Glossary

Adding [courses]: increasing the credit hour load in a given term. Tuition adjusts when appropriate according to the new total number of credit hours elected.

Candidate: the academic level a doctoral student attains upon completion of a set of requirements, culminating in the passing of their Preliminary Examinations. Once a student has been Advanced to Doctoral Candidate, special tuition rules become effective regarding tuition assessment. See the Graduate Program Student Handbook for details, especially the sections on Master’s Program Fee Totals and Augmented Doctoral Candidate enrollment.

Central School Government (CSG): CSG is the central student government organization represented by the individual school and college governments on the Ann Arbor campus. It is organized to regulate, coordinate, recognize, and calendar student activities and organizations; to include campus-wide regulations governing the conduct of its elections, campaigns, and related activities. Questions should be directed to the CSG Office, 3909 Michigan Union, (734) 763-3241.

CTP - Credit Toward Program: Tuition is based not on years of attendance, but on the total number of credit hours a student earns, either through testing, transfer credit from another institution, or credit earned here at the University of Michigan. Once a student attains 55 CTP or more, they are automatically assessed at the upper division tuition rate. Since the academic record is chronological, if a transfer of credit is recorded retroactively thus increasing the CTP, tuition may increase retroactively as well.

Disenrollment formally discontinuing all studies in a school or college at the University for a given term prior to the beginning of that term. There is no academic or financial penalty.

Dropping [courses]: decreasing the credit hour load in a given term before the drop/add deadline. There is no academic penalty and tuition adjusts when appropriate according to the new total of credit hours elected.

Elections: the successful course selections a student makes during the registration process.

First Hour Part Time: refers to part-time students and includes the Health Service Fee and the Infrastructure Maintenance Fee.

Full term: refers to the Fall, Winter or Spring-Summer term. “Full term” should not be confused with “Full time” as described below.

Full time: full time in an undergraduate school or college in a full term, for tuition purposes, is defined as 12-18 credit hours; in a half term it is 6-9 credit hours. Full time in a graduate school in a full term, for tuition purposes, is defined as 9 or more credit hours; in a half term it is 5 credit hours. Full time in professional program schools varies and is so designated on the tuition rate schedules. “Full time” should not be confused with “Full term” as described above.

Half term: refers to the Spring or Summer term.

Lower Division: Tuition designation for undergraduate students with less than 55 CTP as of the beginning of the term.

Michigan Resident - A student who qualifies for In-State tuition. Please refer to the Residency Classification Guidelines for information.

Non-degree students: will be assessed tuition based on their school of enrollment and residency status. Undergraduate non-degree students are assessed Upper Division tuition rates.

Non-Michigan Resident - A student who does not qualify for In-State tuition, including international students. Please refer to the Residency Classification Guidelines for information.

Over Time: Undergraduate students taking more than 18 credit hours will be assessed the Additional Hour rate for each hour over. There are no additional fees for graduate or professional students enrolled beyond full time.

Part Time: a credit load less than full time. Part-time students are assessed tuition by the credit hour. While part time status may be further defined as three quarter time, half time and less than half time in some contexts, for tuition purposes a student is only full time or part time.

Part-time Additional Hour: the rate for each hour beyond the first hour up to the full-time rate, and for undergraduates for each hour beyond full-time.

Registration Fee - A non-refundable registration fee will be assessed to all students registering on the Ann Arbor campus each term.

School and College Government Fee – this fee supports student government in individual schools and colleges within the University of Michigan. Questions should be directed to the student government office in your school.

Student Legal Services - Student Legal Services provides free legal advice to students, mainly, but not limited to, landlord-tenant disputes. Questions should be directed to the SLS Office, 3409 Michigan Union, (734) 763-9920.

University Unions & Recreational Sports Facility Improvement Fee - This fee is assessed for the repair, renovation, and improvements to the student spaces within the University Unions and various recreational sports facilities across campus. The buildings and spaces used for these purposes are heavily used by students for many purposes.

Upper Division: Tuition designation for undergraduate students with 55 or more credits toward program (CTP) as of the beginning of the term.

Withdrawal [from term]: formally discontinuing all studies in a school or college at the university for a given term once the term has begun. The later the term withdrawal occurs within the term, the greater the financial consequence. Withdrawing from a term is not the same as withdrawing from a course.

Withdrawing [from courses]: reducing the credit hour load in a given term after the drop/add deadline. W grades appear on the academic record and there is no adjustment in tuition. Withdrawing from a course is not the same as withdrawing from a term.