TWU STATEMENT OF STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY

While Texas Woman's University faculty and staff members give students academic advice and assistance, each graduate and undergraduate student is expected to take responsibility for his or her education and personal development.  The student must know and abide by the academic and disciplinary policies given in the TWU catalog, including rules governing quantity of work, the standard of work required to continue in the University, scholastic probation and dismissal, and enforced withdrawal.  The student must also know and meet the requirements of his or her degree program, including the University's core education requirements; must enroll in courses appropriate to the program; must meet prerequisites and take courses in the proper sequence to ensure orderly and timely progress; and must seek advice from appropriate University representatives about degree requirements and other University policies when necessary.  The student must also know and adhere to all University deadlines.

Registration.  Once a student registers for classes, the University commits resources to provide registered students with instruction by qualified faculty and sufficient class space for the course.  Thus, upon registration, a student assumes full responsibility for either paying fees in full by a prescribed due date, or notifying the University in an appropriate time frame that he/she will not attend and take all appropriate action as prescribed to drop a course(s) and/or officially withdraw from the University.  A student’s registration is not automatically cancelled for non-attendance.  A student should either pay fees in full by the designated deadline or take the appropriate steps to withdraw.  To avoid financial responsibility to the University, this cancellation of enrollment must be completed as soon as possible, but no later than the day before the “first official University class day.”  Prompt notification also helps to free up class space for other students who are interested in the same classes.

Courses.  Courses and dates in the Schedule of Classes are subject to change.  Although unusual, a section may be cancelled due to low enrollment or staffing considerations. The department that cancels the class should notify any students already enrolled and assist with alternate arrangements.  At the beginning of the semester, students should always check for changes regarding class meeting times or classroom locations.

The student must verify his or her schedule of classes each semester, must see that necessary corrections are made, and must keep documentation of all schedule changes and other transactions.

E-mail.  E-mail is the prime means for communication.  Therefore, the University has the right to send communications to students via e-mail and the right to expect that those communications will be received and read in a timely fashion.  An email address will be established when a Portal Account is established (https://portal.twu.edu).  A student may choose to have e-mail electronically redirected to another e-mail address.  If a student wishes to have e-mail redirected from his or her official address to another e-mail address; they may do so but at his or her own risk.  The University will not be responsible for the handling of e-mail by outside vendors or by TWU departmental servers.  Having e-mail redirected does not absolve a student from the responsibilities associated with communication sent to his or her official e-mail address.  Students are expected to check their official e-mail account on a frequent and consistent basis to stay current with University communications.  The University recommends checking e-mail daily; in recognition that certain communications may be time-critical.

Personal Information.  The student must give current and correct local and permanent addresses and telephone numbers to the Office of the Registrar and must notify this office immediately in writing of any changes by submitting a Student Information Change form (http://www.twu.edu/downloads/registrar/infochange.pdf).   Official correspondence may be mailed, versus e-mailed, to the appropriate address depending upon the nature of the correspondence and the academic calendar; if the student has moved and failed to correct this address, he or she will not be relieved of responsibility on the grounds that the correspondence was not delivered.

Sources of Information.  All students should be familiar with the following sources of information:  University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs.  The catalogs give important information about academic policies and procedures that apply to all students.  The official academic calendar, admission procedures and residence requirements, and policies on quantity of work, grades and the grade point average, credit by examination and correspondence course work, adding and dropping courses, withdrawal from the University, and scholastic probation and dismissal are all included in the catalog.  These catalogs also give historical and current information about the University's organization and physical facilities.  Services available to students are also outlined in these catalogs.

University Catalogs.  Texas Woman's University undergraduate and graduate catalogs provide information about degrees offered by University divisions and lists the faculty.  The chapter for each college or school describes the academic policies and procedures that apply to students in that division and lists the division's undergraduate degree programs and courses.  The catalogs may be accessed in PDF format online at http://www.twu.edu/academics/catalogs.html.

The Course Schedule.  The Schedule of Classes is published each semester and is available in print or online (http://www.twu.edu/academics/catalogs.html) before registration for each semester, winter session, MayMester, and summer session.  It includes information about academic calendars; registration procedures; class times; locations, instructors, prerequisites; related course fees; semester specific dates and deadlines; general information; academic records policy; and other .

The University Directory.  The University directory is published and distributed each fall.  It gives addresses and telephone numbers of University offices and of students, faculty, and staff members.

Dean's offices.  Students are responsible to the appropriate Dean of a College or School.  Freshmen and undeclared students are responsible to the Director of the Academic Advising Center.  In each college/school, the office of the assistant or associate dean serves as a central source of information about academic affairs and student services.

Academic Advising.  The responsibilities of the advisor at TWU are to empower students to discover and attain their academic and life goals; to serve as an advocate for student success; to serve as an interface to university services; and to provide accurate information about academic requirements and standards in a timely and efficient manner.  The student is responsible for seeking academic advice, for enrolling in appropriate courses to insure progress toward a degree, for timely completion of his or her academic program, for familiarity with the appropriate Catalog, and for maintaining University standards.  Assistance from an academic advisor is not a substitute for the personal responsibility of the student described above.  The student should consult the advising office in his or her department. A student who is in doubt about any University regulation should always seek clarification before proceeding.

Website.  The TWU website is (http://www.twu.edu/).

Updated 04/16/2008