Registrar’s Office
The Registrar’s Office is the custodian of the official students’ information and records. It registers students, creates and maintains their records, provides certified documents, issues transcripts, and processes grades.
Responsibilities
The Registrar’s Office is responsible for
- course enrollment management,
- classroom assignment,
- final exam scheduling,
- academic and administrative policy monitoring,
- information dissemination.
The office publishes the course schedule, available before registration for each semester and summer session. The course schedule includes information about registration procedures, time and location of the courses, faculty, course prerequisites and requirements, and advising locations.
Registration Procedure
Students at KAUST register for classes online. Complete information about the registration process and instructions are given in the course schedule. The course schedule is published by the Registrar’s Office twice a year: on the first of April for the courses offered in the fall semester and summer session and on the first of November for courses offered in the spring semester.
Students will not receive credit for courses unless they are properly registered. It is the student’s responsibility to assure that they are officially registered and all grades they earned have been recorded.
All students are required to register for each semester or session, whether they are attending a regular course of study, carrying on research, doing independent reading, writing a thesis, or utilizing any other academic service or campus facility. The standard course load for a full time student is twelve (12) credit hours. A minimum course load of nine (9) credit hours or a maximum course load of fifteen (15) credit hours may be taken with the approval of the Registrar.
In registering for research, students should indicate the name of the faculty, and should consult with the academic adviser to determine the number of the credit hours granted for the research project.
Students must enroll by the end of the first week of each semester until graduation.
Registration for Continuing Students
To continue in KAUST beyond the first semester, the student must make satisfactory progress in fulfilling any admission conditions that were imposed, meet program requirements determined in consultation with his or her advisor, and maintain a satisfactory graduate grade point average. Any student whose work is not satisfactory and who is not anticipated to make substantial progress, may be refused registration at the beginning of any semester by the appropriate academic division and the Assistant Provost for Student Affairs and will have his/her program terminated.
Late Registration
The late registration periods are identified in the course schedule each semester and summer session. During this period, a student may register with the consent of the academic adviser. Beyond the late registration period, registration is permitted only under exceptional circumstances and requires the recommendation of the academic adviser, and the consent of the Registrar.
Approval for Special Circumstances
Approval is required for changes of degree programs or courses, dual enrollment, under or over registration, and late registration. The student must fill out the appropriate form and obtain approval from the student’s advisor, the department chair, and the Registrar.
Student Identification Cards
Every student is required to have a KAUST photo identification card. The photo ID card is needed for using KAUST facilities such as the libraries, health services, residence, etc. The identification card is intended to be used throughout the student’s enrollment at the University. Lost or stolen cards should be reported to the ID Center.
Students are expected to maintain control and possession of their photo ID cards and to have the card available at all times on University grounds. The ID card cannot be used by others or for purposes not intended by the University. Misuse of the ID cards could result in disciplinary action.
Adding a Course
A student may add courses during the first week of the semester. After the first week of a full semester, students need the instructor’s permission to add a class
Dropping a Course
Courses dropped during the first two weeks will not appear on the student’s transcript. Classes dropped between the second and eighth week of the semester will appear with the grade of ‘W’ on the student’s transcript. The student's grade point average (GPA) will not be affected.
Students will only be allowed to withdraw from a class after the first eight weeks under exceptional circumstances. Withdrawing from a class after the eighth week will require a written explanation for withdrawing, as well as the standard approval process.
Special Courses
New graduate courses are often offered initially under a generic course number. If a student wishes to use one of these courses to satisfy a track requirement, he/she must obtain written approval from the faculty and the academic advisor in the track area of the course. Doctoral students must submit his approval to the Registrar before presenting the Ph.D. Plan of Study for the qualification exam or for candidacy, and it will be placed in the student’s file.
Leave of Absence
Students are required to maintain their admission status until all requirements for a degree are fulfilled, whether by continuity of registration or on the basis of an approved leave of absence. A leave of absence for medical or other reasons may be approved for up to one year. If the student has not yet been admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree, this request must be approved in advance of the leave by the principal (academic) advisor. If the student has been admitted to candidacy, the application must be approved in advance by the academic advisor and the Registrar.
An approved leave of absence indicates that the student will return to KAUST at the end of the leave of absence period. However, a student on approved leave must apply for readmission in order to return to KAUST. A leave of absence for medical reasons requires a petition to the Registrar, supported by a physician, prior to reinstatement. A student on leave may not use any University facilities; a leave of absence does not alter the time limits for degrees or coursework.
The Assistant Provost for Student Affairs may place a student on involuntary leave of absence if persuaded by the evidence that such an action is necessary for the protection of the KAUST community or for the personal safety or welfare of the student involved. Such a decision by the Assistant Provost for Student Affairs is subject to automatic review within seven days by the Associate Provost for Student Affairs and Provost.
Grade Appeals
Students have the right to appeal their final grade in a course by using the following Grade Appeal Procedure:- The student should first discuss the issue informally with the relevant faculty member.
- If the matter cannot be resolved this way, the student may initiate an appeal to the academic advisor outlining the reasons in writing.
- Copies are to be forwarded to the Dean. The Dean will assign a faculty member in the same subject matter to review the grade.
- The final recommendation has to be made by the Dean and conveyed to the student in a timely manner.
- If a change of the final grade is approved the new grade will be recorded on the student’s record and the disputed grade will be deleted.
Graduation
Upon recommendation to the Graduate Committee, degrees are awarded two times each year, at the conclusion of Fall and Spring semester. All diplomas, however, are prepared and awarded at the end of the Spring semester.
Students must apply for conferral of a graduate degree by filing an Application to Graduate form by the deadline for each semester. A separate application must be filed for each degree program and for each conferral semester.
Requests for conferral are reviewed by the Registrar’s Office to verify completion of degree requirements. Students are typically expected to apply to graduate the semester prior to the semester in which they expect to be awarded a degree. The University, however, reserves the right to confer a degree on a student who has completed all of the requirements for a degree even though the student has not applied to graduate; such an individual would then be subject to the University's usual rules and restrictions regarding future enrollment or registration.
Students who wish to withdraw a request for conferral or make changes to the Application to Graduate should notify the Registrar’s Office in writing. Students who withdraw their graduation applications or fail to meet degree requirements must reapply to graduate in a subsequent semester.
Applying for Graduation
Students must be registered for the semester in which they graduate and must apply for graduation by the deadline published in the academic calendar. A student who misses the deadline for acceptance of the thesis or dissertation must register the following semester or session in order to receive the degree. The thesis or dissertation must be accepted by the deadline, which falls before the end of the semester or session.
Commencement Ceremonies
Commencement ceremonies are held the week after the end of summer classes for students who have received degrees at the end of the previous Summer, Fall, and Spring semesters. Information on Commencement activities and the distribution of diplomas is mailed in mid-April to all those eligible to receive a diploma at the ceremonies.
Withdrawal from the University
A student who wishes to withdraw from the academic program for a semester or leave the University must indicate this intent by filling out the Withdrawal form and submitting it to the Registrar’s Office. If the student wishes to have a transcript showing the academic courses completed up to the date of withdrawal, he or she must fill out a Transcript Request form and pay the applicable fee. Transcripts, grade reports or other official documents will be released to the student only after all financial obligations have been met.
If the student does not enroll for classes for two consecutive semesters, without the written permission of the Registrar, he or she will be withdrawn from his or her selected program of study. To continue in the program, the student will have to reapply for admission to KAUST.