Immigration regulations require F-1 and J-1 students to be enrolled in a full-time course load each fall and spring semester in order to maintain nonimmigrant visa status. ISSS is required to report in SEVIS whether a student is enrolled full-time at CU Boulder, received an authorized reduced course load, dropped below a full course of study without prior authorization by the DSO, or failed to enroll.
A full course of study is defined as:
- Undergraduate students: At least 12 credit hours
- Graduate students: At least 5 graduate credit hours or a combination of 8 credit hours of graduate and undergraduate-level courses
- This may change depending on your graduate student registration status and level of course enrollment. Graduate School rules for full-time status apply.
- Ask your academic department to determine your status and how to define full-time enrollment based on that status.
For both undergraduate and graduate students, only 3 credits of online or distance education courses can count towards the full-time requirement. For example, if you are an undergraduate student, you can take a 3-credit class online, but you must have at least 9 additional on-campus credits that are for in-person classes that take place in a classroom. Also, classes must be taken for a grade or pass/fail in order to count toward the full-time requirement. Classes taken for no-credit will not count toward the full-time enrollment requirement.
Due to the full-time enrollment requirements for F-1 and J-1 students, a Drop Advising Required hold is placed on all F-1 and J-1 students’ records that prevents students from dropping below a full course of study without prior permission from ISSS.
- The Drop Advising Required hold will be applied on all F-1 and J-1 student records on September 8, 2022.
- If students in F-1 or J-1 status would like to drop a class after the hold is placed on their record, they will need to work with an ISSS advisor to have the hold removed.
In order for ISSS to be able to authorize a drop below full-time enrollment, a student must be eligible for an Academic or Medical Reduced Course Load.
Failure to meet the full-time enrollment requirement or receive an authorized reduced course load can result in your SEVIS record being terminated. Please review the Study in the States website for further information on full-time enrollment requirements.