B. Registration

Students must enroll during their term of admission. If enrollment in that term is not possible, students should contact their graduate program to request their admission term be changed. Students are expected to be enrolled for spring and fall semesters throughout their graduate program, and students must be admitted to the degree program and enrolled in the program for at least one term after admission, which could be spring, summer or fall in order to graduate from the program (see chapter IV.A.2 for more information). Fellowship recipients must be enrolled during the terms of their appointments (see chapter VIII.B.1 for details). Students with assistantships for spring or fall must be enrolled during the term in which they are appointed. See chapter VIII.A for information about summer appointments and assistantship policies.

International students cannot drop below full-time unless they have prior approval from International Student and Scholar Services, and they should see the explanation of full-time status in this handbook (see chapter II.C.3) and the policy on a Full-Time Course of Study for Graduate Students for more information.

Students can register online using the UI-Integrate Self-Service registration system until the tenth day of instruction. All students are strongly encouraged to register by the tenth day for many reasons including implications for financial aid and insurance coverage.

International students must register by the tenth day of instruction to comply with SEVIS requirements.

Students are responsible for their own registration and for ensuring the accuracy of their schedules. Students can check their registration online and print their schedules as needed. Students who find errors in their schedules should immediately correct these errors. Corrections must be completed before the deadline for adding or dropping a course.

Complete registration information including a link to online registration, a registration checklist, and registration help can be found at the Office of the Registrar. In particular, the section on registration procedures includes information on time tickets (the earliest date and time a student can enroll for a future semester), eligibility to register, holds (II.B.3), enrollment requirements and prerequisites, “authorization only” courses, credit-no credit (II.B.8), canceling registration (VII.C), and withdrawal (VII.C) (including refund deadlines).

1. Deadlines:
   The deadlines for students to add and drop classes vary depending on the length of the class (e.g. full semester or part of term) and the term. See the Graduate College Academic Calendar for exact dates.

   Add Deadlines

   After the tenth day of instruction in the fall and spring semesters and until the end of the sixth week of instruction, students wishing to add full semester classes may do so at the Graduate College through the Graduate Student Academic Services (GSAS) unit. The forms needed vary depending on registration status and the date the change is requested.

   Students registering for their first class after the tenth day must complete a Late Registration form.

   Students adding a course after the tenth day must complete a Late Course Change form to add any full semester courses. If a class carries departmental restrictions, departmental approval must be indicated on the Late Course Change form.

   After the sixth week of instruction, Late Course Change forms will be required to add any full semester classes, and Late Registration forms will be required to register. These forms must be stamped by the enrolling department(s) to indicate approval to add courses. Forms must be submitted to GSAS for completion of the request.

   After 5:00 p.m. on Reading Day, students must use a Graduate Student Petition to add a class for that semester.

   Drop Deadlines
   
   In the fall and spring semesters, students can use UI-Integrate Self-Service to drop full semester classes until the end of the eighth week of instruction. After the eighth week and until the end of the twelfth week of instruction, students wishing to drop full semester classes may do so through GSAS, without receiving a grade of W. After the twelfth week, students wishing to drop a class will need to complete the Late Course Change form with academic departmental approval, and will receive a grade of W for the class. After 5:00 p.m. on Reading Day, students must use a Graduate Student Petition to request to drop a class for that semester.

    

2. Leaves from Graduate Programs:
   Many graduate programs have policies governing leaves. A student who has a need to interrupt his or her graduate program should make arrangements with the department and adviser prior to departure. Because of SEVIS regulations, policies concerning leaves for international students are different from policies for domestic students.

   A domestic student who has not registered for any three consecutive terms (including summer) must submit a Graduate Student Petition requesting re-entry. A student holding educational loans should consult the lender before choosing not to enroll for a fall or spring semester.

   International students who plan not to enroll for a spring or fall semester or plan to leave campus are required to meet with staff from International Student and Scholar Services. International students must petition for re-entry after one missed semester (not including summer), and will need to work with the staff from International Student and Scholar Services as well as with their department.

    

3. Holds:
   Holds can be placed on a student’s record for several reasons. Most commonly these, include departmental deficiencies, immunization requirements, disciplinary reasons, financial encumbrance to the University, lack of academic progress, failure to submit transcripts, or low GPA. Holds may prohibit the student from making changes to their registration, from receiving a transcript, or from graduating. Holds will appear in the Registration section of a student’s UI-Integrate profile.

    

4. In Absentia Registration:
   In absentia registration is designed for students who wish or need to remain registered, but plan to be studying or doing research for at least one semester at least 50 miles away from campus. There is no decrease in tuition rates when a student is registered in absentia, and tuition assessment will be based on the student’s college and curriculum of enrollment, their residency status, and the number of hours for which the student is registered.

   In absentia registration, however, recognizes that such students do not access the full range of campus services and resources while away. Therefore students registered in absentia are only assessed the general fee. Payment of the general fee provides students with access to their university e-mail and access to library services. Because students are not assessed other fees they are not eligible for services associated with those fees.  For example, if students registered in absentia wish to have health insurance they must make alternative arrangements. For a list of what services each fee includes and for the cost of each fee, refer to the Office of the Registrar.

