College of Fine and Applied Arts

Your assigned advisor is listed in your DegreeWorks audit.  

You can count only 46 hours above the core / general education curriculum requirements in any one discipline toward your degree.

For example, if you have 52 hours toward your Sustainable Development, Environmental Studies BA, you would need to take enough courses outside the department to reach 122 hours without counting the extra six hours within your discipline. To graduate, you would need 128 hours total to account for the extra 6 hours you took within your department.

One thing to remember is that any courses used to meet core / general education requirements don’t count toward the 46-hour limit, even if these courses are within your major department.  So, if you have taken SD 2400 to meet core / general education requirements, we would say only 49 hours were taken in the major.  In that case, you would need 125 hours to graduate.

BA students, keep careful track of your hours. If you need extra elective hours to reach 120 or 122 based on your catalog year, make sure you choose ELECTIVES OUTSIDE OF YOUR MAJOR DISCIPLINE.

Minor

The BA degree requires a minor outside the academic discipline of the major.  A BA Art student must have a minor from outside the Art discipline.  The minor can be from a College other than the College of the major. 

A student may formally declare a major when she or he has earned 30 semester hours, successfully completed RC 1000 and UCO 1200, and has a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher

1. Log into AppalNet.
2. Select the Self-Service tab.
3. Select the Student  tab.
4. Click on Student Records.
5. Click on Declare Your Major.
6. You will need to enter a phone number, your major and a minor if it is required for your major.
7. You can enter a second major, but keep in mind that you will need to complete that major or have it removed from your record at a later date.
8. You will be notified via email once your records have been processed.
9. After declaration, your records will be moved your declared major department and college, and you will no longer have an assigned advisor in University College.  You may be able to find your new advisor in your DegreeWorks audit.

If you are not eligible to declare, you will get an error message. If you are unclear on why you were unable to declare, contact your University College advisor (listed in DegreeWorks) or call the Advising Office at 828-262-2167.

Students will need to complete the change of major process for the college they seek to change or add a major in.  

If you are unsure of which college the new major is housed, please visit Appalachian’s Undergraduate Programs website to find out and then use the list below to request a major change.

If you are currently a declared student in the College of Fine & Applied Arts and seeking to add or change a minor you must complete the FAA Add/Change Major or Minor Form on our website.

If you are a student whose major is not declared in the College of Fine & Applied Arts and seeking to add or change a minor,  you must complete your respective college's process.  

No, not all majors require a minor.  Comprehensive majors do not require a minor because more courses within the major are required.  You can view your Program of Study or the Undergraduate Bulletin to determine if a minor is required or recommended.  Also, consulting with your advisor is beneficial. 

Each semester, continuing students have the opportunity to register for future term courses prior to new students. This is known as Early Registration, and typically occurs in early November for spring registration and early April for summer / fall registration. The timeframe typically lasts 11 business days and the Registrar's Office provides students with day and time to register based on accumulated earned credits (institutional and transfer).  Your current credit hours are not included in this total, as they are not yet earned. 

You may view you registration appointment time in AppalNet by clicking on the Check Your Registration Status page under the Student tab. 

You may also view your registration time by visiting the Office of the Registrar's website.

Holds are placed on a student's account to restrict access or use of an academic function (i.e., registration). Holds are placed for a variety of reasons including unpaid balances, parking tickets, library fines, disciplinary action taken by the Office of the Dean of Students, etc.

You are able to determine what hold(s) are placed on your account and which office to contact to resolve the hold by Logging into AppalNet > clicking on Self-Service > Student > Student Records / Student Account.

Students are required to meet with their faculty advisor each semester to discuss your goals and aspirations, post-graduation plan, and courses.  You will be given your Registration PIN during your advising appointment after which you can register on your scheduled day and time.

In the College of Fine and Applied Arts, academic advising is mandatory for students who seek to be readmitted to the college. Once you have been advised by your advisor and the advisor notifies the Dean's Office, you will be contacted by the Registrar's Office through your Appalachian email address notifying you when you are eligible to register for courses. 

You will not need a PIN to register for courses the semester you return, but depending on the department of your major, you may need a PIN for future semesters. Your advisor will inform you if a PIN is necessary.

The Undergraduate Bulletin, also known as the course catalog, is an online reference to help you understand university requirements, policies and course descriptions. It can also answer questions you may have about prerequisites, majors, minors, general education, which semesters courses are offered and more. 

A student's catalog year is the year he / she began attending Appalachian State University, not the year the student declared a major.  The Program of Study and Four-Year Guides for a major / minor / general education must follow the same catalog year.

Students may change their catalog year by completing the Add or Change Major / Minor / Catalog Year Form on the College of Fine and Applied Arts website if they are currently declared in the college.

