Policies & Procedures

Students pursuing a baccalaureate degree are expected to make satisfactory progress toward the attainment of that degree and are expected to enter a major and graduate after completion of a reasonable number of credits and quarters. The satisfactory progress policy looks at a student’s total credits, but when counting quarters, only regular academic-year quarters – autumn, winter, and spring – are considered. The courses and credits taken during summer quarters count towards degree requirements and are included in the credit total. Summer quarters are not included toward satisfactory progress quarter total and, thus, do not count against the number of quarters students may complete before the satisfactory progress credit limit is enforced.

NOTE: Individual departments may have additional satisfactory progress requirements. For Financial Aid satisfactory progress information review their Satisfactory Academic Progress webpage.

The 105-credit rule

Undergraduates must declare a major by the time they have completed five (5) academic-year quarters and earned 105 credits or a hold will be placed on their registration until they either declare a major or meet with an adviser and receive a pre-major extension. The hold is placed on the student record when five (5) or more academic-year quarters and 105 or more credits have been completed. Transfer students who are admitted to the University with 105 or more credits are expected to declare a major before their second quarter at the UW, or obtain an extension from an adviser.

Students will be granted a pre-major extension if their adviser decides the student is pursuing a reasonable goal, and has a good chance of gaining admission to their intended major.

If an adviser feels that a student’s choice of major is unrealistic, they will deny the request for an extension. The student will not be allowed to register for subsequent quarters until a reasonable degree plan is presented. The intent of the rule is not to drop a student from the University but to encourage them to meet with an adviser and plan for an attainable goal.

Students will receive a warning letter from the University as they approach five (5) academic-year quarters and 105 credits, without a declared a major. Students who complete five (5) academic-year quarters and 105 credits and are still a pre-major, will not be able to register for the next quarter. To avoid registration delays, the student should meet with the appropriate adviser at least one quarter before completing five (5) academic-year quarters and 105 credits.

The 210-credit rule

The University’s satisfactory progress policy requires students to complete their undergraduate degree programs within 30 credits beyond the minimum required for the degree. Because most degrees require 180 credits, students generally must complete their programs by the time they earn 210 credits. The timing for enforcement of this policy is as follows:

• Freshman: For a student who first matriculates at the University on a freshman application the satisfactory progress policy is enforced after a student has completed 12 academic-year quarters, not including summer quarters, at the University.
• Transfer: For a student who first matriculates at UW on a transfer application, the satisfactory progress policy is enforced after the student has completed
  • Twelve (12) quarters at the University if the student enters with less than one year of college work (less than 45 credits transferred from another institution).
  • Nine (9) quarters at the University if the student enters the University with more than one year of college work and less than two years (more than 44 and less than 90 credits transferred from another institution).
  • Six (6) quarters at the University if the student enters UWS with two or more years of college work (90 or more credits transferred from another institution).

Undergraduates who have completed over 210 credits will be notified by email the third week of the quarter that a block is being placed on their registration due to lack of satisfactory progress. Students ineligible to graduate will be permitted to register for succeeding quarters only if they receive approval from their department and college after filing a graduation plan.

Students receiving satisfactory progress registration blocks should immediately contact their departmental academic adviser to file a graduation application or to initiate a satisfactory progress appeal.

Postbaccalaureate Students

Postbaccalaureate students are expected to be either preparing for admission into a degree program, seeking an additional baccalaureate degree, or working toward a certificate. Students admitted as “postbaccalaureate undeclared” must declare a major by the time they have earned 30 credits beyond the last degree. Once a degree objective has been declared, students must make progress toward that degree as evidenced by courses satisfactorily completed. College advisers may grant extensions beyond the 30-credit limit.

Excessive Course Repeats and/or Drops

The Committee on Admissions and Academic Standards may terminate a student’s enrollment when having demonstrated lack of academic progress as evidenced by excessive course repeats, course drops, or University withdrawals and cancellations. A student may be reinstated with the approval of the college and the Committee. Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students may be reinstated in consultation with the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMAD).

Regularly admitted students may audit a course by completing the below process. The audit option can be changed after the registration period has begun through the last day to change to or from audit grade option, as indicated on the University’s Academic Calendar.

