Registrar's Office

Curricular Requirements for Intra-University Status Change

lhendrickson@govst.edu — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 02:45:11 +0000

Curricular Requirements for Intra-University Status Change

Purpose
This policy addresses intra-university status changes. These include major or program changes, changes in concentration within the major or program, the addition of up to three (3) minors (for undergraduate students only); and changing from General Studies, Undecided or Undeclared status to a specific major.
Definitions
1. Graduate Degree-Seeking Students are those who meet the established admission requirements of the University, college, and specific program for which the Doctorate, Specialist, or Master's Degree is sought and who have been officially admitted to that program. Admission to a graduate program does not carry with it, nor guarantee, admission to degree candidacy in the program.
2. Undergraduate Student Classifications
  1. Undergraduate Degree-Seeking students are those who meet the established admissions requirement for the University and specific program for which the baccalaureate degree or second bachelor’s degree is sought and who have been officially admitted to that program.
  2. General Studies students are students admitted as first-year students who have less than 24 hours of transfer credit. Students stay in this status until the semester they will complete 45 hours of credit.
  3. Undecided students are persons who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree but have not as yet decided which discipline to pursue and have less than 60 hours.
  4. Undeclared students are persons who have been admitted to ��Ƶ as a Degree-Seeking Transfer Student who have earned more than 60 hours of credit and have yet to declare a major.
The Policy
1. Scope
  This policy addresses intra-university status changes.
2. Intra-University Status Change:
  Any students must be in academic good standing or have permission from the intended college, program, or major prior to the transfer taking effect
  1. Graduate Students
    1. Degree-seeking, continuing students requesting a change from one graduate program to another graduate program is subject to the admission, degree, and program requirements in the intended program at the time of change.
    2. Any Non-degree seeking student may be able to use up to fifteen (15) credit hours towards the requirements of any graduate degree.
    3. Undergraduate students may elect to enroll for graduate credit but are limited to a maximum of nine (9) credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree requirements, which may be applied toward graduate degree requirements. Undergraduate students may enroll in graduate (only 5000-6000 level) courses only with written permission of the course instructor and the dean of the college in which the course is offered.
    4. Credits earned and applied toward any degree or certificate previously earned may not be applied toward a second or additional degree. However, in rare instances, students entering may qualify for advanced standing. See program requirements for further information on advanced standing.
  2. Undergraduate Students
    1. Any Degree-seeking, continuing student requesting a change from one major or program to another major or program is subject to the admission, degree, and program requirements in effect in the intended major at the time of change.
    2. Any Undeclared student requesting to change from the undeclared status to a major is subject to the admission, degree, college, and program requirements in effect in the intended major at the time of change. A maximum of twelve credit hours taken as an undeclared student can be applied to the degree program. After registering for twelve credit hours, students who have not applied and been admitted to a major must secure authorization from their assigned advisor before registering for a subsequent semester. Refer to the Undergraduate Admissions Policy (34) for additional information.
    3. Any Undecided student requesting to change to a major is subject to the admission, degree, college, and program requirements in effect in the intended major at the time of change. The Undecided student can only be in this status until they have completed 60 hours. After registering for the 60 credit hours, students who have not changed their status will be switched to Undeclared status before registering for a subsequent semester.
    4. General Studies students may request a change from General Studies to a major upon registration for 45 credit hours. General Studies students are subject to the admission, degree, college, and program requirements in effect in the intended major at the time of change.
    5. Any undergraduate student may request to add up to three (3) minors with the approval of their advisor. They are subject to requirements in effect at the time of change.

lhendrickson@g… 04/12/2026

President Cheryl Green

08/01/1984

06/17/2024

SEO Summary

Understand curricular requirements for intra-university status changes, including major changes, program transfers, and minor additions at ��Ƶ.

Undergraduate Admissions Policy

Responsible University Office(s): The Registrar (or designee) in conjunction with the Academic Deans (or designees) are responsible for procedures associated with this policy, under the leadership of the Provost (or designee).

