Advising & Registration

All graduate students must meet with their academic advisors at least once a semester to discuss their program. The student is ultimately responsible for his or her program; however, until an advisor has been assigned, the program coordinator or designee will be responsible for the advising.

Registration is available through GoldLink-Online. A calendar of these dates appears in the schedule of classes, published online for each term. Students should contact the initial advisor designated in their letter of admission for assistance in planning and approval of their course registration. Students who have not received a letter of admission should contact the Graduate School. Please refer to the schedule of classes for information on GoldLink-Online. It is essential that registration be completed during the regular registration period. Late registration generally cannot be accommodated, but students are welcome to return for the next semester during regular registration.

Scheduling of Graduate Courses - A schedule of classes is published each term by the registrar. Graduate students should plan schedules with major advisors prior to registration. Note that graduate courses offered by the College of Medicine adhere to a calendar which may differ from that of the rest of the university.

If a student has not been active in a graduate program for more than a year, a readmission form must be filed and approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate School prior to re-enrollment.

Every student is required to enroll at the time and in the manner prescribed by the Registrar. All charges for the ensuing semester must be paid, or otherwise provided for, before registration is completed. Please click here to read the complete enrollment policy.

Continuous Enrollment - Please click here to read the complete policy.

Combined Graduate and Undergraduate Enrollment (5xx7 and 5956 Courses) - Please click here to read the complete policy.

Limitation on 5xx7 and 5956 courses: No more than 30 percent of all courses taken in any program may come from the 5xx7/5956 series

Independent Studies, Problems, and Workshops - Students who wish to pursue independent studies, problems, or workshops of special interest may enroll in these courses provided that the topic for study has been defined and approved by the professor and the student’s advisor. Please click here to read the complete policy.

Limitations on Independent Studies, Problems, and Workshops - No more than 30 percent of the semester hours for a graduate degree program may be taken in independent studies, problems, or workshops or in any combination of these types of courses.

Graduate Full-Time Course Load - Please click here to read the complete policy.

Graduate Assistant and Tuition Scholars Course Loads - Full-and half-time graduate assistants and tuition scholars are required to take a minimum of nine semester hours of graduate credit each semester. Full-time graduate assistants and tuition scholars may not exceed 16 graduate-level credits each term; half-time graduate assistants may not exceed 16 graduate-level credits each term. Graduate assistants and tuition scholars may take more than 16 semester hours only by approval of the departmental advisor and the Dean of the Graduate School. Requests for exceptions to this policy will be decided individually through consultation with the graduate coordinator and with the approval of the Dean of the Graduate School prior to the beginning of each term.

Courses for Graduate Assistants - Graduate Assistants are required to register for the following courses during fall and spring terms, as appropriate to their assigned responsibilities in teaching, research, or administration: 5019 Supervised Experience in Teaching, 5029 Supervised Experience in Research, or 5039 Supervised Experience in Administration. The assigned grading scales for all these courses are “S” (Satisfactory) and “U” (Unsatisfactory).

Class Attendance - It is expected that students will attend class regularly and provide the faculty with a reason for any absence. Failure to attend class regularly can affect students’ grades and financial aid. East Tennessee State University does not specify a fixed number of class absences as university-wide policy, but each department within the university has the right to set a maximum number of absences (including absences due to university activities and illnesses) permitted during an academic term. Departmental class absence policy is subject to approval by the dean of the school/college. At the beginning of the course each faculty member must provide a written statement governing attendance policy (including laboratory/clinical sessions where applicable) for the course so that all students may be fully informed of their attendance responsibilities, including penalties that may be imposed for failing to meet these responsibilities. If a student is not in attendance during the class meeting in which the class attendance policy is discussed it is the student’s responsibility to ascertain the policy in that class.

Auditing Courses - Students are permitted to enroll in regular university courses as auditors. Registration fees are the same for audit as for credit. Regular attendance is required. Audit enrollment will not be considered part of the minimum credits required for full-time enrollment. Audit enrollment will be counted in determining overloads.

After the published “Last Day to Add a Course” students may not change their enrollment status in a course from credit to audit or from audit or credit.

Instructors may administratively drop auditors for unsatisfactory class attendance.

Enrollment of Disabled Persons and Persons over 60 Years of Age - (a) Audit Enrollment. Persons suffering from a permanent disability that totally incapacitates them from employment and persons 60 years of age or older may audit courses without the payment of fees. (b) Credit Enrollment. Disabled persons described in (a) above and persons 65 years of age or older may enroll for credit by payment of a service fee required to defray the cost of record-keeping. Special course fees may be required.

Enrollment of such disabled persons and persons 60 years of age or over is restricted to those who are domiciled in Tennessee and may be further limited or denied on an individual classroom basis according to space availability. Acceptable documentation of disability and age is required. Enrollment in classes offered through the James H. Quillen College of Medicine and the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy is not included in the provision.

Adding a Course - Please click here to read the complete policy.

Dropping a Course - Please click here to read the complete policy.

Change of Field of Study - Students seeking to change their field of graduate study from one program to another must formally apply to the new graduate program. Please click here to read the complete policy.