3. Registration, Enrollment and Student Status

Each semester students must go through the process of enrollment.  CMU has streamlined the process of enrollment by creating The Hub, located in the lower level of Warner Hall.  The Hub includes the Registrar's Office, the Cashier's Office and the Student ID Center.   They have a Web page that contains pertinent information on a variety of issues such as cross-registration, grading policies, financial aid, etc., http://www.cmu.edu/hub.  Their phone number is x8-8186.  If you have any trouble with enrollment or dealing with the Hub please see Vicki.  She has a number of contacts in Enrollment Services and often will be able to get the problem resolved quickly. 

To Register for Courses:  Each semester you will receive email from Enrollment Services  that it is time to register for the upcoming semester (in April for the Fall semester; and in November for the Spring semester).  All graduate students intending to continue the following semester SHOULD register at this time.   Registration is handled on-line via the Hub's website.    If you are not enrolled by the first week of class, you will be administratively withdrawn by Enrollment Services and will be assessed a $150 late fee to register. You will then need to check with Vicki to register.

To register on-line, simply go to the Hub's webpage:  http://www.cmu.edu/hub, click On-Line Services, then On-Line Registration and go from there.  If you have any problems, see Vicki.  Please NOTE:  All full-time students must be registered for a minimum of 36 units.
 
EPP students can take courses in any of CMU's departments or schools.  If there are courses you may want to take but are unsure, we recommend that you register for all of them, attend the courses and make a decision on which you want drop before the course drop deadline.  Course add and drop deadlines can be found on the Hub's website.  However, please be sure you do not drop below full-time status (36 units).  Once in a while, you may have difficulty in being admitted to course in another department.  Usually we can help get you into those courses by explaining the need to the instructor or department.  If you find that you are placed on a waitlist for a course that you need, and you have not cleared the waitlist by the time the course is to begin, talk to Mitch, Granger or Vicki.
 

There is no tuition charge for the summer if you register for a designated EPP reading & research course.  These courses all use Section R (currently students in the Portugal program will use Section U).  All of this information will be outlined in a memo that Vicki will send to you in April.  Please note that if you take summer courses OTHER than an EPP reading and research course, most likely there will be a tuition charge that the Department will NOT pay.  You should first check with the Hub to see if there will be a tuition charge for the particular course that you want to take.  If so, and the course is relating to your research, check with your advisor to see if they would be willing to pay the tuition. 

For international students, we offer a curricular practical training (CPT) course, 19-770.  This course was developed so that an international student may legally be registered for the semester while working outside of CMU.  The benefit of CPT is that you are able to work without losing any of your Practicom training time.  To see if you are eligible for CPT, you must check with Vicki and the Foreign Student Advisor in the Office of International Education (OIE), www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/oie/, phone 412-268-5231, email oie@andrew.cmu.edu.  It is important to note that in order to qualify for CPT, the job you are applying for must be directly related to your research and approved by your advisor.  Since this is considered part of your research/course work a grade will be required from your advisor.  You will need to make your advisor aware that they will need to provide a research grade to the department at the end of the semester.   Your advisor should be the one to sign your CPT form.  If you have any questions on this procedure, see Vicki. In the summer, CPT units are free.

Important:  When enrollment is complete, and at midterm, you must check to make sure you are registered for the correct courses and correct number of units.  Because EPP students take courses from different departments and may do several drops and additions, mistakes can occur.  If you do encounter an error, please see Vicki.  She will be able to advise you on the procedure you will need to follow.  It is extremely important for international students to make sure they are carrying 36 units or more.  Failure to carry a minimum of 36 units for an International Student can result in termination of your student visa status by the Department of Homeland Security.  You will be sent an email warning by OIE if you do not comply.

Upon occasion there may be a course you would like to take at the University of Pittsburgh or Duquesne University that is relevant to your research, but not offered at CMU.  In this case you will want to cross-register.  To do this, go to the Hub, pick up a PCHE form, fill it out, and obtain the necessary signatures.  Then take it to Enrollment Services, Warner Hall 19 attention Joy Cavaliero.  Joy will then contact Pitt or Duquesne and work with their cross-registration person.  The other university will let you know if your registration has been accepted.

If there is a course that you absolutely must take at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), you may want to go directly to Pitt Admissions, pick up an "Admissions to Closed or Restricted Courses" form, fill it out, have the appropriate Pitt instructor and Pitt department sign it, then bring it back and attach it to the CMU PCHE form and follow the instructions above.  Both forms must be submitted to Enrollment Services.

Enrollment Services requests that when you complete the PCHE form, be as specific as possible about which course you want to register for, otherwise, the process will be slowed down.

As mentioned earlier, a student must complete all formalities for the Ph.D. Degree and submit the final copy of the thesis to the Department within six years after the thesis proposal.  This "statute of limitations" is designed to make sure that student's knowledge in the field is current when he or she receives the degree.

All students upon completion of their thesis proposal and coursework are regarded as ABD, and should fill out a Doctoral Candidate Agreement form found on the Hub's website.  For more information on this process, please see Vicki.  If you are on campus and receive a taxable stipend, you must register for a minimum of 36 units.  Under exceptional circumstances, and ONLY if you are a semester or two away from defending ABD students who are self-supported and can demonstrate financial hardship may petition the college dean through their department for permission to register for 5 units of research.  If approved, you may only  remain as ABD for 5 units for two consecutive semesters, with summer counting as a semester.  After that, you must either register for 36 units or change your status to All But Dissertation In Absentia (ABS).  You may remain on campus with ABD 5-unit status and will be considered a full-time student, but you cannot receive a stipend.  More information on the ABD policy as well as other graduate policies can be found on-line at the CIT web page http://www.cit.cmu.edu/current_students/ graduates/policies.html.  ABS is discussed in the next section.

