Students are expected to declare a major upon entering UF as freshmen. Students who are unsure of their major should declare the major they feel they will most likely pursue. Students with no major preference can declare one of three undecided categories (Humanities and Letters, Social and Behavioral Sciences, or Science and Engineering). Students are classified in the college that offers their desired major, allowing UF to provide the most appropriate advising toward the chosen degree. Undecided students are classified in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Universal Tracking (UT) is an automated advising system that provides students with a recommended semester-by-semester plan for each major to guide them toward graduation. The recommended plan is the optimal path for completing the degree in four years. The recommended semester-by-semester plan for each major appears in the College section of this catalog.
The goal of Universal Tracking is to help students find majors that match their talents and interests. Therefore, students may change majors provided they have college approval. Even if students feel confident about their initial major choice, they are encouraged to explore other majors by taking courses in other areas of interest. Usually, most of the courses taken early in their academic career meet general requirements that all students must complete, so students who change majors in the first year usually progress in a timely fashion. The universal tracking system is available on-line on ISIS (www.isis.ufl.edu, select Universal Tracking). The "degree shopping" feature in ISIS allows students to match their academic records to the degree requirements of other majors so that they can consider other degree options and determine what courses they would have to take if they were to change majors.
Students' progress toward the degree is monitored each semester to ensure that they are on track and to provide feedback on their academic progress (summer terms are not included in tracking and may be used by students to 'catch up' and get back on track). Each fall and spring semester, students are mailed a tracking (degree) audit prior to advance registration for the next term. Students may also view their tracking (degree) audit on ISIS (www.isis.ufl.edu, select Universal Tracking) . The audit fits the student's courses and grades into the semester-by-semester plan to show the student which requirements have been met and which the student still needs to complete. Using the audit, the student should be able to tell what to register for in the next semester to remain on-track.
Students do not have to complete all of the recommended courses to remain on track, they simply have to meet certain minimum requirements (known as critical tracking criteria). The critical tracking criteria usually include a minimum GPA (UF or overall, depending on the college), completion of certain courses toward the major (critical tracking courses), and minimum GPA in the critical tracking courses (tracking or pre-professional GPA). For most majors, critical tracking courses are bolded in the semester-by-semester plan in the College section, and the minimum criteria are listed below each semester in the plan. In the audit, critical tracking courses are preceded by the "<<" symbol.
All incoming freshmen are monitored for Semester 1 critical tracking criteria, regardless of the number of hours earned by the student through dual enrollment and credit by examination .
A student who is off-track (fails to meet the minimum criteria for a specific term) is notified in writing by the university. A hold is placed on the student's record and the student must meet with an advisor to 1) determine what is necessary to get back on track by the end of the next term, or 2) to change to a more appropriate major.
If the student is off-track for two consecutive terms, the student must change to a major more appropriate to the student's goals and performance. Off-track students who have selected a new major should contact the college offering that major to schedule an appointment with and advisor to discuss changing the major. The Academic Advising Center (100 AAC) can help students identify potential majors and refer students to the appropriate college(s) for information about specific majors.