Virtual Home Base
Typically (but not always) a course would be worth 3 of these.
What is credits. (The University requires a minimum of 120 credit hours to graduate. A course is usually worth 3 semester hours of credit. If a student is enrolled in 12 credit hours or 12 credits, that typically means being enrolled in 4 courses.)
This numerical value calculated by your earned grades, is used throughout your academic journey. There is a minimum required by the university and many majors to remain in good standing.
What is your Grade Point Average (GPA)
Every student must declare one of these. A subject area such as history or mathematics in which a student concentrates his/her studies in order to earn a degree.
What is Program/Major
All students must complete 9 hours of this, and it can be completed over the course of one or more summers at UWF or any of the other 10 Florida Public Universities (not state college/junior college/out-of-state college).
What is Summer Attendance/Requirement
The listing of all the courses you have attempted and/or completed at UWF, as well as any dual enrollment/AICE/AP/transfer credits. An unofficial copy of this can be obtained in MyUWF.
What is your transcript.
The period of time within the academic calendar (usually 16 weeks) during which academic courses are offered.
What is Semester/Term. (The University has three semesters per academic year; Fall - which begins in August; Spring - which begins in January; and Summer - which begins in May. A semester can also have separate terms within it. Some terms may run the entire semester and others may be for a shorter period of time. See the academic calendar for specific term dates.)
If you are meeting the university minimum GPA requirements, you are considered to be in this status.
What is Good Academic Standing
These can be placed on a student's record for various reasons. Certain types of these can prevent you from registering. It is a student's responsibility to monitor these in MyUWF.
What is a Hold
A State of Florida requirement which must be satisfied to receive a degree. Under this rule students must meet specific writing and mathematics requirements with a grade of C- or better to satisfy the requirement.
What is the Gordon Rule. (students must complete 6 semester hours of English coursework and 6 semester hours of additional coursework designated as Gordon Rule Writing and 2 Gordon Rule Mathematics courses.)
You should be checking and using this tool for important dates and deadlines throughout the year such as-add/drop/withdrawal deadlines, registration times, campus closed dates, etc.
What is the Academic Calendar
College credit earned while still attending high school.
What is Dual Enrollment Credit. (An official transcript from that college (not courses listed on the high school transcript) must be sent to the UWF Office of Admissions in order to receive credit at UWF.) Other options are: AICE credits, passing AP test scores, and passing IB test scores.
If you are not making satisfactory progress and your GPA falls below the university requirements, you will be placed in this formal standing for one semester.
What is Academic Probation.
This is the online access for courses. Access in this format can be for courses which are fully on-line to those which only course grades or minimal course information is available. This format is accessed through MyUWF.
What is E-Learning
A student is considered to be this when taking coursework at an institution other than UWF within the state of Florida, while still an active student at UWF.
What is a Transient Student. (Please work with your Academic Advisor if you will be taking courses elsewhere and intend to apply them towards graduation. UWF is still considered the home institution. It is recommended that students complete a Transient Student Form which is available online through Florida Virtual College.)
This code is required to process and finalize any and all changes to your class registration, and can be found in your MyUWF under the Advising Status app.
What is Registration PIN. (Your advising PIN must be released by your academic advisor. You will need to see your advisor to discuss your schedule for the upcoming term before your advisor will release your PIN. Once you have met with your advisor, your PIN will be released and will be valid through the drop/add period for the next term.)
Any course work which is not UWF coursework, that you are applying towards your program requirements is called this.
What is Transfer Credit. (Official transcripts must be received by the Office of Admissions which will determine overall and General Studies credit. Courses transferred to UWF may or may not meet specific course/major requirements even though they have been granted overall transfer credit. Grades for these courses are not averaged into the UWF GPA.)
After the add/drop period, a student may take this action prior to the tenth week of a course on their MyUWF on their own, so they are no longer a part of that class.
What is Withdrawal. (An instructor will not drop you from the class if you stop going. Please speak with your advisor prior to withdrawing from a course. A student will receive a grade of "W" (no penalty to the grade point average).)
When registering for classes, you may encounter a course that has met or exceeded the limit of students that can register for that course. It will then be considered this, and a student should select another course or speak with advising to talk about options.
What is a Closed Course
In 2009, the Florida Legislature implemented this bill to encourage students to complete their baccalaureate degree as timely and efficiently as possible.
What is Excess Hours Surcharge (Section 1009.286, Florida Statutes. The bill requires universities to add a surcharge to each credit hour attempted in excess of the total credit hours required to complete the degree being pursued. The amount in excess of the total hours is calculated based on a percentage defined in law and is referred to by the University of West Florida as the Excess Hours Threshold. The amount charged per credit hour is a calculated amount referred to as the surcharge.)
This is the official tracker system of your credits and progress in your degree that the University will use to confirm your degree, and your advisors will use in your academic advising appointments with you.
What is Degree Works Audit
A student may not go onto a more advanced course until they complete this beginning level type of course.
What is a Pre-Requisite. (Prerequisites will be listed with the course description in the Academic Catalog and in the course search during registration. The registration system will stop a student's registration if the appropriate prerequisite has not been met. Check with the department of the course if you have any questions. Also, some majors also require a specific grade in prerequisites in order to move on to other coursework.)
A student is placed into this status and not allowed to re-enroll at UWF, after having not met the requirements of Academic Probation.
What is Suspension. (A student is suspended or not allowed to re-enroll at UWF upon failure to bring the overall GPA to at least a 2.00. The student must apply and be approved for reinstatement before being allowed to return to UWF.)
This time frame after registration has begun allows students to still make adjustments to their schedule, and continues into the first week of classes.
What is the Drop/Add Period. (A course can be added anytime during Early Registration, Regular Registration, or during the official Drop/Add period (as listed in the Academic Calendar) and is the first week of classes for that term. After the Drop/Add period, no other courses may be added. A course can be dropped anytime during the Early Registration, Regular Registration, or during the official Drop/Add period (the first week of classes for that term). A course(s) dropped during this period will not appear on the permanent record. To remove yourself from a course after the Drop/Add period, you must Withdraw (available through MyUWF).)
With this policy, students may retake a course for a better grade and have the new grade replace the old in their cumulative GPA.
What is Grade Forgiveness (This is now an automatic process, and has a maximum of 9 credits that can be repeated under this policy and have the grade forgiven. Please speak with an Academic Advisor if you ever need to utilize this policy.)