Readmission
Former App State students who have a stop-out (time away from the University) who want to return to complete a degree or start a second degree must apply for readmission. There are many details about returning to the College of Arts and Sciences that you need to understand, especially if you have been away from the University for a long period of time. Please review this information and then contact the CASSH office for more assistance.
Please note: If you are a returning graduate student, please visit the Graduate School readmission page for more information.
If you intend to earn a second undergraduate degree but you have never been a student at App State, you should apply as a transfer student.
Who must apply for readmission?
Any student who has had a break in enrollment in a fall or spring semester must apply for readmission. Students who attend spring semester but do not attend a summer term do not have to apply for readmission for the fall semester. Readmission is required for students who:
withdraw from a fall or spring term
do not attend a fall or spring term
Information about applying for readmission can be found on the Registrar's Office website. There are deadlines for completing the readmission process for each term. You must meet these deadlines to attend in a given term.
How do I complete readmission advising?
As part of the readmission process, you must complete advising. If you are in good academic standing (GPA above 2.0), you may talk to your assigned departmental advisor to complete the advising requirement. Please ask your advisor to leave a note in DegreeWorks verifying that you have been advised, or ask them to email casadvising@appstate.edu to confirm advising. If you are in good academic standing and you want to change to a major in another college, please contact that college to find out what their procedures are for readmission advising.
Some CAS readmission students may choose to or be required to meet with an advisor in the CASSH office. You should meet with a CASSH advisor if
it has been more than ten years since you were last at ASU or if your catalog has expired
your GPA is below 2.0
you want to change to a CAS major that is in a different department from your current major
you are in good academic standing and want to change to a CAS major from another college
you cannot get in touch with your assigned CAS faculty advisor
Please note that you must be in good academic standing to officially change your major.
What if I am returning to complete a second degree?
Second degree seeking students will need to be advised in the CASSH office. Second degree students who earned their first degrees at App State will only need to complete major requirements to earn the second degree (General Education, free electives, and any required minors will be considered complete).
Students whose first degree is from another school will need to complete any required minors at App State in addition to major requirements but will not have to complete General Education or free electives. Second degree seekers who have never been enrolled at App State should apply as transfer students.
Second degree students with expired coursework (courses that are over ten years old) should apply for admission/readmission as early as possible because the review of old coursework may take some time. Please see the sections on catalog and course expiration below.
Degree Completion
Can I take courses at another institution to complete my degree?
Students may sometimes take courses at other institutions to meet degree requirements; however, all residency requirements must be met (see below). Students should fill out the Visiting Coursework Request in their Appalnet accounts to request permission to take the courses elsewhere to confirm that the courses will transfer back to App State. We also recommend that you discuss taking courses at another school with your advisor or a CASSH advisor as well.
Some departments require that certain courses be taken at Appalachian State and not as transfer courses. If you wish to take courses at the 3000 level or above at another school, you must get the approval of the course department before you fill out the Visiting Coursework Request. You can read full instructions for filling out the Visiting Coursework Request on the Transfer Admissions and Engagement website.
What are the residency requirements for graduation?
Students must meet several residency requirements to earn a degree from Appalachian State. These include:
25% of the degree must be met through courses taken through Appalachian (a total of 30-32 hours, depending on the size of the program)
50 credit hours must be courses taken at a senior institution (a four-year institution)
18 hours in the major must be courses taken through Appalachian
9 hours in the minor must be courses taken through Appalachian
If you have already transferred in 70 or more hours from a community college, taking additional transfer courses from a community college is not recommended since you may have to take more classes at App State to ensure that you have 50 hours from a senior institution. If you have a lot of community college transfer hours, you may want to check with the CASSH office to determine whether taking additional transfer courses is in your best interests.
What if I've been away for a long time?
Students may return after an absence to complete a degree or earn a second degree. However, coursework and catalogs expire after 10 years, and academic departments change their curricula in order to stay up to date with developments in their fields. This means you may have more coursework to take than you remember. Review the policies regarding catalog and course expiration below and contact the CASSH office if you have questions about completing a degree from the College of Arts and Sciences.
Catalog Year Expiration
When does my catalog expire?
Your catalog year contains the set of requirements you must meet to earn your degree. Your assigned catalog year is usually the term you first started at App State. Each catalog expires after ten years. If your catalog is ten or more years old, you must move to a catalog that has not expired and that corresponds to a term in which you were enrolled in classes at App State. If you have not been a student in the last ten years, you will have to move to the catalog that is in effect during your first term back. This may drastically affect the requirements you must meet to graduate (see Coursework Expiration below).
If you are a native second degree seeking student, you may choose to follow the catalog year from your first degree (if it has not expired) or you may move to the catalog in effect during your first term back. If you stick with your old catalog year, make sure you have enough time to complete your second degree before the catalog expires.
Coursework Expiration
What happens if some or all of my coursework is expired?
Just as your catalog can expire, your coursework also expires after ten years. Expired coursework must be reviewed and approved by your major department and the General Education program before it can be used to meet degree requirements. Old coursework that is not approved can still be used as free electives to help you earn the total number of hours you need to graduate.
This policy applies to new App State students who have transfer work that is older than 10 years and to native App State students who have had a break in enrollment and whose coursework has expired while they were away.
How is expired coursework reviewed?
All expired coursework is reviewed upon entry or re-entry to the University. For courses in your major, minor, or certificate, the department that houses the program will review your coursework to determine its eligibility towards your degree.
Academic departments vary in the way they review old coursework and in the criteria they use. The CASSH office will communicate with academic departments to document any expired courses that are approved to meet degree requirements.
The Office of General Education will review your general education coursework to determine if it can be used to meet current graduation requirements. In some cases, students may need to take additional General Education courses to graduate since course descriptions and the Gen Ed curriculum have changed over the years.
How can I avoid having additional coursework expire?
Any expired coursework that is approved for use in the degree will be considered current if you stay continuously enrolled in fall/spring semesters until you complete your degree. Furthermore, if you stay continuously enrolled in fall/spring semesters, any other old coursework you may have will not be considered expired as it reaches the ten-year mark. However, if you withdraw from or skip a fall or spring semester and have to apply for readmission, any coursework older than ten years is considered expired and must be evaluated or reevaluated and approved before it can count in your major. If you have old coursework, it’s best if you can stay enrolled until your degree is completed since even coursework that has previously been approved may not be approved at a later time if you have another stop-out.