Curricular Requirements for Intra-University Status Change (Policy 7)

Policy Categories

Academic Policies

Policy Owner/Department

Provost's Office

Registrar's Office

Academic Deans

08/01/1984, Winter 2002, Fall 2007, 8/30/2021, 06/17/2024

Access to Student Education and Treatment Records

lhendrickson@govst.edu — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:21:12 +0000

Access to Student Education and Treatment Records

Purpose
In compliance with Section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act (as amended) entitled “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974” (FERPA) the following policy outlines University policy regarding accessibility of student education and treatment records while protecting their confidentiality.
Definitions
1. Directory Information: information contained in an education record that would not generally be considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released. This includes name, campus address, university-issued email address, telephone number, photo, dates of attendance, enrollment status, classification, previous educational institutions attended, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, fields of study, awards, honors, and degrees conferred with dates. Directory information shall not include a student’s (i) social security number or (ii) student identification number except when used in conjunction with one or more factors that authenticate the user's identity, such as a PIN, password, or other factor known or possessed only by the authorized user.
2. Education Records: those records that are directly related to a student and maintained by the institution or by a party acting for the institution. The following are not considered education records: records made by and kept in the sole possession of the maker that are not accessible or revealed to any other person (except a temporary substitute for the maker of the record) that are used only as a personal memory aid; law enforcement records of the Department of Public Safety created for a law enforcement purpose and maintained by the Department of Public Safety; records relating to a University employee that are made and maintained in the normal course of business, relate exclusively to that person in the person’s individual capacity as an employee, and are not available for use for any other purpose, except where such person is employed as a result of the person’s status as a student; treatment records (as defined herein); records created or received by the University after an individual is no longer a student in attendance that are not directly related to the person’s attendance as a student; and grades on peer-graded papers before they are collected and recorded by an instructor.
3. Record: any information or data recorded in any medium, including but not limited to handwriting, electronic, print, tapes, files, disks, microfilm, and microfiche.
4. Records custodian: the office or administrative officer (or their designee) who is responsible for maintaining student records.
5. School official: any trustee, officer, agent, or employee of the institution. This includes a person or organization employed by or under contract with the University to perform a special administrative or professional task, such as an attorney or auditor, or the National Student Clearinghouse.
6. Student: one who has attended or who is attending ��Ƶ and whose education records are in the files of the University.
7. Treatment Records: records on a student made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in his or her professional capacity or assisting in a paraprofessional capacity that are made, maintained or used only in connection with treatment of the student and disclosed only to individuals providing treatment where “treatment” does not include remedial educational activities or activities that are part of the program of University instruction.

The Policy

Scope
1. This policy applies to education and treatment records at ��Ƶ.

Location of Records

All students have education records in the Office of the Registrar that are maintained by the Office of the Registrar. In addition, students may have one or more of the following records: admissions; cumulative academic records;health; accounting/financial; financial aid; student insurance; and student conduct/disciplinary. These may be maintained by one or more of the records custodians listed below:

Office	Administrative Officer
Academic Resource Center	Executive Director
Admissions	AVP/Director
Athletics	Director
Career Services	AVP/Director
Center for Student Engagement and Intercultural Programs	Executive Director
Counseling and Wellness Center	Director
Student Affairs	Dean of Students
Disability Services	Director
College of Arts and Sciences	Dean
College of Business	Dean
College of Education	Dean
College of Health and Human Services	Dean
Honors College	Dean
College of Graduate Studies	Dean
Financial Aid	Director
University Housing	Director
International Services	Director
Office of the Registrar	Registrar
Student Accounts	Assistant Director
Veterans Resource Center	Director
Undergraduate Academic Advising Center	Director

Some colleges and departments/divisions may maintain records separately. A list of colleges and departments that have separate records, their location, and the person responsible for the record may be obtained from the office of the dean of the college in which the department/division is located.

