Enrollment Status and Course Load

Enrollment Status: Billing

Whether a student is enrolled full-time or less than full-time affects tuition and fees. Full-time enrollment status is different for undergraduate and graduate students, and also differs between Fall/Spring and Summer terms for graduate students, as shown below:

Students enrolled in less units than those listed above are considered less than full-time.  For information regarding how full-time status affects tuition and fees, please see the current Tuition and Fees section of the Dominican website (www.dominican.edu).

Enrollment Status: Financial Aid

For the purposes of Financial Aid including aid eligibility, loan deferment, and enrollment reporting, enrollment status is defined differently. The definition of full-time enrollment is the same, however,  less than full-time status is broken down into more categories. These definitions are different for undergraduate and graduate students, and also differ between Fall/Spring and Summer terms for graduate students, as shown below:

For further information regarding how enrollment status affects Financial Aid, please see the current information found on the Financial Aid Office’s website at www.dominican.edu.

Course Load: Undergraduate Programs

Please note that the time it takes to earn a degree is directly impacted by the rate at which a student earns academic credit (i.e., how many units a student successfully completes per term). In order for a full-time undergraduate student to earn a degree in four years, the student must take an average course load of 15.5 units per Fall and Spring semester.

It is strongly recommended that students who have not yet met the Effective Communication CORE requirement limit their course loads to 12-16 units per semester until this requirement has been completed.

Full-time tuition at the undergraduate level is billed for students enrolled in 12-18 units per semester. A student may enroll in 18 units with the advisor’s approval. A student may enroll in more than 18 units in a semester, but in order to do so must have a strong academic record, advisor approval, and the approval of the Academic Petition Committee. For information regarding the financial impact of enrolling in more than 18 units in a semester, please see the current Tuition and Fees information of the Dominican website (www.dominican.edu).

Enrollment Status: Class Levels

Undergraduate class levels are defined upon completion of credits:

• Freshman:  0 - 29 credits
• Sophomore:  30-59 credits
• Junior:  60-89 credits
• Senior:  90+  credits

Special Policy for Majors with a Significant Skills-based Component (e.g., Dance, Music)

Students majoring in Dance LINES Ballet or Music may receive a Tuition Waiver for up to two (2) units of overload each term of enrollment as an Undergraduate student at Dominican. To be eligible for this benefit, a student must:

• Be majoring in Dance LINES Ballet or Music
• Have a second major or minor declared and on their student record in the University’s electronic Student Information System
• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

A student has to be meeting the above criteria and enrolled in the overload unit(s) on or before September 30 for Fall Semester and on or before February 28(29) for Spring Semester.

Special Policy for Students in the Honors Program

Honors students may receive a Tuition Waiver for up to a maximum of six (6) units of overload during their enrollment as an Undergraduate student at Dominican. To be eligible for this benefit, a student must:

• Be an active member of the Honors Program
• Have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher
• Not be a first-year student at Dominican

Student has to be meeting the above criteria and enrolled in the overload unit(s) on or before September 30 for Fall Semester and on or before February 28(29) for Spring Semester.

Course Load: Graduate Programs

The semester course load of a student working toward a graduate degree is determined in consultation with the Chair/Director of the student’s program.

Concurrent Enrollment at Another Institution

Concurrent registration at Dominican and another institution must be approved prior to enrollment at the other institution. Students must submit the course description for the prospective course and an Authorization to Take Courses Off-Campus form to the Registrar’s Office, signed by the student’s advisor. Courses taken without prior approval from the Registrar’s Office may not be counted toward the degree; for further information, please see the Transfer Credit Policies section of this catalog.

Please note that the enrolled units at the other institution do not count toward a student’s enrollment status at Dominican.