POLICY: Students enrolled at IU Bloomington through University Division (UD) must certify into degree-granting units at the beginning of the semester following the one in which they complete 70 credit hours.

Most students entering IU Bloomington through UD certify into a degree-granting unit (a school or the College of Arts and Sciences) after two or three semesters of full-time coursework. However, for a variety of reasons, some students do not certify in a timely manner. This policy was developed to help students become aware of potential certification-related issues early on, and to provide them with a strategy for addressing these issues.

Students taking a normal course load typically will complete their 70th credit hour in their fifth semester (fall or spring) of enrollment. Thus, under this policy, they would be required to certify into degree-granting units at the beginning of their sixth semester. In the event that a student cannot certify successfully, he/she would be allowed to complete that current (i.e. sixth) semester of coursework; however, he/she would not be permitted to register again through UD.

UD requires students to declare their intended major no later than the semester in which they will complete their 55th credit hour. To support implementation of the 70 credit hour cap policy, UD also will begin requiring every affected student whose first choice of major uses a competitive admission process (e.g. Business) to declare a second choice of major no later than the semester in which he/she will complete his/her 55th credit hour. For those taking a normal course load, this typically is the fourth semester. Then, if that student is not accepted into his/her competitive admission major, UD will automatically initiate immediate certification into his/her second choice of major. This second attempt will occur within the normal certification period for that same semester. Should that second certificaiton attempt fail as well, the student would not be allowed to register for future semesters through UD.

Exceptions: A few special circumstances will warrant exceptions to this policy. For example, some students transferring to IU Bloomington may be in the position of completing their 70th credit hour during their first semester on campus. In such cases we will permit one additional semester of enrollment through UD; that is, they will be required to certify into degree-granting units at the beginning of their third semester (fall or spring) at IUB rather than their second. International transfer students who need to take English language courses also might, in some cases, be allowed to remain in University Division longer if the school for which they are seeking admission recommended that. Also, a few majors require more advanced status (usually 90 credit hours) prior to certification; in such cases we would allow continued enrollment through UD until that requirement is met, assuming that the student is making satisfactory degree progress in all other aspects.

Note concerning students who have just transferred to Indiana University Bloomington:
Students who will complete 55 hours of course work by the end of their first semester at IUB and have declared a competitive admissions major, will need to specify a second choice of major during their first semester, so that they can plan to meet the admission requirements for the second major if they are not accepted into the major that is their first choice.