In absentia is not a legal status for international students holding F1 or J1 visas.  If you choose to become in absentia you will not be billed for tuition until the final semester in which you complete your degree requirements (i.e., the semester you defend and submit your thesis).  In that semester, you will need to register and pay for 5 units of tuition.  Vicki will help with the  final semester registration.  Note that while you are ABS, You will be charged a $75 technology fee each academic semester that you are in absentia.  This fee will allow you to keep your CMU email and also allow you access to university licensed software until the time that you graduate or your candidacy lapses, whichever comes first (in EPP candidacy lapses 6 years from semester of proposal).  Academic semesters are Fall and Spring, thus no charge in the summer.

To be eligible for ABS you must meet the following criteria:

1. have completed all degree requirements except for the dissertation;
2. have been enrolled full-time for two years (including summers), and
3. do not require substantial use of university resources.

If you are ABS, you will not be permitted to keep a desk in EPP.  When ABS students have set their defense date, they must let Vicki know so that she may attend to the administrative details involved with final semester registration and tuition (as mentioned above). 

Our College offers a tuition grace period for students finishing their thesis in the Fall and Spring semesters.  In effect, students who submit their completed thesis to the department no later than the last business day of September will not be required to pay tuition for the Fall.  They will be considered a December graduate and will need to pay all of the student fees.   If they make the September thesis submission deadline, the student activities fee will be refunded.  Likewise, students who submit their completed thesis to the department no later than the last business day of January will not be required to pay tuition for the Spring.  They will be considered a May graduate and will need to pay all of the student fees.  If they make the May thesis submission deadline, the student activities fee will be refunded to them.  However, students who will be receiving a stipend during these months must be registered and pay full-time tuition for each month that they are collecting a stipend (full-time is 9 units of tuition each month).

Due to poor performance in courses or inadequate progress on research, the faculty and  administration of the department will in all cases work with the student to try and overcome these difficulties and try to help the student improve their performance.  If, however, inadequate performance and progress continues to the point where the improvements needed for successful completion of the degree program appear highly unlikely, students will be asked to leave the program.  Before this occurs, the student will receive notification either from their academic/research advisor and/or the Graduate Education Committee.

If the student feels that they might be “in trouble” either with their coursework or research progress, they should alert their advisor right away, and should also come and talk with either the Associate Department Head or the Department Head.  They should not wait until the problem becomes insurmountable.

The Foreign Student Advisor in the Office of International Education (OIE) is the person to contact should you have any questions on or problems with your visa, DHS, etc.  OIE   is located on the 2nd Floor of Warner Hall, x8-5231. For our College the foreign student advisor is Nesli Ozdoganlar, email: neslio@andrew.cmu.edu.

If, for any reason, you are planning to leave the country -- whether for a vacation, conference, etc., you will need to check with OIE to make sure you fill out the necessary documentation for re-entry into the U.S. 

Before an international student can become a teaching assistant they must take the ITA (International Teaching Assistant) test administered by Carnegie Mellon's Intercultural Communication Center (ICC) and pass at the appropriate level.  Pennsylvania State Law requires that you pass at Level 2 or better or you will not be permitted to teach at Carnegie Mellon.  The ITA test is run 3 times a year, so it is best to contact the ICC at least one term before you are planning to teach, two terms before if possible. We recommend that all international students take this test, regardless of whether you plan on teaching.  It takes approximately 1/2 hour and is good experience. 

The ICC will help international students learn to speak, read, write, and/or understand English better free of charge.   They offer free 40-minute weekly tutoring sessions (one-on-one with a trained undergraduate), which range from learning to read, write, and speak better, to listening and understanding better.  These individual sessions are geared to help you where you feel you need it. 

They also offer three non-credit workshops (ranging anywhere from 6 to 9 weeks) that are a little more formal.  They are:

• Speaking and Listening Workshop
• Academic Writing Skills Workshop
• Teaching Assistant Training Workshop

We encourage you to take advantage of these workshops, particularly if you are having difficulty with the language or understanding the culture.  More information on times, dates and the Center itself is available on the ICC website http://www.cmu.edu/icc.  ICC is located in Warner Hall, Room 418, phone 412/268-4979.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has very strict guidelines that must be adhered to for non-U.S. students who wish to work in the United States after graduation.  Work includes all university postdoctoral positions (even those at CMU).  If it is your plan to work in the U.S. you will need to make an appointment to talk with an OIE counselor at least one full semester (4 months) in advance of completing your thesis.  You will not be able to hold postdoctoral status or collect a pay until your new visa is issued, and you have met the department guidelines for graduation.  Unfortunately, there is no flexibility in this matter and if you do not plan for this well in advance, there is nothing the department can do to expedite the process. To begin the process, you must secure a position, have the offer letter in hand from your perspective employer, and make an appointment to talk to an OIE counselor.  They will explain the options that are available to you and will have the paperwork necessary to begin the process.  Once DHS receives the paperwork it can take up to 3 months for a visa to be issued.   Optional Practical Training (OPT) is also an option for non-U.S. students who wish to work in the U.S. after graduation.  Again, you would need to meet with an OIE counselor to begin the paperwork.  It can take up to 4 months for the OPT paperwork to clear DHS.

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