Fall 2024 F-1 Registration and Physical Presence Requirements; Late Hire Deadline
Memorandum
Date: |
August
29, 2024 |
To: |
All
Deans, Associate Deans, School Directors, Department Chairs, Coordinators and
Staff |
From: |
UF
Graduate School |
RE: |
F-1 Registration and
Physical Presence Requirements; Late Hire Deadline |
Standard
F-1 Registration and Physical Presence Requirements
Continue to Apply Indefinitely
The F-1
International Students Standard
Registration Requirements continue to apply,
indefinitely. The standard registration and physical
presence requirements apply to all F-1 International Students.
Registration
is not required in the summer semester if they are not an incoming
(new/Initial, SEVIS Transfer), Change of Education Level student in that
specific summer, or are not granted approval of a Change of Status or
Reinstatement to F-1 status effective in that specific summer, unless the
student has an assistantship/fellowship, internship/training, graduation, or
other academic department requirement in that specific summer. Please read the
F-1 International Students Standard
Registration Requirements for complete details.
F-1 student
registration requires full-time registration in courses with physical presence
requirement(s). F-1 International Students are allowed a maximum limit of three
(3) credits which are 100% online towards their full-time registration. Course
modality of any credits taken above and beyond the minimum full-time
registration requirements may be in any format.
- Undergraduate F1 international students must register
for a minimum of twelve (12) credits of which at least nine (9) must be in
courses with physical presence requirement(s) (that is, not 100% online).
- Graduate F1 international students must register for a
minimum of nine (9) credits of which at least six (6) must be in courses
with physical presence requirement(s) (not 100% online).
- Note: Registration
requirements differ for students in their final semester; see “Final
Semester Minimum Registration Requirements" at Standard
Registration Requirements.
Physical
Presence Requirement
The physical
presence requirement for F-1 international students at UF is met in course
sections coded as Primarily Classroom (PC), Hybrid Blend (HB), and possibly
Primarily Distance (PD). Course sections coded as All Distance (AD, 100%
online) are fully online courses that do not meet the physical presence
requirement.
The
operative wording from the regulations for a course to meet the physical
presence requirement is that the course “must require the student's physical
attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to the completion of the class.” A course may be mostly online but still meet the physical
presence requirement if it meets this criterion.
In coding
courses as requiring a physical presence, departments should be able to justify
that:
- the activity requires the presence of the student on
campus as part of the course,
- the activity is required
of all students
registered in that course section and is not ad hoc to the international
students, and
- the requirements is integral to the successful completion of the course (that
is, it is not an
optional requirement) such as, for example, the mid-term and the final
examination requiring all students in the course to be present in a
physical classroom with the course instructor while completing the exam.
The physical presence requirement must be clearly stated as such in the
course syllabus.
NOTE: Students have received requests from the Department of Homeland Security or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for a copy of their syllabus and confirmation of attendance, especially when the student is applying for a benefit related to their F-1 status.
Examples of
some ways in which the requirement may be met include:
- mandatory attendance in class
meetings which count toward the final grade,
- one or more in-person
examinations on campus which count toward the final grade,
- one or more in-class
presentations which count toward the final grade,
- participation in a required
experiment or laboratory activity which counts toward the final grade.
U.S.
Arrival, Registration, and Late Hire Deadlines
Fall
2024 classes started on August 22, 2024. The drop/add deadline was August 28,
2024.
Incoming
(new/Initial, SEVIS Transfer) F-1
International Students are expected to arrive in the U.S. and complete the
mandatory UFIC international student online check-in by the applicable drop/add deadline of the semester to which they are
admitted.
All F-1
International Students,
whether incoming
(new/Initial, SEVIS Transfer), Change of Status or Reinstatement to F-1 status
effective, or Change of Education Level, and including continuing students, are
required to register in compliance with Standard
Registration Requirements by the applicable drop/add deadline of each required semester.
NOTE:
- If
the academic unit has an earlier deadline than the drop/add deadline, the
academic department’s deadline takes priority.
- The
Graduate Assistant/Fellowship appointment start/effective date was August
16, 2024. If the hiring department anticipates the graduate student
will be later than this for their employment start date, then the hiring
department must complete a petition to the Graduate School. The Graduate
School reviews petitions through an effective/start date of September
6, 2024. Any date falling after September 6, 2024. will need to
be reviewed by the Provost. In the rational for the late hire petition,
the hiring department must include the reason for the late hire and the
date on which the graduate student will start.
- Students
with questions regarding this requirement may contact their hiring
department for further guidance. The hiring department may contact the
Graduate School for guidance.
- A late hire
petition deadline date does not change the requirement that F-1
international students must arrive, check-in, and be registered full-time
by the applicable drop/add deadline.
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