Description
Holds (negative service indicators) may be placed on a student’s record to prevent registration. University policy allows holds to be imposed for financial indebtedness or for scholastic or disciplinary reasons. Some holds also prevent students from obtaining a transcript. CLA uses holds as stop signs on the road to registration, reminding students of such things as the need for an adviser appointment or an official major declaration.
In PeopleSoft, holds are indicated on the Service Indicator Data panel and on the Service Indicator summary button that appears on many other panels. The Service Indicator Reason Code indicates the clearance office. Negative service indicators have both an effective date (usually the date the hold is placed) and an effective term (registration for the term will be prevented). If a hold has a future effective date, it will be visible only on the Service Indicator Data panel, not on the summary button.
Students may check One Stop for holds (http://onestop.umn.edu/onestop/Registration/Holds.html) on their records and receive detailed clearance instructions for each hold.
CLA Holds
OA: College Adviser Approval-required advising appointment with college office adviser
MDR: Major Declaration Required-submit approved major program form from the department to student advising community.
OD: CLA Orientation Meeting-attend an orientation meeting (usually Intra-U Transfer students)
OX: CLA Adviser Approval Fall-required advising appointment with the major adviser
OZ: CLA Adviser Approval Spring-required advising appointment with the major adviser
RS: New Student Approval-permission to register at orientation
PB: Academic Warning-required advising appointment to discuss probation
PC: Probation Contract-student must meet terms of contract
P3: Suspend-Student may not register for classes at U of M for at least one year and must apply for readmission
The probation holds (PB, PC, P3) and the major declaration hold (MDR) are used by all UMTC undergraduate colleges and follow students if they transfer colleges.
International Student Registration Holds
International students will have three holds that do not apply to resident students. In almost all cases, these students will have followed the appropriate procedures to clear the hold or obtain a temporary release. Types of international student holds:
- The AI hold is designed to allow ISSS (International Student and Scholar Services) to review the student’s legal documents-a legal mandate imposed on the University. It also verifies attendance at the ISOP (International Student Orientation Program). Cleared by ISSS.
- The AZ hold is intended to make sure that the student has completed all language testing and is aware of his or her ESL language status. Cleared by the Minnesota English Center.
- The ME hold is designed to make sure the student has completed their Mantoux tests. This hold is cleared through Boynton Health Service.
If the student has completed all required business for each hold, the hold/negative service indicator will have been deleted. If the student has some incomplete issues related to the hold, the student may have a temporary release, indicated by a future effective date or future effective term on the hold/negative service indicator.
English Language Proficiency (AZ) holds
When international students whose native language is not English apply for admission to the University, they are required to submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) exams. If tests are not available in the student’s home country, they will be required to test upon arrival at the University. If English language proficiency has not been demonstrated, the student will have an AZ hold applied to his/her record. The AZ hold ensures that students who have not demonstrated their English proficiency will not fall through the cracks; it ensures that students will confer with a staff member of the Minnesota English Center (MEC) regarding English language requirements.
After conferencing with the student about ESL requirements or ESL exemption, the MEC administrator will override the hold in the University computer system so the student may register for academic coursework. If the student has retested and met the English proficiency requirement, the AZ hold is removed permanently. Otherwise, the AZ hold is overridden temporarily to allow the student to register for the current semester. A student with a temporary hold release will need to see an adviser in the MEC every semester until proficiency standards have been satisfied.
Will all international students have an AZ hold applied to their record?
Some international students will not have an AZ hold applied to their record. These include:
- Native speakers of English (English speakers from the U.K, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada)
- Students who have demonstrated their English language proficiency by scoring above a 550 on the TOEFL or equivalent score on another test recognized by the University. These students are considered to have met the University’s English proficiency requirement; they are advised to take a full academic course load.
Students not meeting the above criteria will have an AZ hold applied to their record. These include:
- Students from Anglophone countries (India, Nigeria, Hong Kong, etc.) and
- Students who have not met minimum English language proficiency test score requirements. These students are required to demonstrate their English language proficiency before they are allowed to take a full academic load.
What happens if a student has not demonstrated his/her English language proficiency?
International students who have not met the University’s English proficiency requirement of 550 TOEFL (213 C-TOEFL or 80 MELAB) are generally required to take English as a second language course(s) in addition to their academic coursework their first semester.
Some students retest after they arrive on campus. The Minnesota English Center provides referrals for English proficiency test. There is a testing fee.