1. Students must first register for the course.
2. Complete the Registration Transaction Form [UoW 2127] (Section 2) to change the course to “Audit”.
3. Obtain approval from the instructor to audit the course and provide initials on the form indicating such.
4. Submit the completed form to the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) via email to regoff@uw.edu

Limitations

• Audit status cannot be changed via online tools such as MyPlan.
• Course prerequisites must be met.
• Permission to audit is ordinarily granted for lecture classes only.
• Attendance in courses as an auditor is based on the consent of the instructor and space availability.
• Auditors may not participate in class discussion or laboratory work and course registration may be canceled at the discretion of the instructor.
• Audit credits count in the calculation of fees and are included in the billing on a fee statement.
• Auditors, except ACCESS program students, pay standard tuition and fees.
• A $20 change of registration fee will be charged starting the second week of the quarter.
• Audited courses and credits for audited courses do not appear on a student’s permanent record/transcript.
• Audit courses may not be changed to credit registrations after the quarterly change deadline.
  

• Students who do not attend regularly scheduled class meetings during the first week of the quarter are subject to being dropped at the discretion of the teaching department to allow enrollment space for other students.
• Affected courses should be identified in the Time Schedule and/or posted in departmental offices.
• Students should not assume that departments will automatically drop them from the courses for lack of attendance.
• Students who are not attending class should drop the course through the registration system.
• Students who are registered for a course section but do not attend will be assigned a failing grade by the instructor.
• Students may not attend a University course in which they are not officially registered after the first two weeks of the quarter.
• An instructor may allow a student to attend their class only if the student’s name appears on the official class list from Office of the University Registrar.
• A faculty member may attend informally with the approval of the instructor.

With departmental approval, regularly admitted and currently enrolled students may “challenge a course” by special examination to gain credit without being enrolled in specific courses.

1. For independent study.
2. For work completed with private teachers.
3. For work completed in unaccredited institutions if a formal examination is deemed necessary by the chair of the concerned department(s). (In some cases, credit may be validated without an examination. Students who wish to validate credit should inquire at the Office of Admissions.)

Restrictions

• Credit examination cannot be granted for a course in which a student has been previously registered.
• All credits earned by examination are counted as extension credit and if earned at the UW, are included in the 90-extension-credit maximum that may be applied toward the baccalaureate degree. Transfer extension credit is limited to 45 quarter credits.
• Credit is not allowed by examination if the grade earned is less than 2.0. Grades earned are not included in the GPA.
• Credit by examination is not granted for a course for in which the student would not be eligible to receive credit if the course were taken in residence, e.g., SPAN 202 if credit already awarded for SPAN 203.
• No student is permitted to repeat any examination for credit.
• No student shall receive credit by examination for lower-division courses in the student’s native language.
  • Some language departments have more restrictive policies. Consult the individual language department for details.
• Credit by examination is not acceptable for application toward an advanced degree in the Graduate School.
• No student is permitted to take more than two examinations in 3-, 4-, or 5-credit courses, or more than three examinations in 1- or 2-credit courses in one day.

A student who wishes to qualify for credit by examination must apply to the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) for a certificate of eligibility no later than Friday of the second week of the quarter. The student presents the form to the instructor and chair and/or dean for signed approval. It is then returned to the OUR for processing. Signed forms and payment of $30 for each course to be challenged must be submitted by Friday of the second week of the quarter.

Examinations administered by the Office of Educational Assessment (OEA) are given during the fifth week of the quarter. Examinations administered by the department should be completed by the seventh week of the quarter. If the student plans to take more examinations in a given quarter than allowed, an additional day may be permitted and arrangements made with the OEA.

Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and post-baccalaureate students enrolled at one UW campus may register for courses at another UW campus beginning in Period 2 registration.

Eligibility

• Freshmen: Once admitted, freshmen must complete 25 credit hours on their home campus before registering in courses on other UW campuses. (UW Professional & Continuing Education courses are not considered home campus courses.)
• Sophomores, juniors, and seniors: All students with a class standing from sophomore to post-baccalaureate, must complete 15 credits on their home campus before cross-registering.
• Non-matriculated: students may not register cross-campus except for summer quarter. This includes non-matriculated students taking courses under the staff or Washington State Tuition Waiver. (More information below.)