There are two methods to check your catalog year if you're unsure:

AppalNet > Student tab > Registration > Check Status to see your Catalog Term
OR
You can also view your catalog year in DegreeWorks:

A full-time semester for an undergraduate student is defined as 12-18 semester hours in fall/spring, or 12 semester hours during the summer (6-7 hours in a five-week summer term).  Anything above this is considered an overload. 

An undergraduate student may be granted approval from his/her Dean’s Office to take an overload if the following GPA requirements are met:

Process to Request an Overload

**Any exceptions must be approved by the associate dean

Some course sections will offer a waitlist option to students who can sign up for via AppalNet once the section is closed.  The purpose of waitlisting is to allow students the ability to easily monitor courses they need that are closed without having to frequently check back on AppalNet. 

Waitlisting will not be available for every course and being on a waitlist for a section does not guarantee the student will get a seat in that course. 

If you are seeking to register for a course but the course is closed, you can add yourself to the waitlist if offered.  When you add yourself to the waitlist, you are made aware of the capability to waitlist, waitlist capacity, and current rank.  If an additional seat is created or a student drops the course, the Registrar’s Office notifies the next student on the waitlist via Appalachian email to register for the course.  The student then has 18 hours to register themselves into the course, otherwise they are dropped from the waitlist and must register again if they miss that timeframe.

Please visit the Registrar’s Office website for FAQ’s regarding waitlist.

A course may be added after the published Drop / Add period only for extenuating circumstances and requires the written permission of the instructor,  department chairperson and associate dean.

Student must complete the Late Drop / Add Form identifying the reason for the late add and have all of the required signatures before submitting it to the Dean's Office for final approval. 

The form must be submitted to the Dean's Office within TWO (2) business days of obtaining the department chair's signature.

Students may freely drop and add courses during the first five days of the fall and spring terms without using any Career Drops. From the sixth day until the end of the ninth week of the fall and spring semesters, students may drop no more than four courses in their entire academic career at Appalachian. These are called Career Drops.

You may use career drops by dropping courses in your AppalNet account. No form is needed:

1. Sign into AppalNet and click on the Self Services tab.
2. Click on the Student tab.
3. Click on the Registration menu.
4. Once in the Registration menu, select Add / Drop Classes.
   1. Classes may be dropped by using the options available in the Action field.
   2. If no options are listed in the Action field, the class may not be dropped (i.e., all drops have been used or it is too late in the semester to drop classes).
   3. Once all changes are made, click on Submit Changes.

It is a good idea to sign out of AppalNet and sign back in to review the registration to ensure the drop has been completed. You may not claim that a drop was not processed as a reason to drop a class late; it is your responsibility to verify a drop was processed.

If you have accumulated four career drops and attempt to drop another course, the drop will be denied and you will remain enrolled in the class.

Students who audit a course must be regular in attendance.  A Request to Audit form is available in the Registrar's Office. It must be completed by the student, approved by the faculty member teaching the class, signed by the Dean's Office in which the course is housed, and submitted to the Registrar's Office by no later than the last day to add the course in that term.

The Pass/Fail option may only be taken by a full-time undergraduate student one course per semester, up to six (6) times during their academic career at Appalachian.

Stipulations which limit this policy are:

1. Student must be classified as a sophomore, junior, or senior
2. Student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
3. Student must be enrolled full-time, defined as taking a minimum of twelve hours
4. Student will be allowed to choose this option a maximum of six times
5. Courses which comprise the student's major, minor, or core curriculum requirements cannot be taken on pass/fail (only free elective courses may be taken as pass/fail)
6. A student who elects the pass/fail option may remove the pass/fail option during the first nine (9) weeks of the fall/spring term
7. If a course was originally taken under the A-F grading system and is repeated, it must be repeated under the A-F system
8. A passing grade does not figure into the GPA, but a failing grade does
9. Pass/fail forms must be submitted to the Registrar's Office prior to the close of Drop/Add period

Senior undergraduate students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and undergraduate non-degree seeking students with an equivalent background must complete the Senior Undergrad Request Form in order to attain permission to enroll in a graduate level course.

Also known as Visiting Coursework, students who wish to take courses at another collegiate institution must receive approval PRIOR to enrollment at the other institution.  Failure to secure prior approval may result in the coursework being deemed unacceptable for transfer.

 Visiting Coursework Guidelines

1. An Appalachian State University student must be in GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING and cannot be on academic probation.
2. A student will NOT receive transfer credit for any course with a grade lower than "C".  Grades with a "C-" and below will NOT TRANSFER.
3. A student cannot repeat a course at another institution in order to remove a low grade earned in a course taken at Appalachian.
4. Grades earned at another collegiate institution will not be computed in or allowed to affect the grade point average (GPA) at Appalachian.

Visiting Coursework Request Instructions

Students may petition to have any course designated as Elective credit equated to a specific App State course, by initiating the Transfer Coursework Petition process.  Please see Transfer Services for complete information and the Petition for Transfer Credit Form.

