Reduced Course Load Eligibility

Enrollment Requirements

Determine your Eligibility 

If taking less than the minimum for your degree level during a Fall or Spring semester, you must obtain authorization by submitting a completed Academic Reduced Course Load (RCL) Request. This must be submitted by the Census Date.

Reasons	Guidelines
Illness or Medical Condition	Cannot exceed 12 month aggregate per program level May excuse a student from all classes student cannot continue with on-campus employment if excused from all classes Student must provide medical documentation from a licensed Medical Doctor, Doctor of Osteopathy, or Clinical Psychologist Student must renew the RCL each term, based on new or continuing medical information Start date should be the date DSO approved the RCL
Academic Difficulties, including: Improper course level placement Initial difficulty with reading requirements Initial difficulty with the English language Unfamiliarity with U.S. teaching methods	Can only be used for the initial academic term Student must maintain a minimum six-credit course load, or half the clock hours required for a full course of study Student must begin a full course of study at the next offered term RCL start and end dates must correspond to the school session start and end dates RCL start dates may be back dated, if necessary
To Complete Course of Study In Current Term	Used in a student’s final term if he/she can complete the program with fewer classes Student must be enrolled in at least one face-to-face course RCL start and end dates must correspond to the school session start and end dates RCL start dates may be backdated, if necessary

 

Process of Obtaining Reduced Course Load (RCL) Authorization

1. Student has one of the above-listed issues and talks with academic advisor
2. Student requests the appropriate RCL and obtains a doctor's note or converses with an OIP DSO 
   1. Academic Reduced Course-Load Request (this must be submitted by the Census Date)
   2. Medical Reduced Course-Load Request 
3. DSO authorizes RCL in SEVIS. For all academic reasons, including completion of studies, the RCL start and end dates should correspond with the current session start and end dates. For illness or medical conditions, the RCL start date should be the day the DSO approves the RCL. The end date should correspond with the current session end date.
4. Student submits with UT Tyler academic advisor. The student must maintain their F-1 status during the segment of RCL.
5. At the end of the authorized period, the student must resume full course load, unless further RCL is needed and the student has remaining eligibility. If this is the case, please complete the process again. Otherwise, the DSO will update SEVIS registration for full course load within 21 days of the students commencement of full course study. 

 

Additional Considerations

Summer enrollment is not required for continuing students. If it is a student’s first semester then full-time enrollment is required and all restrictions, such as online limits, apply. Only one 3-hour online course can be used to count toward the required minimum for the student's degree level each regular semester.

Hybrid courses are considered “face-to-face,” i.e., in-person, for immigration purposes; students may take any number of hybrid courses and credits. Zoom classes in which student attendance in a classroom on-campus is not validated are considered online.

In the final semester, you may take less than the minimum credit hours required for your degree level and be considered full-time for immigration purposes, as long as you meet the following requirements:

• You're taking all remaining courses in your degree program.
• You've submitted an Academic Reduced Course-Load Request form for that semester.
• If you have only one remaining class, it must be face-to-face.