A maximum of 15 credits per academic year (autumn quarter through summer quarter) may be taken on a campus other than the home campus.
A maximum of 45 credits taken through cross-campus registration may be counted toward the degree.

Prerequisites

All registration restrictions (e.g., class standing and entry codes) still apply. However, prerequisites taken at home campus may not be recognized by MyUW. In that case, contact the department offering the course.

Petitions

Individual petitions for waivers of the credit requirements may be considered by a student’s home campus registration team. However, the approval of such a waiver does not obligate the campus unit listing the desired course(s) to grant special consideration for course admission.

Summer Quarter

All students (including non-matriculating students) may cross-register during the summer quarter and they may register Period I. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and post-baccalaureates must complete the required number of home-campus credits first.

Graduate Students and Graduate Non-Matriculated Students (GNM)

There are no restrictions on graduate students registering in courses cross-campus.

Policy reference for information on this page may be found in the UW Policy Directory in the following sections: Student Governance and Policies

• Undergraduate or professional students registered for 12 or more credits are considered full-time students.
• Graduate students registered for 10 or more credits are considered full-time students.

It is important to note that differing criteria and standards for full-time enrollment exist for eligibility in certain programs. Consult the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) for its requirements on satisfactory student progress. The tuition schedule does not reflect full-time credit requirements for loan deferments, teaching assistantships or other programs.

Immunization Requirement

All first-time, matriculated students must provide proof of immunity to certain diseases. (Exception: Review the instructions below for students in certain Health Sciences programs.)

Husky Health Center administers the UW Immunization Requirement program. Visit the UW Immunization Requirement website for instructions on how to submit proof of immunization.

Health Sciences Immunization Program

Certain student groups entering a health sciences program at UW are required to submit documentation of a number of completed vaccinations at least two months before starting classes. Husky Health Center does not administer this vaccination program. Please check the Health Sciences Immunization Program (HSIP) for information on immunization requirements and documentation for health sciences academic programs.

Late Registration Fee

Any student who registers for a quarter for the first time once the Registration Period 3 begins will be charged a Late Registration Service Fee of $25 through the second week of the quarter and $75 beginning the third week of the quarter.

General Information for Students Requesting a Late Add

If it is after the last day where a student can add a course through registration on MyUW and it is determined that an additional course is needed, or a student must register for the quarter for the first time, the student will need to complete and submit a Late Add Petition to the Office of the University Registrar either in person, 2nd floor Schmitz Hall, or via email to regoff@uw.edu.

Students in fee-based degree programs administered by UW Continuum College (PCE), will need to submit the Late Add Petition to UWC² Registration Services at c2reg@uw.edu, via fax to 206-685-9359, or directly to the PCE Registration Office. Students in other fee-based degrees should consult their department

When a Late Add Petition form is returned to the Office of the University Registrar, a staff member will review the petition to make sure the student’s statement for requesting a late add has been included, along with all other necessary information required to add a course at this time, such as the course schedule line number (SLN), course name, number, section, and the number of credits to be added. An entry code is required for all late add requests (or faculty code for independent study courses). The Late Add Petition form also requires signatures from the course instructor and the department chair or designee, and will be denied without these signatures or attached approval via email from these individuals.

1. Please Note: For reasons of public safety and instructional quality, course registration is limited and cannot exceed 115% of the room capacity.
2. After the Late Add Petition has been processed, the student should log in and check MyUW to review their tuition balance.
3. The $20 Change of Registration fee is also assessed for students adding additional courses for the quarter and is only waived at the department’s request.
4. Students who have not yet registered for the quarter and are using the Late Add Petition to add courses, will be charged a late registration fee instead of the change fee plus all applicable tuition

Courses Dropped In Error

If a course is dropped in error, the student must contact the Office of the University Registrar within three (3) business days of making the error and request to have the course re-added. You will not be charged an additional Change of Registration Fee to re-add the course, but you will need to pay the fee charged for your initial drop.

Fees

Review Current Tuition and Fees for detailed tuition information.