Yes, students who wish to place out of a course should consult with the department chairperson of the course in question. Not all courses are subject to credit examination.

If arrangements can be made, a fee of $50.00 is charged for each examination and must be paid to the Student Accounts Office in the John E. Thomas Building. The original receipt must be submitted to the department chair with the Credit by Examination Form before final approval can be given.

Anyone seeking credit by examination must be either degree seeking or taking courses for teacher licensure. Credit by examination cannot be used to repeat a course, nor can it be used to meet the university's residency requirements for graduation.

If the examination is passed, credit without grade will be noted on the student's transcript. If the examination is not passed, no notation is made on the transcript.

If you are a current student, you can submit a request for an official / unofficial transcript through your AppalNet account.

For more information contact the Office of the Registrar.

Fall / Spring Semesters

For undergraduate students, a full-time course load is at least 12 semester hours, but no more than 18 semester hours.

Summer Sessions

For undergraduate students, a full-time summer term is at least 6 semester hours, but no more than 7 semester hours (two terms are offered each summer).

Financial Aid

Students must be registered a minimum of six hours per semester to be eligible for federal financial aid. Students must be full-time (12 hours per semester) to be eligible for state and institutional aid.

Dropping Hours During Drop / Add
Undergraduate: Generally, full financial aid is based on an enrollment status of 12 or more credit hours per semester during the academic year, or a total of six credit hours for summer terms.

Dropping Hours After Drop / Add
If a student drops hours (not to zero hours) after the end of the drop / add period, financial aid will be adjusted only if the student is allowed to receive a refund of tuition and fees.

If students are current or previous Federal Direct Loan (subsidized/unsubsidized loan) borrowers with an in-school deferment status and drop to fewer than six credit hours, they will go into the six-month grace period to repay the Federal Direct Loan.

If you have further questions please speak with:

Health Insurance

The UNC System requires eligible students must have health insurance.  Health Insurance is charged on a semester basis and is required for all Appalachian State University students who meet the following criteria:

*https://healthservices.appstate.edu/2017-2018-health-insurance-information

If a student drops below the minimum credits required by Census day each semester, he/she is refunded the health insurance fee. If the student drops after Census day, he / she is charged the full amount that semester.

If you have further questions please speak with:

International Students

International students at Appalachian must be enrolled in 12 credit hours for undergraduate students or 9 credit hours for graduate students to be considered full-time to maintain legal status. International students are not allowed to drop below full course of study without prior authorization from International Student and Scholar Services and Outreach (ISSSO) and only under very limited circumstances.

If you have further questions please speak with:

The student will need permission to drop below full-time status by applying online:

Begin a new application: To request to drop below full-time status online, students must begin a new application here.
Continue Application: For students that have already started an application to drop below full-time status, they must continue here and login with their Appalachian credentials.

On-Campus Residence

To qualify for on-campus housing, undergraduate students must be currently enrolled full-time (12 or more credit hours), and have paid all applicable charges related to campus housing. If the student falls below full-time status, he /she will not be automatically released from the contract obligations and may be permitted to remain in the residence hall as long as the student is not in violation of any university policies and/or regulations.

If you have further questions please speak with:

Study Abroad

All students studying abroad for a semester are required to be enrolled in at least the equivalent of 12 or more Appalachian credit hours to maintain full-time status.  Students will also need to follow the minimum full-time enrollment requirement for their host university / program, which in many cases might be more than 12 credits. 

Students participating on partner summer programs do not have a minimum credit requirement

 If you have further questions please speak with:

Tuition

All tuition is based on credit hours for both undergraduate and graduate students. The tuition rate differs for in-state and out-of-state residents and students should referred to the Office of Student Accounts for further information.

Tuition by Academic Semesters and Campus Base

Yes, you can take classes online if they are offered. 

To search for all courses that are offered online, you can visit the Class Search webpage > select the term > select all subject categories > in Schedule Type select Web Based-Entirely (100).

This will show all courses that are offered online during a particular semester.

You can find the day and time your final exams on the Registrar's website.

Most majors require a certain number of free electives in order to meet the minimum credits to graduate. Free electives count towards degree requirements to ensure students earn 120-128 credits. 

Depending on the student's catalog year, two credits of free electives must be outside the major discipline, meaning they must not be related to the major.  For example, a student pursuing building sciences, construction management must complete two credits from a subject other than “TEC”.

Note: If a student is pursuing a non-required minor, hours from the minor can be used to fulfill the two-credit requirement of free electives

Courses can be used to meet more than one requirement across major, minor and general education requirements with a few restrictions. If the course meets a requirement in your major and can also meet a requirement in your minor, it will meet the requirement for both. However, the course will not count twice and may leave you short of minimum credits required for the program, resulting in the need for an additional elective. The primary restriction involves double-counting courses between general education and the major.