   A student must submit a petition to GSAS to request in absentia registration. An approved petition allows a student to register in absentia, but the student must complete the registration using the UI-Integrate system. Students may register in absentia for any number of credit hours.

    

5. Zero Registration:
   Graduate students who have completed all degree requirements except the thesis or dissertation may consider registering for zero hours of research credit, regardless of whether or not the student has a tuition and fee waiver. It is important for such students to consider the implications of not being a full-time student (see chapter II.C.3 for more information).

    

6. Graduate College (GC) 498:
   GC 498 is a registration option for students studying at another domestic institution. Students must contact the unit through which they are studying for registration procedures. Units then forward the registration request to the Graduate College for approval and processing. See the Course Catalog for more information.

    

7. Graduate College (GC) 499
   Registration in GC 499 is to be used when studying abroad. Students must contact the unit through which they are studying for registration procedures. The unit will then forward the registration request to the Graduate College for approval and processing. See the Course Catalog for more information.

    

8. Graduate College (GC) 599 (PDF):
   GC 599 is a registration option for advanced doctoral students who do not have tuition waivers but must maintain full-time enrollment to defer student loans. To be eligible to register for GC 599, a student must:
   • have a guaranteed student loan that would require immediate repayment if the student were not registered for the minimum credit required by the lender to defer the loan,
   • have passed the preliminary examination prior to the term in which he or she wishes to register for GC 599,
   • have completed all Graduate College and departmental requirements for the degree except for completing the dissertation, defending, and depositing,
   • not have any financial assistance that would cover tuition and fees, and
   • complete and submit the appropriate form to the Graduate College.

   Students who are required to complete a mandatory internship as part of their degree requirements may also register for GC 599 provided they comply with the all but the third bullet point listed above.

   Students enrolled in GC 599 for zero credit are assessed Range IV tuition plus the General fee. Payment of the general fee provides students with access to their university e-mail and access to library services. Because students are not assessed other fees they are not eligible for services associated with those fees.  For example, if students registered in GC 599 wish to have health insurance they must make alternative arrangements. For a list of what services each fee includes and for the cost of each fee, refer to the Office of the Registrar.

    

9. Audit:
   An auditor is only a listener in the classes attended; he or she is not a participant in any part of the exercises. Auditors are not permitted in studio, laboratory, or activity courses. An audited course will appear on the student’s transcript with a grade of AU. Audited hours do not count toward assessed hours.  An audited course does not count toward the registration requirement for fellows. A course, once audited, may not be repeated for graduate credit.

   Students wishing to audit a class must make the request using an Auditor’s Permit. The student should take the Auditor’s Permit form to the first class meeting and ask the instructor to sign, indicating approval. The form should then be submitted to the Graduate College for approval. Approval from both the instructor and the Graduate College is required. Students who are registered for less than 12 hours, not including the audited course, who do not have a tuition waiver will be charged a $15 audit fee. An audited course does not count toward the registration requirement for fellows.

    

10. Credit-No Credit:
    Credit-no credit is a permanent notation on the academic record that may be requested by a student with the adviser’s approval. Grades for study abroad and transfer credit are also designated on the transcript as credit-no credit.

    Students on limited status admission or probation are not allowed to register for credit-no credit course work until the limited status or probation has been removed. Students are advised to check the Class Schedule to be sure that the course desired is not limited to letter grading only, which means the course cannot be taken for credit-no-credit.

    In any one semester, a student may take no more than 4 semester hours on a credit-no credit basis. Over the entire degree program, a student must earn at least 2 hours of graded (A-D) course work for each hour of credit-no credit course work.

    The form to request credit-no credit notation must be completed and submitted to GSAS before the deadline published in the Graduate College Academic Calendar. After the request is approved and processed, the letter grade reported by the instructor will change to the credit-no-credit notation as follows. A grade of C- or better will be converted to CR (credit), and a letter grade of D+ or lower or a grade of ABS will be converted to NC (no credit).

    A student may amend a credit-no credit request and return to a regular grade mode by filing a second credit-no-credit form and submitting it by the published deadline as indicated in the Graduate College Academic Calendar. Additional information about credit-no credit can be found in the Student Code.

     

11. Off-campus and Online Courses:
    Graduate courses are offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at various sites throughout the state as well as through online and guided individual study instructional delivery methods. For degree-seeking candidates, credit earned in off-campus and online courses is counted toward an advanced degree and counted as credit earned in residence (see chapter IV.A.4) in the same way as credit earned in on-campus courses. Non-degree seeking students should refer to chapter III.C for information about transfer of credit. Information about these courses is available from the Division of Academic Outreach in the Office of Continuing Education. Courses taken as a CIC Traveling Scholar are not considered off-campus. CIC Traveling Scholars should see chapters on transfer of credit (III.C) and residence credit (IV.A.4).

     

12. Enrollment Verification:
    Students often need to verify that they are enrolled. The University of Illinois has authorized the National Student Clearinghouse to provide enrollment verification information online.