Academic Regulations
Course Numbers and Levels
Courses offered by the University are listed in each college or school section with the course numbers, title, credit, course descriptions, and prerequisites. The numbers identify the level of the courses.
| Course Numbers | Level |
| 000-099 | Activity, service, or noncredit courses. A maximum of eight hours of S grade in courses in this group may be applied toward a degree. |
| 100-199 | Primarily for freshmen but may be taken by sophomores and juniors. Senior registrations at this level are not recommended. |
| 200-299 | Primarily for sophomores but open to juniors and seniors. |
| 300-399 | For juniors and seniors. |
| 400-499 | For seniors and graduate students. When taken for graduate credit, the letter G will precede the credit hours. |
| 500-699 | Restricted to fully qualified graduate students. Courses cannot be used for an undergraduate degree. |
Classification
Students are classified as freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors according to the number of hours earned:
| Freshmen | 0-23 semester hours |
| Sophomores | 24-59 semester hours |
| Juniors | 60-89 semester hours |
| Seniors | 90 semester hours or more |
In special circumstances a student may register for a course above the stated level when in accordance with departmental policy and on recommendation of the adviser. Freshmen, however, are not permitted to register for 300- and 400-level courses.
Institutional Credit and Developmental Studies Program
Institutional credit is assigned to all developmental courses in reading (EDUC 105), mathematics (MATH 105, 106), study skills (USTU 100), study skills lab (PSY 100), and writing (ENGL 105, 106). This credit is in addition to all degree requirements. It does not apply to the hours required for graduation, major requirements, general education requirements, or electives. Neither is it included in the calculation of grade point averages for graduation or honors. While the student is enrolled in developmental courses, however, institutional credit is included in the grade point average to determine the student’s eligibility to continue in residence at UTC as outlined in the retention and continuation standards.
Freshman students who are required or who volunteer to enroll in developmental studies courses should successfully complete them within the first 42 attempted hours counting both institutional and regular credit. Transfer students should complete required developmental courses within 30 attempted hours following initial enrollment at UTC.
To exit the developmental studies program, students must have a grade of C or above in all developmental studies courses.
Placement Exam Requirements
All new undergraduate and transfer students at UTC may be required to take UTC placement exams in mathematics, and writing. Placement exams are scheduled during all freshman and transfer student orientation sessions. Those who do not attend an orientation session are strongly advised to take placement exams during the first week of their first semester and are required to take the exams by term’s end.
In general, the only students who are exempt from taking one or more of the placement exams are students with advanced placement, or transfer students meeting one of the following criteria:
Mathematics
Grade of C or better for developmental algebra (Math 105, 106, or 107), Mathematics 123, college algebra (Math 131 or 135), trigonometry (Math 144 or 145), or calculus (Math 136, 150, 151/152, etc.).
If credit in these courses is several years old, students who need to enroll in mathematics at UTC are encouraged to take the placement test for advisement purposes. Students with credit for mathematics courses other than those specified above are not exempt from taking the mathematics placement test.
Writing
Students who have an ACT English subscore of 19 or better (SAT Verbal 460) are not required to take the exam and will be placed automatically into English 121.
Students who have an ACT English subscore of 18 or lower (SAT Verbal 459) are required to take the exam to determine placement.
Students who have an ACT English subscore of 28 or better may opt to take the exam to determine whether they may waive the English 121 requirement and enroll in English 122.
Reading
Students with an Enhanced ACT composite score of 18 or better (SAT total of 840 or above) are exempt from the reading course.
Students with an Enhanced ACT composite score of 17 or lower must enroll in EDUC 105.
Students without either the Enhanced ACT or SAT will be required to take the reading placement exam. Students with a raw score of 49 or lower may be required to take USTU 100 after completion of EDUC 105.
