Office of the Registrar

Hours--Fall and Winter: Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, 8 am to 4:30 pm
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8 am to 6 pm
Hours--Spring and Summer: Monday-Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm

Transcript Requests (online & printable forms)

Official copies of your transcript may be requested for $5 each. All requests for transcripts must be made in person, online or in writing to the Registrar's Office. Written requests must include the student's signature and student number. Transcripts and diplomas are held until all financial obligations have been paid in full. Every effort will be made to fill transcript requests within 5 business days of their receipt. Current students can access and print their academic records through Cardinal Direct.

Application for Degree

Each candidate for a degree must file a written application, accompanied by the $52.50 graduation fee, in the Registrar's Office. All documentation and official transcripts of transferred credits must be on file in the Registrar's Office at the time an application is submitted. SVSU graduates students three times a year, at the end of fall semester (December Commencement), at the end of winter semester (May Commencement), and at the end of summer semester (August Commencement). Fall applications are accepted beginning with the first Fall registration.  Winter applications are accepted beginning with the first Winter registration. Summer applications are accepted beginning with the first Spring/Summer registration. Consult the registration and semester calendars for application deadlines.

If a degree audit indicates that a candidate is not ready to graduate, the candidate is not eligible for commencement and the application is made inactive. Late applications or missing documentation may cause the candidate to be moved to a later graduation date.

Readmission

Former SVSU students who have been absent for seven or more semesters, have graduated from SVSU, or have been academically dismissed, are required to apply for readmission. If you attended another college since leaving SVSU, arrange to have an official copy of your transcripts sent to the Office of Admissions.

Readmitted students are subject to all regulations and requirements of the catalog current at the time of re-enrollment.

Academically dismissed students may be readmitted on probation. Students readmitted on probation must achieve a minimum GPA of 2.00 during the first semester in residence at SVSU or be subject to academic dismissal.

Residency Requirements

Residency Classification for Tuition Purposes

Residency status will be determined by the Registrar. However, the President is authorized to make exceptions within the spirit of this policy and is authorized to establish procedures and delegate authority for classifying and reclassifying students as Michigan residents or out-of-state residents.

It shall be the responsibility of the student to register under the proper residency classification, to advise the Office of the Registrar of possible changes in residency and to furnish all requested information.

Students who enroll at SVSU as non-residents shall continue to be so classified throughout their attendance unless the classification is changed as hereafter provided.

International students attending SVSU on F-1 visas will not be considered for residency status.

Determination of Residency

For the purposes of this policy, a resident student is defined as a student domiciled in Michigan for a period of at least six months, with the intention of making Michigan his or her permanent home, or entering Michigan from another state of residency for the purpose of accepting an offer of permanent employment in this state with the intention of making Michigan his or her permanent home.

A non-resident student is defined as one who is domiciled in another state or foreign country. A student shall not be considered domiciled in Michigan unless he or she is in continuous physical residence in this state and intends to make Michigan his or her permanent home, not only while in attendance at SVSU but indefinitely thereafter and has no domicile or interest to be domiciled in another state or country. Upon qualifying for Michigan residency, a student in attendance at SVSU may apply for reclassification.

Documented evidence of the following facts and circumstances, although not necessarily conclusive evidence of domicile in Michigan, will be considered in support of the claim of resident status:

  1. Continuous presence in Michigan during a six-month period when not enrolled as a student.
  2. Reliance upon Michigan sources for financial support.
  3. Domicile in Michigan of family, guardian or other relatives or persons legally responsible for the student.
  4. Ownership and occupancy by the student of a home in Michi­gan.
  5. Payment of Michigan income tax as a resident.
  6. An alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent resi­dence in the United States.
  7. An international student and/or dependent(s) in posses­sion of a valid United States government issued Business Visa who enters the state of Michigan under the directive of his or her employer shall, upon submission of said visa and verification of said employment, be classified as a Michigan resident for tuition purposes as long as said visa remains valid.
  8. A student who enters the state of Michigan from an­other state of residency for the purpose of accepting employment as a cooperative education student or a student intern with a firm or industry in the state of Michigan shall, upon submission of verification of said employment, be classified as a Michigan resident for tuition purposes during his or her tenure of said classification.

