Academic Policies and Procedures

Admission

Students classified as first-semester freshmen at the university will be admitted to the college when they declare a major within the B.S. or B.S.F.R.C. degree programs. At that time, their college classification will become AG or FY. These students will maintain the AG or FY classification as long as they continue to meet or exceed the universal tracking criteria for the major. Students who fall below the minimum progression standards will not be allowed to continue in the major. These students must meet with an academic adviser within the college to determine an alternative major. Freshman AG and FY students should take the CLAST in the second semester.

All UF students other than first semester freshmen must formally apply to a major in the college. Students will be admitted to the major if they meet or exceed the universal tracking criteria published in the catalog. Performance in and completion of courses in math, biology, chemistry, and physics in the first four semesters are the primary criteria for determining admission to a major. Requirements for admission vary depending on the major.

All applicants must have completed 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.

Because of the diversity among degree programs offered by the college, the specific requirements for each major are listed separately on the following pages. Students should contact the undergraduate adviser for their major once they are admitted to the college. They should complete the course requirements for the major in the semester designated in the catalog and on the universal tracking audit. The student’s undergraduate adviser will make any adjustments. Each student must complete the math, chemistry, biology, and physics courses as outlined in the semester-by-semester listings for the first four semesters of study.

Juniors and seniors should have completed all courses listed for the first four semesters of their curriculum. Any student not completing these must do so in the first semester of the junior year.

The college policy regarding registration is that each student must consult his or her faculty adviser before each registration to ensure the appropriate courses in the appropriate sequence. The college monitors this policy by examining each student’s schedule after registration. Students not enrolled in appropriate courses will not be allowed to register the following term.

To be eligible for admission to CALS, a transfer student from a Florida public community college must have an Associate of Arts degree and must satisfy the admission requirements set forth for the intended major. Community college students should consult an academic adviser to ensure completion of the courses that will satisfy the admission requirements for their intended majors within the college. Transfer students from other universities and non-Florida public community colleges should complete the first two year’s requirements for the major before transferring to the university and to this college.

College faculty provides academic advising within the college. Each major has an undergraduate coordinator and undergraduate faculty advisers. Students interested in a major in the college should see the undergraduate coordinator or an adviser in the major. A list of undergraduate coordinators and advisers is available on the CALS Web site, www.cals.ufl.edu. College policy states that students discuss their academic plans with an adviser in the major before registration to receive academic and career counseling advice.

Students are expected to assume full academic responsibility for registering for the proper courses, for fulfilling all requirements for the degree, and for completing all courses. Each semester, the student must consult an adviser to plan and get approval for the courses in which to enroll.

The normal course load in the college is 15 credit hours during fall and spring and 12 credit hours during summer. A student should not register for more than 17 credit hours unless approved by an adviser and the Associate dean. Students may register for fewer than 12 hours but should be aware that certain university privileges and benefits require a minimum enrollment of 12 hours. It is the student’s responsibility to verify the minimum course load for these benefits.

A student whose overall grade point average falls below 2.0 is placed on college probation. The associate dean for CALS will notify the student that he/she is on probation and must remove all of his/her deficit points in two semesters or face college suspension.

During college suspension, a student cannot register as a College of Agricultural and Life Sciences student. In some instances, with approval of the student’s adviser and the associate dean, the student may complete approved courses at another institution. However, if a student enrolls at another institution, grades earned at that institution would not reduce the deficit points on his/her UF record. Probationary students must earn a C or better for each course taken at another institution. Upon returning to UF, a student must remove a specified number of deficit points each semester to continue enrolling.

The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences works individually with students on college probation to provide them an opportunity for academic success at the University of Florida. The CALS Retention Program is designed to determine earlier constraints to academic success, provide structure and mechanisms for success, and connect CALS students individually with administrator, faculty, and staff committed to working with them one on one.

As a first step in the CALS Retention Program, students on college probation are required to meet with their adviser to review their academic situation. At that time, students will complete a Deficit Point Form and a Semester GPA Prediction Form. After completing these, the Probation Contract can be completed by the student and approved by their academic adviser. Students are then required to meet with the associate dean of CALS. Based on this meeting and recommendations made by the academic adviser, students may be required to attend UF sponsored workshops on topics such as time management, stress management, or study skills.

CALS students who have been dismissed from the University of Florida for poor academic performance may petition UF and CALS for readmission after one semester. After applying for readmission through the UF Admissions Office, students seeking readmission to CALS are required to meet with an academic adviser to establish performance goals and a tentative class schedule. They are then required to meet with the CALS associate dean to discuss opportunities for academic success and for final CALS approval.

Courses may be dropped during the drop/add period without penalty. Thereafter, courses may be dropped only by college petition in accordance with the deadline. Drops requiring college petition are subject to the following rules:

• Two unrestricted drops after the drop/add period will be permitted for a student classified as 1AG/FY and 2AG/FY. Students classified as 3AG/FY, 4AG/FY, 6AG/FY and 0AG/FY are allowed two unrestricted drops. An academic adviser must approve all drops before the college will process them.
• After the college drop deadline, students must petition the associate dean of CALS.
• Students withdrawing from UF (dropping their full course load) must contact the Dean of Students Office in 202 Peabody Hall.

If a College of Agricultural and Life Sciences student withdraws from UF a second time, that student will be placed on college probation. A third withdrawal violates the probation, and the student cannot register again as a student in the college.

By prior arrangement with an adviser, a student may, with supervision, receive credit for practical work experience relevant to the major. Credit is earned at the rate of one credit per month of full-time work and may not exceed three credits in any combination of experiences. A written report must be submitted before a grade (S–U) will be issued. Academic units offering this option list the course number 4941. Guidelines establishing minimum criteria for credit eligibility and performance are available from the undergraduate coordinator for the major.