Academic Policies & Procedures

Academic Advising

Freshmen and sophomores who have declared an interest in engineering are admitted directly into the college upon entry to UF and are encouraged to seek advising from their major department or the Engineering Student Services Center.

Sophomores, juniors and seniors are assigned faculty advisers in their major department. Students should contact the department chair or undergraduate coordinator to identify their academic adviser.

All students with an EG classification are required to contact an adviser before registering for classes each semester. Advising holds will be removed each semester after consultation with an adviser.

Engineering students cannot use freshman level courses for technical and nontechnical electives. However, foreign language credits at the freshman level may be used as nontechnical electives, at the discretion of the department. At least two semesters of work in the same language are required, with a grade of C or better each semester.

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Engineering Student Services Center

The Engineering Student Services Center is responsible for coordinating academic advising and developing and implementing other student support services in the college, including career/lifestyle counseling, success workshops, study halls, tutoring and mentoring.

The center informs students of educational opportunities such as scholarships, tuition waivers, co-op and internship opportunities and available campus resources. The center also serves as liaison between academic departments and university-wide student services and facilities. To learn more about available services, students can visit the Engineering Student Services Center in 311/312 Weil Hall.

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Multicultural Engineering Programs

Multicultural engineering programs provide focused support to underrepresented groups in the engineering profession. Through these programs, students receive the personal, academic, social and cultural support needed to achieve academic success. Services include orientation to campus and the college, academic and career advice, leadership development, engineering success skill development, counseling, financial assistance and tutoring. For further information, students should visit 312 Weil Hall.

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Pre-Collegiate Programs

The college also offers transition programs for incoming freshmen and community college transfer students to help them adjust to college life at the university. Successful Transition through Enhanced Preparation for Undergraduate Programs (STEPUP) is a program with residential and nonresidential components designed to provide incoming freshmen with success skills and preparation in engineering foundation courses. The Community College Transfer Workshop highlights college expectations and eases the transition from community college to university life. Information about these programs is available in the Engineering Student Services Center in 311 Weil Hall.

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Essential Preparation for Freshmen and Sophomores

The beginning engineering student should have a good understanding of the basic physical sciences, a demonstrated ability in mathematics and the competence to read rapidly with comprehension.

Minimum high school preparation should include the basics outlined below. Deficiencies may be overcome by completing lower-level math and chemistry courses before proceeding with the regular engineering curriculum. Refer to the Admission as a freshman section for complete information.

General Education: Students must complete 36 hours of general education course work and prescribed foundation courses in mathematics and the physical/biological sciences before pursuing junior and senior level courses in the college.

General education distribution:

Note: Requirements of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in general education will be satisfied by the university's general education requirements. All courses used to satisfy general education requirements must be taken for a letter grade.

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Admission of Transfers from Community and Junior Colleges

A student in a community or junior college who has completed the Associate of Arts degree and the required technical foundation courses in calculus, differential equations, chemistry and physics with calculus is eligible to apply for transfer directly into the College of Engineering. Admission to the College of Engineering is selective and is based on a student's total record. Students with excessive withdrawals from coursework may not be eligible for admission. The college has agreements with most Florida public community colleges to provide automatic admission for those who satisfy the admission criteria. Information is available from each community college or the College of Engineering.

In particular, transfer students must:

• Earn an Associate of Arts degree.
• Satisfy the general education requirements of the community/junior college and comply with the general education requirements of the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
• Complete two sequential courses of foreign language in secondary school or 8-10 semester hours at the post-secondary level, or document an equivalent level of proficiency.
• Comply with the tracking criteria in accordance with specific program requirements for overall grade point average.
• Satisfy requirements of the College Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST).
• Complete the foundation technical courses in calculus, differential equations, chemistry and physics with calculus with a grade of C or better in each course and a GPA of 2.5 or better computed on the last of a maximum of the two attempts allowed for each course, including withdrawals. For those students who commenced their studies at Florida public community colleges prior to Fall 2001, the effective date of these new requirements is Fall 2003.

