Registration

Registration and Matriculation

Definition of Registration, Matriculation, and Full-time Status

This section is meant to assist students in understanding the difference between “being registered” and “being matriculated,” as those terms are commonly used. The distinction is an important one because many aspects of your student life are affected (e.g., matriculant status affects financial aid, housing, and in some cases, insurance coverage). A student is considered registered when the student has enrolled in classes, and when the student has fulfilled financial obligations to the satisfaction of the Bursar (in most cases, this involves full payment of tuition).

Matriculation means the student:

• has satisfactorily met all Admissions Office requirements for acceptance into a degree or certificate program (that usually includes, but is not limited to, evidence of secondary school graduation and final official transcripts of all college work); and,
• enrolled in course work leading to a degree (for an exception, see Leave of Absence section).

Students are not matriculated until they have met all requirements for admission. In some cases, students are admitted to the School (with the expectation on the part of the Admissions Office that requirements will be met), register, and are not yet matriculated. Students must establish matriculant status immediately upon entering school if accepted as a degree or certificate student.

One is considered a full-time student if registered for 12 or more credits in a semester. Note: At NYU, “units”, “points” and “credits” are interchangeable terms.

Maintenance of Matriculation and Equivalency

Maintenance of Matriculation

Graduate students who have completed all course work, but have yet to complete final thesis requirements, must maintain matriculation each fall and spring semester until all degree requirements are fulfilled. To maintain matriculation, students complete a registration form in their department using the appropriate course number. In addition to the maintenance of matriculation fee, students are charged a registration and services fee by the University. Student health insurance fees are charged for those who opt to enroll in one of the available plans.

Special note on Graduate Film and Interactive Telecommunications: Because students are eligible to use equipment while maintaining matriculation, students are assessed mandatory lab and equipment insurance fees in addition to those listed above.

Equivalency

Certification of full-time or half-time equivalency status can be important for one or more of the following reasons: a) eligibility for financial aid; b) renewal or fulfillment of the terms of a student visa; c) deferral of student loan repayments; d) eligibility for certain health insurance plans.

• Full-time equivalency: a student may be judged by their department as full-time equivalent if they are engaged in at least forty hours of work on the thesis project each week of the semester.
• Half-time equivalency: a student may be judged by their department as half-time equivalent if they are engaged in at least twenty hours of work on the thesis project each week of the semester.
• Equivalency while registered for course work: a student may be judged as full-time or half-time equivalent through a combination of registered course work (six credits is the equivalent of twenty hours per week) and work on the thesis project.

Time limits on equivalency: a student maintaining matriculation may be certified as full-time equivalent for a maximum of two consecutive semesters. A student may be certified as half-time equivalent for a maximum of four consecutive semesters.

Special Note on Maintenance of Matriculation in General

Maintenance of matriculation is mandatory for any graduate student still working toward their degree. Certification of equivalency, however, is not necessarily required, or even permitted in some cases where the student is maintaining matriculation. For example, a student maintains matriculation for two semesters and is certified full-time equivalent for both semesters. If the student does not graduate at the end of this period, then an extension must be applied for through the department, or they simply maintain matriculation without equivalency. Any student being certified full-time or half-time equivalent is either registered for course work or maintaining matriculation.

Procedure for Maintaining Matriculation and Establishing Equivalency

To maintain matriculation, the student registers for Maintaining Matriculation via Albert (MAINT-GT). The student must also complete an equivalency form to be approved by the department chair and the Director of Academic Services in Tisch Student Affairs for full-time or half-time equivalency. Registration for maintenance of matriculation and equivalency must be completed no later than the end of second week of the semester.

Important Notes on Equivalency

• A student employed full-time MAY NOT request full-time equivalency.
• The department chair must authorize and sign equivalency certification.
• Extensions beyond the two-semester limit for full-time equivalency and four semesters for half-time equivalency are granted only under exceptional circumstances. They will be given only when a compelling case can be made to the Associate Dean that the student has been working steadily on the thesis and has a valid reason for the extension.
• Students taking leaves of absence or receiving waivers of matriculation fees are not eligible for either full-time or half-time equivalency.