Enrollment Definitions

Terms

Relay’s academic year is divided into three terms: summer, fall, and spring. Enrollment and participation in all three terms may be required for successful program completion depending on a program’s course scope and sequence. Eligible students’ individual enrollment is certified by the Registrar’s Office within the institutional term dates. Therefore, documents requiring proof of enrollment in the academic year, such as loan deferment forms, will only reflect the term dates in Table 1.  Proof of enrollment can be provided after the census date of each term. For more information, see Census Dates.

Table 1

Credit Hours

The unit of credit used at Relay is the semester credit hour (referred to in this document as “credit(s)”). One semester hour of credit represents a minimum of 15 clock hours (of 50 minutes each) of instruction plus an expectation of 30 hours of out-of-class student work, or an equivalent amount of work for other academic activities as established by the institution, over the course of an academic term.

Enrollment Load

The number of credits students are registered for and enrolled in per term will determine students’ enrollment loads. Students’ enrollment loads are either classified as being enrolled in full-time or part-time programs. Students enrolled in part-time programs can be further classified as being enrolled in half-time or less-than-half-time programs. At Relay, most students will be enrolled in half-time programs. Table 2 demonstrates student enrollment loads by credit per term.

Table 2

Transfer Credit 

Relay does not generally accept transfer credit from outside institutions but will review outside credits on a case-by-case basis.  

Students seeking to transfer credit from Relay to another institution are advised that transfer of credit is controlled by the receiving institution and that accreditation does not guarantee transferability. 

Should students wish to transfer from one Relay program to another, the credits and grades earned for coursework at their original Relay program will be applied to the applicable program at their new Relay program. Please see Program Transfers for more details.

Credit for Prior Learning

In some cases, teachers may be admitted into Relay’s MAT program with advanced standing and awarded credit for prior experience. Relay will determine the specific amount of credit to be granted for prior experience upon review of documentation submitted by the applicant that demonstrates that the experiences are equivalent to graduate-level study.

Census Dates

A census date is the point in a term at which students’ enrollments are final and credits are locked. Census dates coincide with the last date in a term that students can withdraw for a full tuition refund (please see Billing Due Dates and Refunds for more details), request a switch in major, submit a program-transfer request, and/or return to Relay from a leave of absence, withdrawal, administrative withdrawal, or program dismissal. Students returning from a medical leave may be permitted to return after the term census date if approved by the Office of the Provost of Teacher Preparation and SFS. Census dates for academic year 2021–22 can be found in Table 3.

Students who take a leave of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed on or before the term census date will not receive credit for assignments or assessments submitted during that term, even if they receive a grade in the course. 

Students who take a leave of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed after the term census date and before the end of the term will not earn grades and/or credit for courses taken that term. In this case, students’ transcripts will demonstrate a “W” in lieu of a course grade. Students who take a leave of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed on or after the last date of the term will earn the grades for the term they just completed (see Terms for more details).

Table 3