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

Accelerated Graduate Placement Program (AGP)

Students may petition to have AGP graduate credit earned through paired coursework applied to their Master's degree upon full admission to the graduate program. (See General Information – AGP for more information)

Bridge Program

Students completing a Bridge program are considered graduate students the semester they begin their paired Bridge coursework. Upon successful completion of paired graduate courses, students may petition to have the paired undergraduate credit applied to their undergraduate program and apply for undergraduate graduation. (See General Information – Bridge Programs for more information)

Academic Load

Fall and Spring Terms

Any undergraduate 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 each of the fall and spring terms is considered to range from 12-18 credit hours which will include all residential courses for credit, distance-learning courses, 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; however, students may not take more than 24 total hours.

Summer Term

The normal course load for a full-time student during the summer is 3 to 7 credit hours which will include all residential courses for credit, distance-learning courses, noncredit or audit courses, and approved courses taken at other institutions. Any load exceeding 7 credit hours in the summer term must be approved by the dean of the college in which the student has declared a major; however, students may not take more than 12 total hours.

NOTES:

• Students may not register for both day and evening classes in any mini subterm.

• Resident students and student-athletes are required to enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours during subterms A, B, and C. Students in each area should continue to hold to applicable online policies.

For each University term and subterm, specific units across the University may have additional load requirements. Students should consult the policies for Financial Aid eligibility, Chapel, Military and Veterans Affairs, and International Affairs for additional requirements.

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.