Academic Support
12 ACTIVE HOURS
Your F-1/J-1 status is based on your full-time enrollment. All international students must be registered in 12 active hours of course work each semester (fall & spring)
Impact: Due to immigration regulations, any student who is considering dropping or withdrawing from a class must talk to Kirsten Sheppard first (in addition to your academic advisor). Immigration policy does not acknowledge “attempted hours.”
Withdrawing is very rarely an option for international students. Mid-semester classes are a good option in these cases. In very few cases, you might be eligible for Reduced Courseload*
*Reduced Courseload
Under certain circumstances, F-1 students may be eligible to maintain student status while enrolled in a reduced course load. Qualifying circumstances for a regular F-1 student to receive a reduced course load authorization include:
Medical condition or illness.
Certain initial academic difficulties, including:
Improper course level placement.
Initial difficulty with the English language.
Initial difficulty with reading requirements.
Unfamiliarity with U.S. teaching methods.
Being in your final term or semester.
SECOND LANGUAGE (CORE REQUIREMENT)
Not required of students for whom English is a second language. For these students, study in a third language is recommended as an elective, but is not required.
The list of countries who do not need to demonstrate language proficiency (and therefore are considered native English speakers and not eligible for this waiver) is available at https://www.maryvillecollege.edu/international/admissions/languageproficiency/
We currently are only able to test student proficiency in Spanish, French, German, Japanese & Italian. If you speak a different language and would like to demonstrate proficiency in that language, you will need to provide an OFFICIAL source to demonstrate that proficiency (e.g. ACTFL OPI, ALBT, other examples)
INTERNSHIPS/PRACTICA
International students must get permission from the Center for Global Engagement to accept any on or off campus internship or practicum.
Internship/Practica-Specific qualifiers:
Position must be directly related to major and integral to program of study
Can be on or off-campus
You must be registered for credit
Commensurate with education level
Sequential internships for the same organization must demonstrate growth in responsibility
Academic Support Center
The Academic Support Center is the central academic support component at Maryville College and it can help you excel to make the most of your college experience. The center provides learning strategies and consultations to students that focus on learning styles, textbook strategies, note-taking skills, test preparation and test-taking strategies. The Academic Support Center staff also assist students with academic goal setting, organizational skills and time management.
The Academic Support Center provides tutoring and group study sessions as well as individualized consultations. Our most successful students at Maryville College utilize our Group Study sessions, MC tutoring, KT Collaborative, ASC COL.LAB, Supplemental Instruction, Math Tank, and Writing Center. Trained academic mentors are responsible for facilitating group study and they provide weekly study sessions reviewing class notes, lecture discussions and preparations for exams.
Writing Consultations
The Maryville College Writing Center is a great support service for international students to use! You need to plan ahead to have your essays reviewed in the Writing Center.
Online Courses
"For F-1 students enrolled in classes for credit or classroom hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per session, term, semester, trimester, or quarter may be counted toward the full course of study requirement if the class is taken online or through distance education and does not require the student's physical attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to completion of the class." (Source: U.S. Code of Federal Regulation: [8 CFR § 214.2 (f)(6)(i)(G)])
Students need to check with a DSO or PDSO before they register for an online course.
Example:
An undergraduate international student is taking 16 credits in the fall semester, 9 of which are in traditional, on-campus classes and 6 of which are online. Since fall is a required term for Maryville College, only one online course (3 credits) counts toward the full-time course load. This student is maintaining their F-1 student status because they have 12 credits (9 traditional plus 3 on-line credits).
*Note - students in their FINAL semester may not take more than 1 online class as part of courseload, and the schedule must be approved by the CGE.