Dear Students,

For students who have gained the right to start their departmental education after passing the mid-term English proficiency exam and wish to use this right, the recommendations of the departmental education committee are as follows:

• Since these students will start their undergraduate education in the spring semester, they will be considered irregular students and will therefore experience scheduling conflicts in their course programs and exam dates throughout their academic life.
• As they will not be able to take most of the must courses in their first semester and thus will not be able to significantly reduce their course load, they will most likely graduate in nine semesters.
• Being an irregular student and completing undergraduate education in nine semesters may have negative or undesirable effects on scholarship criteria, graduation ranking, and future academic life.

Students should consider these factors before making their decision.

If students choose to use this right:

1. They will not be able to take the must departmental courses offered in the spring semester (for BIOL: BIOL102 and BIOL116; for GENE: GENE104) in their first semester.
2. Students in this status can take ENG101, IS100, and career planning courses, as previously announced. Additionally, they may enroll in both technical and non-technical elective courses offered to first-year students. However, no elective courses are offered for the first-year students by our department. Moreover, the departmental education committee recommends that students should consider the fact that the number of elective courses available to first-year students from other departments is quite limited.

Biological Sciences Department and Departmental Education Committee