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Transfer From 4-Year Institutions

All students who transfer from four-year institutions must meet the general admission requirements of the university, including completion of CLAST or its approved alternative. In addition, students must meet the college's admission requirements to transfer directly into an engineering program.

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All Transfers

All students transferring to UF must complete a minimum of 60 hours of acceptable 3000-4000 level course work at UF to receive a degree from this college.

Unless previous arrangements have been made for course certification by faculty of the College of Engineering, only engineering courses taken in programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology will be considered for transfer to this college.

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Postbaccalaureate Admission

A student who has received a baccalaureate degree and who wishes to pursue a second degree or to meet specific requirements for admission to graduate school may be admitted as a postbaccalaureate student. Students who seek postbaccalaureate status must meet transfer admission requirements for the intended major and should contact a faculty adviser in the prospective major before submitting an application.

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Computer Requirement

Students should have basic computer skills in word processing, spreadsheet and data base program utilization. Before entry to the junior year, students lacking these skills can take CGS 2531, Introduction to Computer Programming and Software Packages, attend appropriate noncredit short courses at the Center for Instructional and Research Computing Activities (CIRCA) in 211 CSE, or participate in tutorials conducted by the student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery.

Computer skills are a prerequisite to certain junior/senior level courses. Computer facilities are available on campus, but access to a laptop computer is required.

Details of the college's computer hardware and software requirements are available in the appropriate department office. Students can also refer to the CIRCA home page at www.circa.ufl.edu/computers for general computer information or to the college's web page at www.eng.ufl.edu.

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Experiential Education Opportunities

In cooperation with the College of Engineering, a number of employers participate in cooperative education or internship programs for engineering education. Students alternate their terms between study at the university with up to three supervised learning assignments in selected industrial and government facilities.

Application for the cooperative education or internship program is made through the Career Resource Center. Acceptance is based on academic standing and availability of a suitable assignment. The first and last years of the degree program are normally completed in residence at the university.

Community and junior college students who are in a cooperative education or internship program may continue their arrangement with the same employer, with approval of the College of Engineering.

The periods spent working are intended to be educational and productive. The student gains experience as an employee through the normal employment procedures of interviewing, job assignments and training; receives pay commensurate with the assignment; and takes on assignments of increasing difficulty to parallel academic advancement. Immediately prior to the job assignment, the student registers for participation in the cooperative education program. Students wishing to participate in this program should contact the Career Resource Center in the J. Wayne Reitz Student Union.

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Correspondence Courses

An enrolled engineering student will not be permitted to register for correspondence courses unless the associate dean for academic programs and the registrar grant special permission. A student on probation must have permission of the associate dean to register for correspondence courses when not enrolled in the college. A student who has been dismissed cannot take correspondence courses for credit until the suspension is removed. A grade of C is required for credit in a correspondence course.

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Credit for Special Work

• Upon approval of the department chair, a student may do practical work in industry under supervision. A student may receive college credit not to exceed three credit hours by submitting a satisfactory report based upon a previously approved outline and by passing an examination.
• Exceptional students can register for up to six credit hours of individual study in their chosen field. The student must register for the department course number 4905.
• A student may not apply more than eight credit hours of individual study, including high honors projects, co-op work experience, practical work experience and special problems or special topics, for credit toward a degree program.

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Dean's List

This recognition is accorded to students in the College of Engineering who

• Earn a minimum of 14 credit hours during a regular semester or 12 credit hours during the summer terms with no more than 2 hours of physical education courses,
• Receive a 3.2 average during the period, and
• Have no grade below a C for the period.
• Hours earned under S-U option do not count towards total required for Dean's list.
• Students registered with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) may be allowed to vary the number of credit hours required for this recognition, following certification by OSD.

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Drop Policy

A student with an initial course load of 15 credits or more will be permitted an extra drop provided this is done by the end of the seventh week of class and the total credits remaining are 12 or more. Petitions to drop courses beyond the allotted number will be approved only when circumstances beyond the student's control prevented the satisfactory completion of a course.

