Student Classifications

Mount St. Joseph University enrolls undergraduate students of varying ages, backgrounds, experiences, and academic pursuits. Given the special academic and personal needs of students, the Mount classifies students as:

Traditional Students are students out of high school fewer than four years; Adult Students are students out of high school for four or more years; Off-Site Students are students pursuing a Mount degree in one of the University’s off-site degree programs.

Traditional, adult or off-site students are further classified according to the following distinctions:

  1. Degree-seeking (matriculated) students are those students who:
    1. have been officially accepted for admission by the Office of Admission;
    2. are degree-seeking in academic pursuit of an associate or a baccalaureate degree.
    All degree-seeking undergraduate students will follow the University’s degree and major requirements and the core curriculum stated in the catalog in effect for the first semester of enrollment following acceptance. Students enrolling for the first time in the summer session will be bound by the University catalog in effect for the following fall semester/term.
     
  2. Certificate-seeking (matriculated) students are those who:
    1. have been officially accepted for admission into a certificate program by the Office of Admission;
    2. are not pursuing a degree but a certificate with University program requirements and residency requirements to be fulfilled in order to receive a certificate from Mount St. Joseph University.
       
  3. Non-degree seeking (non-matriculated) students are those unclassified students who:
    1. have submitted an adult student application but have not completed all requirements for official acceptance through the Admission Office (acceptance status is "Pending"). Students in "Pending" admission status may register for classes up to one calendar year from the date of the application;
    2. have not planned to submit an application for acceptance and do not intend to pursue a degree or certificate program.

Traditional and adult students must seek and obtain formal admission to the University before registering for more than 13 credit hours. Traditional and adult students not admitted through the regular admission process are limited to attempting two courses (maximum six credit hours) per semester or during the entire summer sessions until reaching the 13 credit-hour limit. Traditional and adult transfer students in good standing from another accredited college or university, who have not been admitted may take their 13 credit hours in one semester or during an entire summer session. Traditional and adult students seeking certification only are excluded from this policy.

Traditional, adult and off-site students who choose not to enroll in courses at the Mount for a period of two years from the date of their last attendance must reapply for admission.

Class Levels

The number of semester hours used in determining a student’s academic level is based on the cumulative semester hours earned at the end of the semester.

A student’s class status based on cumulative hours earned (total transfer hours plus Mount hours) is determined as follows:

Freshman: 0-27 semester hours
Sophomore: 28-59 semester hours
Junior: 60-89 semester hours
Senior: 90+ semester hours