Availability of Records to Students
1. A student’s education records are open to the student with the following exceptions:
  1. Confidential letters of recommendation placed in the files before January 1, 1975 as long as the letters are used only for the purposes for which they were specifically intended.
  2. Confidential letters and confidential recommendations subject to waivers signed by the student relinquishing the document's access right if they relate to (i) admission to an educational institution, (ii) application for employment, or (iii) receipt of an honor or honorary recognition.
  3. Record of parents’ financial status.
  4. If the education records of a student contain information on more than one student, the eligible student may inspect and review or be informed of only the specific information about that student.
2. A student’s treatment records are not available to the student for review or inspection, except that a student may choose to have the student’s treatment records reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student's choice.
Availability of Records to University Personnel
1. School officials with a legitimate interest in a student’s education records may access those records without the student’s consent.
2. The determination of a “legitimate need to know” will be made by the records custodian responsible for the maintenance of the record. If there are questions or concerns about an individual’s educational interest or need to have access to specific information, please consult with the Provost (or designee), or the Office of the Registrar.
3. Treatment Records may be accessed internally solely by those providing treatment services except as otherwise permitted by law.
Release of Information to Third Parties
1. Directory information may be released to agencies or persons outside the university unless the student completes the appropriate form which indicates that this information should be withheld. This form is available in the Office of the Registrar.
2. Other information in the education record can be released, or access is given to third parties (i.e., anyone not the student or a school official) only with the written signed and dated consent of the student. A written consent must (a) specify the records that may be disclosed; (b) state the purpose of the disclosure; and (c) identify the party or class of parties to whom the disclosure may be made.
3. Other information in the education record may be released to third parties without the consent of the student:
  1. To third parties, including contractors, consultants, and volunteers, retained by the University to conduct institutional services or functions for which the University would otherwise use employees who are under the direct control of the University with respect to the use and maintenance of the education records and are subject to confidentiality requirements.
  2. To officials of another institution, upon request, in which a student seeks or intends to enroll or where the student is already enrolled so long as the disclosure is for the purpose related to the student’s enrollment or transfer.
  3. To certain officials of the Comptroller of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Education, and state and local educational authorities, in connection with the audit and evaluation of certain state or federally supported education programs and to enforce laws.
  4. To determine eligibility, amount, or conditions of financial aid or to enforce the terms and conditions of financial aid for which the student has applied or received.
  5. To organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the University.
  6. To accrediting organizations to carry out their functions.
  7. To parents or guardians of dependent students as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
  8. To comply with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena.
  9. To appropriate parties in a health or safety emergency if the information is necessary to protect the health or safety of he student or other persons.
  10. The final results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by the University against an alleged perpetrator of a crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense to the alleged victim of that crime.
4. Except for education records released pursuant to Subsection E(3)(a) of this part, education records will be released to third parties only by the University General Counsel, Office of the Registrar, Director of Financial Aid, Provost, or the Vice President of Student Affairs (or their designees). No other University office will directly release education record information to third parties except in the case of institutional audits. Third-party requests to other University offices shall be referred to one of the forementioned office(s).
5. Except for education records released pursuant to Subsection E(3)(a) of this part, the third party must submit the request in writing and must specify a legitimate reason. A copy will be housed with the Office of the Registrar.
6. A reasonable attempt will be made to notify the student before the release of information if:
  1. the request for information takes the form of a subpoena or court order (excluding law enforcement subpoenas and ex parte orders), and
  2. disclosure without notice would infringe upon the student’s rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
7. Except for education records released pursuant to Subsection E(3)(a) of this part, a notation of the release made to third parties will be kept in the student’s record by the Office of the Registrar, Director of Financial Aid, or the Vice President for Student Affairs (or their designees) except when the reason for the request is an institutional audit, procedural evaluation, or research.
Access Procedure
1. The University has established procedures enabling students to have access to their education records by requesting access from the records custodian and providing for interpretation and correction/amendment of records.
2. These procedures are established and maintained by the Office of the Registrar.
Correction of Education Records
1. Students have the right to ask to have education records corrected that they believe are inaccurate, misleading, or in violation of their privacy rights by requesting the records custodian to amend the records.
2. These procedures are established and maintained by the Office of the Registrar.
Student Complaints about Rights Violations Under FERPA
If a student has a complaint about securing his or her rights under FERPA, the student may contact:
Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-8520
Annual Notification
Annual notification of this policy is published through the University catalog and the Student Handbook.