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English Requirement

Any instructor in the college may require a student with a deficiency in English to complete additional course work beyond the curriculum requirements for the degree, with approval of the department chair. In accordance with degree program requirements, each student in the college is required to complete, with a grade of C or better, a composition course (or place out of it) and an appropriate course in Technical Writing and Business Communication.

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Scholarships

The college offers limited financial aid for students at the freshman and sophomore level, but all students admitted into the college are eligible for college-wide scholarships.

Industry support also may be available. Minority and women students planning to major in engineering should contact the Office of Multicultural Engineering Programs in 312 Weil Hall.

Scholarship awards are made each spring for the following academic year. Most awards are based on demonstrated financial need and scholastic performance. Applications are available late in the fall semester from each department or from the Office of Academic Programs in 312 Weil Hall.

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Grievance Procedures

The college supports the university's Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Program. Anyone who believes that he or she has been discriminated against should contact the associate dean for academic programs who serves as the Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity officer for the college.

If a student feels that his or her performance in a course has not been evaluated accurately, the situation should be discussed with the instructor. If the disagreement is not resolved, the student may pursue the matter with the instructor's department chair, the associate dean for academic programs and the university ombudsman.

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Independent Study

Under certain circumstances, credit toward graduation may be obtained through independent study by registering for a course carrying the prefix of the department. A student may not apply more than eight credit hours of independent study toward a degree program, including high or highest honors projects, co-op work experience, practical work experience and special problems or special topics. Registration for variable credit of one to four hours per semester requires department approval.

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Probation Policy and Dismissal

An undergraduate student who is off-track, or whose upper division or university grade point average falls below 2.00, will be placed on academic probation. The student will be allowed two semesters in which to attain good academic standing. A student who fails to meet the conditions of probation must petition his/her major department to be allowed to continue in the program. Approval of this petition is at the discretion of the student's department.

As a condition of probation, students must see a counselor on a monthly basis or at other designated intervals, to review progress towards meeting the conditions of probation. Failure to keep such appointments without valid reason will be considered a violation of probation terms and potentially results in dismissal from the program.

Students dismissed from the College of Engineering may be allowed a single semester courtesy registration in the college, during which they may register for a prospective major. Upon completion of that semester, no further registration will be allowed in the college.

Students should acquaint themselves with the procedures and guidelines relating to probation and exclusion issues in their departments.

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ROTC

Engineering students may enroll in the advanced ROTC programs offered by the Army, Navy and Air Force. Graduates of these programs are commissioned as second lieutenants or ensigns. Advanced courses in military science are not normally acceptable credit as technical or nontechnical electives toward an engineering degree.

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Satisfactory-Unsatisfactory Grade Option

All courses taken at the university to satisfy engineering degree requirements, general education and the Writing and Math Requirement must be taken for a letter grade, unless the course is offered only on an S-U basis. Nontechnical electives in the junior and senior years may be taken S-U. Students should check with their departments to determine policy. Physical education courses taken once a student has reached junior status must be taken S-U.

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Student Responsibility

It is the student's responsibility before enrolling to review and consider all pertinent information about the university and the college. Special attention must be paid to required documentation and deadlines.

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Summer Attendance

Engineering students who have completed two summer semesters of co-op, internship or other engineering-related work may petition to have this requirement waived. All petitions must be submitted through the student's department and accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation.

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Transient Students

This category includes students who are admitted to the college who wish temporarily to pursue studies at another two- or four-year institution. Students who wish to transfer credits for course work completed at other institutions must first obtain approval from their department and the college. A transient student who is a degree-seeking candidate at another institution who wishes to obtain transfer credit from the University of Florida must file a non-degree application with the Office of the University Registrar in 222 Criser Hall.

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Withdrawal from the University

Any undergraduate student who withdraws from the university for the second time will be automatically placed on college probation, which will continue until graduation. Any student on college probation who withdraws for a third time from the university may be, at the discretion of the associate dean for academic programs, ineligible for further registration in the college.

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