PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL New students, welcome to UT Arlington, continuing students, welcome back! Here are some important reminders for this semester. F-1 and J-1 Students: Immigration regulations require F-1 and J-1 students to be enrolled full time during Fall and Spring at UTA. Full time at UTA is 9 hours for Graduate Students and 12 hours for Undergraduate Students. The immigration regulations allow waivers of the full time enrollment requirement under certain limited circumstances. Such waivers may only be granted by the advisors in the Office of International Education before the end of the enrollment period (Census Day), or before the student drops a course. Census date for the Fall 2017 Semester is Monday, September 11. Waiver forms are available at the Office of International Education or online at the OIE website at: https://mavspace.uta.edu/departments/oie/web/iss/forms/lcfw.pdf. The form must be completed by your academic advisor and returned to the Office of International Education either before Census Day (September 11) or before you drop a course if the reason occurs after census date. You may not drop the course until the waiver is approved. Students who are below full-time hours because Fall 2017 is their final semester must file a full-time waiver. Students who are dissertation or thesis only must also file a full-time waiver. If you are a new F-1 student to UTA for the Fall 2017 semester, and you have a problem with getting your SSN or DL, please verify that your Physical Presence Address is correct on your My Mav record. If the address is missing, please add the address and then wait two complete business days before requesting the DL or SSN again. If you will be completing practical training in your field of study off campus in the Fall 2017 semester (paid or unpaid, required or elective), CPT authorization is REQUIRED prior to beginning your practical training. More information about applying for CPT is available here: http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=forms&form=cpt_forms Mandatory Insurance: The University of Texas Board Of Regents has passed Regents Rule 50402, requires all international students to have medical insurance compliant with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The UT Student Health Insurance Plan (UT SHIP) meets those requirements. Enrollment in UT SHIP is automatic each semester and the insurance premium is automatically charged to your tuition and fee account when you register for classes. Students who are new for Fall 2017 can sign up for UT SHIP during their orientation. For continuing students, no action is required to be enrolled in UT SHIP except to ensure that your contact email and mailing address are always current in MyMav. The UT System has established new criteria in which an international student can request a waiver to the student health insurance plan by providing proof of acceptable alternate health insurance coverage. In order to be approved for a waiver, your alternate health coverage must meet or exceed the requirements as set in the System regulation and be PPACA compliant. The insurance requirements, eligibility criteria, and the online waiver process facilitated by Academic Health Plans, has been posted to our website at: http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=forms&form=HealthInsuranceWaiver. The deadline for waiver submission is the Fall 2017 census date: September 11. No exceptions will be made. The deadline for waiver submission is the Fall 2017 census date: September 11. No exceptions will be made.