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While you can't be held back a year in college, a proposed change to how the UA ranks undergraduates could force students to retain their current grade level if they don't take enough classes each semester.

Under a proposal that will be discussed during a University of Arizona Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, the minimum number of units required to be called a sophomore, junior or senior would be bumped up, forcing students to take at least five classes a semester, or 15 credits, to move up to the next designation.

Currently, students need to take only four classes per semester, or 12 units, to move up in class standing.

If the plan is approved, students who have taken the minimum number of units throughout their college careers could find themselves being labeled second-year freshmen or even fourth-year juniors beginning next summer.

And while the change is largely technical, it could affect students' ability to get the classes they need, as seniority determines which students register first.

Another potential effect of the proposal: Students who haven't picked a major before their junior year wouldn't be allowed to sign up for classes without first selecting a degree program.

The proposed policy aims to encourage students to take enough classes to graduate in four years while also standardizing what determines sophomore, junior and senior class standing, said Bill Conway, an associate professor of math and chairman of the group recommending the change.

As it stands now, individual colleges on campus have various credit requirements that determine class standing, which can confuse students who switch colleges when they change majors, Conway said.

The proposal would require students, regardless of major or college, to have taken 10 classes, or 30 units, as the minimum to be a sophomore; 20 classes, or 60 units, to be a junior; and 30 classes, or 90 units, to be a senior.

The change isn't designed to be punitive, but it does put some pressure on students who may not want to be known as fourth-year juniors, said Wanda Howell, a distinguished professor and the faculty's chief representative to administrators.

"This encourages and motivates students to try to manage well their college program," she said. "It is to their advantage to not have to keep enrolling semester after semester."

While the change tweaks traditional ideas of seniority on campus, it doesn't affect the definition of a full-time student.

Students are considered full time if they take at least four classes a semester, which often is a requirement to receive financial aid in the form of grants and scholarships.

Also, the proposal wouldn't change the maximum number of classes students can take per semester.

Besides encouraging students to graduate in four years, the proposal also may help them do better academically, Conway said.

While it may seem counterintuitive, research conducted by UA academic officials found that students who took an extra class did better as a whole than those who took just the minimum.

"I think that could be motivational for some students," Howell said.

The policy also would seek to reduce the number of juniors and seniors who haven't decided on a major.

The UA has more than 3,000 undergraduates who haven't picked a major, which the university calls "undeclared."

Of those students, roughly 10 percent are considered juniors or seniors, Sylvia Mioduski, director of the University College's exploratory program, wrote in an e-mail.

The policy wouldn't allow undeclared students to register for classes or obtain junior status until they had selected a major.

"This is the same as the current policy — the only difference is the number of units," Mioduski wrote in the e-mail.

Additionally, transfer students who enter the UA as juniors would have only one semester to pick a major before having their registration blocked.

Freshman Clarissa Estrada, who is taking four classes during her first semester on campus, said she thinks the change is a good one, though it has potential consequences.

"It would push a lot more students to take more courses," she said. "But it could be more than they can handle."