University Undergraduate Advising Handbook

RE-ENROLLMENT
(Senate Policies 58-00, 58-20, 58-50)

Re-enrollment is a procedure that allows a former Penn State undergraduate degree candidate who has interrupted continuous enrollment to resume degree candidacy.

Students dropped from degree status for poor scholarship must request reinstatement to resume degree candidacy. After a four-year absence, academic renewal may be the appropriate action for a student seeking forgiveness for unsatisfactory scholarship.

Situations Requiring Re-enrollment
     Exception for Adult Learners
     Exception for Provisional Students
Degree Requirements
Selection of Campus and Program
Timing for Re-enrollment Requests
Student Action
University Response
Registration

SITUATIONS REQUIRING RE-ENROLLMENT

Re-enrollment is necessary for any undergraduate student who wants to resume degree candidacy after any of the following situations:

• Withdrawal

• Interruption of continuous enrollment (the following are exceptions: summer session, leave of absence, and programs that permit a break for adult learners)

• Voluntary change of status from degree candidate to nondegree student (see Classification of Undergraduate Students, Nondegree-Regular)

• Returning earlier or later than the time for return specified on a leave of absence

• Disenrollment from a college or major (see Drops by Colleges)

• Disciplinary Suspension, Indefinite Expulsion, or Expulsion

• Returning for another undergraduate degree after completing an associate or baccalaureate degree (see Sequential Majors)

Exception for Adult Learners

Adult learners who meet specified criteria can resume degree status without re-enrolling.

Exception for Provisional Students

A provisional student seeks re-entry through Undergraduate Admissions if he/she has interrupted continuous enrollment other than during summer session.

DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

University degree requirements (including General Education) are those in effect when the student's first scheduled class meets following re-enrollment. Requirements for a program (e.g., major, minor, option) are those in effect when the student most recently enters that program. Degree audits that accurately reflect requirements for students who are re-enrolling are available to advisers on eISIS.

SELECTION OF CAMPUS AND PROGRAM

When seeking re-enrollment, a student may request an alternative program (college, major, option, degree) and/or campus. A degree audit may be used to evaluate a student's progress toward an alternative goal.

TIMING FOR RE-ENROLLMENT REQUESTS

To allow for academic planning, students should request re-enrollment as soon as they decide on the semester/session in which they want to return.

Requests for re-enrollment should be initiated at least thirty days before the semester in which re-enrollment is sought. However, re-enrollment can occur as late as the end of the registration/late registration period.

STUDENT ACTION

1. In your intended college, meet with an adviser in the appropriate advising center at University Park (or another Penn State campus) to review your academic goals and plans to achieve them. Your intended college may require that you meet with an adviser prior to re-enrollment.

2. Complete a re-enrollment request form. If you would like to change your college, campus, or major, the change may be indicated on this form.

3. Submit the completed form with the required nonrefundable fee to the campus Registrar's office where you hope to enroll. If you took credits at another school during your absence from Penn State, send the official transcript of your work to Undergraduate Admissions.

   If you have questions about this procedure, contact the appropriate Registrar's office.

Some circumstances require actions in addition to the re-enrollment request:

Academic Drop
Disciplinary Suspension, Indefinite Expulsion, or Expulsion
Holds
Reapplying to a Minor
Re-enrollment after a Medical Withdrawal
Military Re-enrollment
Re-enrollment with Less than a 2.00 Cumulative Grade-Point Average
Re-enrollment into the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) with 60 Credits (or more)
Re-enrollment with Advanced Standing
Re-enrollment with Academic Renewal
Re-enrollment for Graduation

UNIVERSITY RESPONSE

Re-enrollment is a two step process that requires: 1.) University approval and 2.) approval of the requested academic major.

Re-enrollment is approved immediately by the Registrar's office unless the student

• has a cumulative average below a 2.00 (or higher for programs with academic entrance requirements)
• has a cumulative grade-point average below the minimum established in an academic entrance or retention requirement
• requests a different program than the one in which he/she had been enrolled*
• requests re-enrollment in DUS
• was enrolled at a campus other than University Park and he/she requests University Park
• requests a major that is not offered at the requested campus
• requests common-year status in a college (e.g., Engineering, Liberal Arts)
• requests a major that has an administrative enrollment control

In these circumstances, the appropriate dean or director in the college or division in which the student is seeking re-enrollment must review the request.

Authorized advisers can use ISIS screen ARISBD to determine if a student's re-enrollment request is eligible for immediate approval.

If a student's re-enrollment request requires a review, the Registrar's office sends the student a status report and then notifies the student when his/her request has been approved or denied by the appropriate dean or director (typically within two weeks after receiving the request). A student's re-enrollment request status can be viewed on ISIS screen ARUSBE.

*Note: A person may be denied re-enrollment into his/her previous degree program in certain circumstances, such as changes in the person's academic credentials or changes to the previous degree program (including termination of the program).

REGISTRATION

Students approved for re-enrollment may register according to instructions given by the Registrar's office when the re-enrollment is approved. When students' Penn State Access Accounts have been reactivated, it is possible for them to register online using eLion.

Information on access account reactivation is available on the Web from Information Technology Services. Students with questions about account reactivation should call the ITS Accounts Office at 814-865-4772 or e-mail accounts@psu.edu.

The University may make changes in policies, procedures, educational offerings, and requirements at any time. Please consult a Penn State academic adviser for more detailed information.

This page is part of the University Undergraduate Advising Handbook, which is maintained by the Division of Undergraduate Studies, DUS@psu.edu.

Last Update: May 2008