Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall.
- Obtain the written approval of your academic adviser as well as the instructor of the course and the Director of Graduate Studies of the department in which the graduate course is being offered.
- Return the form to the Office of Records and Institutional Research in order to be enrolled in the class.
Q. How do I register for an independent/directed study course?
A. Independent study and directed study courses are intended for students in their junior and senior years. If you wish to register for such a course, you must use the following procedure:
- Download a Contract for Registration in Independent/Directed Study Courses form (Word format), or pick up a form from the Arts and Science Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall.
- Obtain permission to enroll from the instructor of your choice and the chair of the department in which the course is to be offered. Consult the instructor prior to the course request period of registration for the semester in which the study is to be undertaken.
- Register for the course through the appropriate department.
- Make a written study plan detailing the nature of the project and the amount of credit and have it approved by the instructor and the department chair (or the chair’s designee) by the tenth day after classes begin.
Q: How do I register for an internship?
A. Please contact Dean Yollette Jones in the Arts and Science Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall for information on registering for an internship. She may be reached by calling 615.343.6170.
Q. How can I register for an honors class in my major department?
A. Students who have been admitted into the departmental honors program must register in person for all honors classes through the Dean's office in 311 Kirkland Hall.
Faculty
Q. It’s getting close to the Course Request Period and I still don’t have my adviser approval codes. May I have them?
A. Adviser approval codes are sent in a packet with your advisees’ audits and new advisee folders. These packets are delivered to department offices on the Friday before registration begins on Monday.
Q. I am going on sabbatical for a year, so my advisees will need to be reassigned. How can I get those changes made?
A. Major adviser reassignments will need to come directly from the department. Please send notification of those changes to ORIR, att: Molly Thompson. Pre-major adviser reassignments will be made by Dean Bergquist.
Q. One of my advisees’ major audits shows Not Satisfied. A substitution will satisfy the missing requirement, allowing for completion of the major. To whom should notification of the substitution be sent?
A. Notification of a variance in major requirements must come directly from the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the major department. The DUS must send written notification to the Office of Records, att: Molly Thompson.
Q. One of my advisees’ CPLE audits is not showing a class to satisfy a requirement that the Undergraduate Catalog says it should satisfy. Who can fix this?
A. Please direct your advisee to the Office of Records. In many cases, this is simply an error in the Degree Audit. We will be able to make the necessary notations on the student’s record.
Q. One of my advisees needs a substitution for a CPLE requirement. To whom should I refer him?
A. Students who wish to make a substitution for a CPLE requirement must petition the Committee on Educational Programs. Please refer your advisee to Dean Jones in the Arts and Science Dean’s office.
Q. One of my advisees would like to take classes at another institution during the summer. To whom should I direct him?
A. Your advisee will need to meet with one of the deans in order to get initial approval for the transfer work. Once the dean has approved the courses, she will direct the student to the necessary departments for evaluation of transfer credit.
Q. Is there a website to which I can direct advisees with general questions about declaring a major/minor, adding/dropping a class, taking a class on a Pass/Fail basis, etc?
A. Yes. Please visit the website for the Office of Records and Institutional Research at www.vanderbilt.edu/cas/registrar.
