University of the People

Part-Time and Full-Time Options 
Full-time graduate students may enroll in up to 4 courses per term, and part-time students may enroll 
in 1 or 2 courses per term. The following registration restrictions apply: 
•  Students who maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of ≥ 3.75 may register for up 
to four (4) courses per term.  
•  Students who maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of ≥ 2.50 and ≤ 3.74 may 
register for up to two (2) courses per term.  
•  Students on Academic Warning and/or have a CGPA below 2.50 may only register and/or be 
enrolled in one (1) course per term. 
Students whose CGPA falls at the end of a given term to below the minimum CGPA required to be 
enrolled in the allowed number of courses for the following term, will be required to cancel courses by 
the first day of the term. Those who fail to meet this requirement to reduce their course load according 
to the stated policy will be automatically removed from any excess courses by the Office of Student 
Services. 
Students whose CGPA improves at the end of a given term, which would otherwise allow them to 
register for additional courses for the next term, will not be able to add additional courses during late 
registration. They will be required to wait until registration opens during the 5
th
 week of the following 
term to register for the additional number of allowed courses. 
Time to Degree Requirements:   
Students must complete all requirements for all graduate degree programs in no more than 25 terms
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of active enrollment including any periods of separation from the University when a student is out of 
residence. Out of residence refers to the number of terms that a student has been inactive at the 
University— either unenrolled from the institution and/or enrolled at UoPeople without completing 
any course work in the intervening terms (that is, enrolled but active), and/or on a Leave of Absence. 
 
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 All coursework for Graduate Degree Programs must be completed within 5 years (60 months) after the student’s initial 
matriculation in the graduate degree program. 

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Time to degree will vary by student and depend in great part on whether a student studies full-time or 
part-time and whether or not they enroll for all five terms in every academic year. 
•  Students who enroll full-time can complete the MBA in six consecutive terms of study; Students 
who enroll full-time can complete the M.Ed. in seven consecutive terms of study.  
•  Students who enroll in continuous part-time study can complete the MBA in two and a half 
calendar years (30 months). Students who enroll in continuous part-time study can complete 
the M.Ed. in 31 months. 
 
Notes on Time to Degree Requirements  
1.  Students exceeding the permissible number of terms of active enrollment without completing 
all their degree requirements will be administratively withdrawn from the University. 
2.  Extensions to the time to complete a degree will be considered on a case-by-case basis, upon 
proof of extenuating circumstances, and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by 
appealing for reinstatement within 30 days of the withdrawal notice.  
3.  There are no special charges or fees associated with making a request for a special review or 
for extending enrollment.  
Additional UoPeople Degrees  
Students graduating from a Graduate Degree Program at UoPeople may enroll in a second Master’s 
Degree of a different program at the University, or in an undergraduate degree program at UoPeople 
after the completion of the Graduate Degree. This will require opening a new application and paying 
the application fee. Students cannot study in two UoPeople degree programs concurrently.  
Credit Hours 
University of the People employs a system of assigning course credit hours to all courses to track 
student achievement. The semester hour is used to quantify and represent the time an average 
student is expected to be actively engaged in the educational process. It represents a reasonable 
expectation of the time it will take the average student to achieve the stated learning outcomes in a 
course.  
All learning takes place online, and UoPeople awards academic credit upon the successful completion 
of a course. It is university policy that every semester hour is equivalent to a minimum of 45 hours of 
work for students during the course of the 9-week term, of which at least 15-17 hours must be spent in 
active academic engagement in addition to the remaining hours of additional preparation required to 
complete all of the academic work both comprising and representing the corresponding credit hours.  

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UoPeople awards academic credit to its students upon the successful completion of a course. The 
number of credit hours is determined by the amount of time in which the student is academically 
engaged plus the amount of time that a student is expected to commit to class preparation. Students 
are generally expected to spend 2-3 hours of preparation for every hour spent in active 
engagement. Thus, for a 9-week, 3-credit course, students should expect to spend approximately 15-17 
hours a week engaged in course work (about 10-11 hours of independent work, 5-6 hours of active 
engagement) over the course of a term, for a total of 135-150 hours.
 
Rules governing the assignment of course credit hours are monitored by the Associate Provost of 
Academic Affairs. Guidance in complying with this policy is provided in the Course Development Guide 
and the Faculty Handbook.  
Grades and Transcripts 
An academic record is maintained for each student enrolled in a Graduate Degree Program, and the 
student's work will be graded and recorded in accordance with the policies of the University outlined in 
the Catalog. Students may request a copy of the official transcript of their academic work at UoPeople 
by following the instructions for requesting a transcript outlined in the Catalog.  
Credits earned at UoPeople may be transferable to other institutions. Students wishing to transfer 
UoPeople Graduate credits to another institution should check with the receiving institution regarding 
its transfer credit policies.