According to the Code of Federal Regulations, all students must study full-time every required term (fall and spring semesters) and progress toward the completion of their academic programs [8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(I)]. Students may be approved for a Reduced Course Load (RCL) only for documented medical reasons or for a very limited number of academic reasons. Additionally, students are allowed to take fewer than a full-time course load if it is their final semester and they need fewer credits to complete their program.
OGE may approve a Reduced Course Load (RCL) for your final term, semester, or session if you need fewer courses to complete your degree requirements. Please note that you must be registered for the semester before your RCL request can be reviewed. Additionally, your academic advisor or Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) must confirm that this is your final term before OGE can authorize the RCL (see instructions below).
Keep in mind that during your final semester, you are not permitted to enroll exclusively in online courses—you must be registered for at least one in-person or hybrid class.
If you have completed all academic requirements for your program and are enrolled only for administrative reasons (e.g., thesis submission or graduation processing), you are considered to have completed your course of study. In this case, you must take appropriate action to maintain your immigration status, such as applying for OPT, applying for a change of status or preparing to depart the U.S.
Students may apply for a reduced course load (or, if necessary, no course load) due to a temporary illness or medical condition. Medical RCLs can be approved for no more than an aggregate of 12 months per education level. In order to authorize a reduced course load based upon a medical condition, the student must provide medical documentation from a U.S.-based licensed medical doctor, a licensed doctor of osteopathy, a licensed psychologist, or a licensed clinical psychologist to the DSO to substantiate the illness or medical condition. If the medical condition persists past one semester, the student must provide updated medical documentation so that the DSO can reauthorize the drop below full course of study for the new semester.
OGE may authorize an RCL for specific academic reasons. If you are experiencing academic difficulties and are considering dropping below a full-time course load, please schedule an appointment with your OGE advisor before making any changes to your enrollment. Note that academic RCLs can only be approved for one semester per program level. If you have already received an academic RCL in the past, you would not be eligible for a second authorization for academic difficulties while in the same program.
- Log into MyGlobal Portal and click on tab 3 for “requests”
- Click on the “Reduced Course Load Request” form
- Fill out the request form:
- The start and end dates of your RCL request must align with the official start and end dates of the semester for which you are requesting the RCL.
- Select the reason why you are requesting the RCL and add additional information in the remarks section.
- If you are requesting an RCL because it is your final semester, please list the remaining credits that you need to take to graduate in the remarks section.
- If you are requesting an RCL for a medical reason, you must upload proof of medical documentation.
- Approval Section: You must list your Academic Advisor/Graduate Program Coordinators information. Your advisor must sign off on the reduced course load request before OGE can approve it.
- Press submit.
- The Office of Global Engagement will email you once the request has been approved.