Acknowledgements
The University acknowledges and credits policies from the following in the rewriting of this document: Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, and the University of Illinois at Springfield.

lhendrickson@g… 04/12/2026

Interim President Corey Bradford

08/01/1981

05/12/2025

SEO Summary

��Ƶ complies with FERPA regulations to protect student education and treatment records while providing authorized access to eligible.

Email Use Policy

FERPA

Access to Student Education and Treatment Records (Policy 12)

Policy Categories

Academic Policies

Policy Owner/Department

Registrar's Office

08/01/1981; 11/1/1999; 4/27/2000; Interim Winter 2002; 11/11/2020; 05/12/2025

Repeating Courses

lhendrickson@govst.edu — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:14:42 +0000

Repeating Courses

Purpose
This policy defines the criteria for repeating a credit-bearing course.
Definitions [Not Applicable]
The Policy
1. Scope
  1. This policy applies to all credit-bearing courses.
2. Repeating a course
  1. A student may elect to repeat a course.
  2. A student may repeat acourse by registering for it during a term after the initial registration for the course.
3. Grading
  1. The highest grade awarded for all attempts will be the assigned grade.
  2. The lower grade will remain on the transcript with an “R” to indicate a repeated course.
  3. This is an automatic process and no explicit student request to the Registrar will be necessary.
4. Exceptions
  1. Some courses are exceptions to the above.
  2. Such exceptions will be laid out in the syllabus as submitted to the University Curriculum Committee and will be so indicated in the course catalog.
  3. In the event a student wishes to replace a grade for courses with exceptions, the student must make that request in writing to the program coordinator.
Acknowledgements - Not Applicable

lhendrickson@g… 03/29/2026

President Cheryl Green

02/26/1996

11/07/2024

SEO Summary

��Ƶ permits students to repeat credit-bearing courses, with the highest grade assigned while lower grades remain marked as repeated on.

Curriculum and Course Approval/Change Policy

Repeating Courses (Policy 47)

Policy Categories

Academic Policies

Policy Owner/Department

Provost's Office

Registrar's Office

02/26/1996, 11/02/2015

Posthumous Degree

lhendrickson@govst.edu — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 02:01:42 +0000

Posthumous Degree

Purpose
This policy establishes eligibility criteria and procedures for the awarding and recognition of a posthumous degree.
Eligibility Criteria
The student must have
1. been in good academic standing with the institution at the time of death;
2. met the university residency requirements;
3. been enrolled at the time of death or was on active-duty with the US Armed Forces, federal military reserve forces, or National Guard; and
4. satisfactorily completed 90% of degree requirements.
Nomination/Approval
1. A request to award a posthumous degree must be submitted to the dean of the college in which the student is enrolled in a program.
2. The dean will consult with the appropriate chair and program faculty. If the request is supported by the program faculty, the chair, and the dean, the dean will submit a recommendation to award a posthumous degree to the Provost.
3. The Provost will notify the Registrar to process the request.
Posthumous Recognition
1. The dean will inform the immediate family/friend of the University’s decision and will make arrangements with the Registrar to present/send the diploma to the designated person.
2. The statement “awarded posthumously” will be added in the comments on the student’s transcript.
3. If the student has financial debt to the University, this debt will be waived.

lhendrickson@g… 03/29/2026

President Elaine P. Maimon

06/01/2013

SEO Summary

��Ƶ awards posthumous degrees to students who have completed 90% of degree requirements and meet specific eligibility criteria at the.

Posthumous Degree (Policy 69)

Policy Categories

Academic Policies

Policy Owner/Department

Provost's Office

Registrar's Office