Policies and Procedures for Enrollment Capacity

Policy and Procedures for Establishing or Changing the Enrollment Cap of an Undergraduate Major

Based on its land-grant traditions of service and access, according to its mission statement Auburn University will provide students broad access to the institution’s educational resources. Therefore, as a basic principle, students should be allowed access to the majors of their choice. However, significant constraints in educational resources, as well as particular competencies students need beyond university minimums, may necessitate the establishment of enrollment restrictions for specific majors. 

Major enrollment restrictions may take one of two forms – additional admission standards or enrollment caps. Additional admission standards address the minimum competencies a student must possess to be successful in the major. Enrollment caps address the maximum number of qualified students a program can accommodate without endangering the quality of instruction offered. Setting an enrollment cap differs from establishing additional admission standards in that admission standards focus on required qualifications for entry whereas enrollment caps focus on filling a limited number of seats from among all students qualified for the program.

All proposals for establishing, changing, or discontinuing a major enrollment restriction must be initiated in the unit responsible for the major, reviewed and approved by the college in which the major resides, and forwarded to the Office of the Provost for consideration by the Enrollment Restriction Oversight Committee. The Committee is comprised of the Provost or designee (Chair), Senior VP for Student Affairs or designee, Vice President of Enrollment Management or designee, Chair of the University Senate, Chair of Academic Standards, and Representative from the SGA. The Committee will review proposals to assure that they satisfy the criteria of this policy and will send its recommendations to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will make the final approval decision. Approved restrictions shall be published in the Bulletin. 

All proposals for major enrollment restrictions must have adequate academic justification.  Procedures for submission of proposals can be found on the Office of the Provost website.