• Students must pay the $20 Change of Registration fee and any additional tuition that may be due with the Student Fiscal Services Office, 129 Schmitz hall, no later than (7) seven calendar days after a course has been added. During the last week of the quarter, fees are due the next day.
• Do not wait for a bill! Students are urged to pay owed amounts as soon as possible. There are no refunds for courses dropped after the 30th calendar day of the quarter.

Mathematics

All incoming freshmen are required to take the Mathematics Placement Test if they plan to take any of the following math courses:

• MATH 111 Algebra with Applications
• MATH 120 Pre-calculus
• MATH 124 Calculus with Analytic Geometry
• MATH 144 Calculus for the Biological Sciences

Most students interested in science, engineering, business, and medicine take math their first quarter.

Placement Test Options

• Intermediate Mathematics Placement Test Students who intend to start college mathematics with MATH 120 Pre-calculus or MATH 111 Algebra with Applications. The Intermediate test provides the opportunity to place into MATH 098, 111, or 120.
• Advanced Mathematics Placement Test Students who intend to start college mathematics study with the first quarter of a calculus series. Also, students who earned A and B grades in a solid three- to four-year program of college-preparatory mathematics—including pre-calculus, math analysis, and/or calculus—you should take the Advanced test. The Advanced test provides the opportunity to place into MATH 089, 111, 120, 124, or 144.

The Department of Mathematics provides additional information on placement testing.

Foreign Language

Most students need to take one year or more of college foreign language to complete their degree. For instance, students graduating from the college of Arts and Sciences need to complete the third-quarter level of foreign language. Students in certain majors, such as international studies or French, need to complete more than a year. Students in Business Administration and Engineering, however do not have a foreign language requirement for graduation. Students uncertain whether or not to take a foreign language, or required to take one, should consult an adviser at during Advising and Registration session.

Undergraduate students are limited to 19 credits during Registration Periods I and II to allow all students a chance to develop a basic schedule. Additional credits may be added during Registration Period III and the Late Add Period. The limit is 30 credits per quarter.

A hold will stop students from registering, getting a copy of their transcript or diploma, or both. A hold, which can prevent registration and/or the release of a transcript or diploma, may be placed on a student record.

Students may have a registration hold placed on their records by Student Fiscal Services, Housing and Food Services, and/or the Office of Student Financial Aid due to an outstanding financial obligation.

Students may have holds placed preventing them from registering and/or to receive a transcript or diploma for non-financial reasons by academic and support services’ units and the Office of the University Registrar. Some examples of these holds might be for reasons related to academic standing processes, related to Student Code of Conduct investigations, or due to fraudulent records being provided by students to institutions and employers.

Students should receive written notification from the department placing the hold on the student record. This hold will appear on MyUW, as well. Students are responsible for keeping their mailing address current.

The Washington State Legislature passed HB 2513/SB 6140 prohibiting the use of withholding transcripts and registration as a means to collect funds owed to the UW except for debt related to unpaid tuition fees, room and board fees, or financial aid funds owed. Starting June 11, 2020, all registration and/or transcript/diploma holds related to funds owed, beyond those purposes previously noted, were removed from student records. For example, registration and transcript holds for lab, technology, athletic, or recreational equipment; parking or transportation fines; library fines; or health services fines are no longer allowed to be used to collect funds from students.

Removing a Hold

A hold is not removed until the student resolves the problem which caused the issuing department to place the hold on their record. A department may place a financial hold if a student owes money and has not paid. For instance, students owing tuition and fees, funds to Housing and Food Services, or as a result of receiving financial aid. The hold will remain on the record until the student pays for the debt that is owed. A department may also place an academic hold on a student record. For instance, once a student has completed 105 credits at the University, the Office of the University Registrar will place a Registration hold until the student has either declared a major area of study or has requested a pre-major extension.

Students should log in and check MyUW to verify what unit has placed the hold and use the contact information to reach out to that unit with questions. Students will typically be presented with a phone number and/or an email address to contact.

Students are limited by number of course SLNs that can be added, dropped and changed via registration during each quarter. If during the registration process, the “Registration Capacity Reached” message is received by a student, this indicates the database record of quarterly registration activity has reached its capacity. In order for a student to be able to add more courses to their schedule, they must contact the Registrar Student Services team at regoff@uw.edu to request removal of the inactive entries.