A student may submit any other pertinent evidence of intent to make Michigan his or her domicile after completion of college or university attendance. Each case is determined on its own particu­lar merits.

Special Circumstances Affecting Michigan Residency

A student who has been employed as a migrant worker in Michi­gan or whose parents have been so employed, will be granted resident status for purposes of tuition on the basis of proof of employment in this state for at least two months per calendar year in three of the five calendar years immediately preceding the initial enrollment of the student, or at least three months per calendar year in each of two of the five calendar years immediately preceding the initial enrollment. Enrollment in any of the summer terms consti­tutes one semester of enrollment.

If the family of a student with resident status moves out of Michi­gan the student will nevertheless maintain resident status for as long as he or she is continuously enrolled. Continuous enrollment is defined as enrollment during at least two of three successive semesters. A student who withdraws will be regarded as having been enrolled, provided tuition was paid in full and the withdrawal occurred after the end of the refund period.

Appealing Residency Classification

Students may appeal residency by filing an Application for Consider­a­tion of State Residency for Tuition Purposes with the Office of the Registrar (forms are available from the Admissions Office), along with documented evidence in support of residency. The application and supporting evidence will be submitted to the Tuition Classifica­tion Appeal Board for determination. To be con­sidered, the appeal and all supporting documents must be submitted by the 15th calendar day of the term. Reclassification shall be effective for the semester in which the appeal application was filed and for each semester thereafter, so long as the circumstances upon which the reclassification was based shall remain unchanged. Appropriate refunds shall be made following such reclassification. The Tuition Classification Appeal Board shall consist of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Vice President for Administration and Business Affairs and the Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment.

Course Withdrawal Policy

Students are responsible for their registrations and withdrawals. Failure to officially withdraw from a course will cause the grade of "F" to be given and could cause the student to remain financially obligated for the course. Students should keep their copies of all forms as proof of the transaction. Please refer to the calendar in the Schedule of Classes for course withdrawal deadlines. These deadlines will not be extended. To withdraw from a class up through the W" grading period, students must do one of the following:

  1. Complete a course withdrawal form and submit it to the Registrar's Office, either during regular hours or through the drop-box. The effective date will be the date the completed form is received by the Registrar's Office.
  2. Mail a written request to withdraw from a class. Include the course information, student name, student number and signature. The effective date will be the letter's postmark date.
  3. Fax a written request to withdraw from a class. Include the course information, student's name, student number and signature. The effective date will be the fax's transmission date.

During the "WP/WF" grading period, students must withdraw in person by submitting a Course Withdrawal form signed by the instructor who will also assign a grade (WP = Withdrew Passing or WF = Withdrew Failing). The effective date of the transaction is the date the completed form is returned to the Registrar's Office. After the "WP/WF" deadline, students cannot withdraw from classes.

Course Repeat Policy

Saginaw Valley State University Repeat Policy A course may be repeated at SVSU to raise a grade. All grades shall remain on the student's academic record (transcript), but in computing the GPA, the better grade will be counted.

A course taken at SVSU may only be repeated at another institution if the course is an equivalent course at SVSU, the initial course grade at SVSU was a D, F, or WF, and a grade of C or better is earned in the repeated course. There will be no transfer of the grade earned from another institution and no recalculation of the SVSU GPA.

No course can be repeated at SVSU more than twice for a grade. Appeals for additional repeats may be made to the Dean of the appropriate college.

Access to Records

University policy grants access by students to their education records under conditions which conform to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 as amended. This policy is regulated by the appropriate federal guidelines.

Directory information may be published or released unless a student informs the Registrar's Office in writing before the first day of classes that any or all items should not be released without prior consent of the student. Directory information is defined to include student's name, address, telephone listing, e-mail, date and place of birth, major field of study, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, date of attendance, degree and awards received and the most previous institution attended by the student.

Please consider very carefully the consequences of any decision by you to withhold any category of directory information. Should you decide to inform the institution not to release any or all of this directory information, any future request for such information from non-institutional persons or organizations will be refused.

The University will honor your request to withhold any of the directory information to the end of August of the current academic year, but cannot assume responsibility to contact you for subsequent permission to release them. Regardless of the effect upon you, the University assumes no liability for honoring your instructions that such information be withheld.