The last day to withdraw from fall semester courses is Wednesday, November 8. However, international students (and their academic advisors) should be cautious about withdrawing. Dropping below a full course of study could mean a violation of F-1 Foreign Student Visa Status, which would have serious negative consequences. International students with F-1 status must maintain the minimum number of units for a full course of study, for the entire semester.
Requirements for Full Course of Study: Undergraduate students, a minimum of 12 units. Graduate students, a minimum of 9 units.
In addition, F-1 students must attend class for the entire semester. Receiving a grade of ?FX? means that the student never attended class, or stopped attending during the term without officially withdrawing. To fulfill the full course of study requirement, students must register for and attend a full course of study. And, remember that units taken on an ?Audit? basis do not count toward the required minimum course-load.
Under extremely limited circumstances, an international student may obtain an exception to the Full Course of Study requirement. Any possible exception must be discussed and approved in advance by a Designated School Official (DSO), per federal Immigration regulations. Towson’s DSOs are the international student advisors at the International Student & Scholar Office. You can read more about this regulation at:
{http://wwwnew.towson.edu/isso/FulltimeEnrollmentforUndergraduateStudents.pdf} or {http://wwwnew.towson.edu/isso/FulltimeEnrollmentforGraduateStudents.pdf} and
{http://wwwnew.towson.edu/isso/ReducedCourseloadRequest.pdf}
Please let us know if you have questions or concerns about maintaining a full course of study. ISSO, 246 Administration Building, 410-704-2421.