If a student receives the same message again in the same quarter after the Registrar Student Services team has given them back additional registration transactions, they will need to see an academic adviser and have that adviser email regoff@uw.edu to have any more transactions approved.

Online registration can be accessed via MyUW. All students at the University of Washington who remain in good standing and comply with other rules and regulations, with no outstanding financial obligations, are guaranteed the opportunity to register each quarter as long as they maintain continuous enrollment – not including Summer quarter. Continuation must be in the same classification (e.g., undergraduate, post-baccalaureate (fifth-year), graduate, etc.). Once a student earns a baccalaureate degree, they must apply for admission as a post baccalaureate (fifth-year), non-matriculated or graduate student.

Registration Eligibility Exceptions

• students under disciplinary action
• students with a registration hold
• students not meeting their departmental continuation policies
• students not meeting the university’s academic satisfactory progress policy
• students with an outstanding debit on the tuition and fee account. Students must resolve any unpaid fees in order to register.

Online Registration Limitations
Online registration accessed via MyUW is not available:

• for registration in fee-based courses offered through UW Professional and Continuing Education (PCE)
• to students in non-matriculated and certificate programs administered by UW Professional and Continuing Education

Students looking to enroll in these courses and programs should contact PCE registration: 206.543.2310 / c2reg@uw.edu 

Undergraduate students may repeat a course once with the approval of the academic department offering the course. Courses considered to have been taken once include any with a numerical grade or those with grades of I, CR/NC, or S/NS. Withdrawn or dropped courses and courses with X or no grade reported will not count as the first taking of a course.

• Grade & Credit: Both the original grade and the second grade are computed in the GPA but credit is counted only once.
• Veterans receiving benefits must receive approval from the Office of Special Services before a course is repeated.
• Registration: Students currently enrolled in a course and who register for the same course in the following quarter will have it counted as a repeated course.
• Second Repeat: Taking a class for a third —or greater— time cannot be done via online registration. A second repeat requires the department to register the student for the course. Grades in the third or subsequent takings will not be included in the grade-point average (GPA).

Departmental Restrictions

Effective winter quarter 2005, departments may restrict undergraduates from repeat registration into courses and may include:

• allow registration only after Period I
• allow registration only after the quarter has begun, or
• requiring an Entry Code for a repeat registration

A student who tampers or attempts to tamper with the registration records of another student, including but not limited to dropping courses and adding courses, may be subject to disciplinary sanctions as defined in the Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121).

Registration Abuse

The registration system is provided for the sole express purpose for students to register themselves into sections. Any use of the registration system other than for this purpose is considered abuse of the system. Such abuse includes, but is not limited to, buying or selling one’s seat in a class, holding seats for another student, or otherwise registering for a section that one has no intention of taking.

To help conserve University resources and ensure the registration system is available to all, students are locked out of Web Registration after a specific number of excessive submission attempts and/or transactions are made per day. This threshold is sufficient for students’ regular use and should not interfere with typical use. The use of robots and other automated tools to submit registration requests is expressly forbidden.

A student whose account is locked out for excessive use must wait until the registration system removes the lockout – within 24 hours. The Office of the University Registrar is unable to override a locked account.

System Abuse

Because use of scripts, robots, or other automated queries can adversely impact University network and computing resources and interferes with equal access to registration, such automated querying of registration-related resources is expressly forbidden. Violators may have their access to University network and computing resources terminated and may be subject to action by the University under applicable law, regulation, or policy, including but not limited to, discipline under any applicable University conduct code.

Students may not register online for two courses that meet at the same time or for courses with overlapping meeting times. Students who would like to replace a course already on their schedule must use the Registration option under the Personal Services section of MyUW and submit both the drop and add in a single transaction.

Conflicting Course Registration

The student must register for at least one of the courses with the time conflict first. To have the second, conflicting course added to their schedule, students must complete the Time Conflict section of the Registration Transaction Form and email the completed form to the Office of the University Registrar at regoff@uw.edu

• Conflicts Less than an Hour/Week: Students must obtain verbal approval from both instructors to add a course that conflicts one hour a week or less.
• Conflicts More than an Hour/Week: Students must obtain both instructor signatures on a Registration Transactions form, or provide emails from the instructors approving the conflict, for courses that conflict more than one hour a week.