Admission to Closed Sections
Instructors may issue permission numbers to students to grant entry into closed course sections. Students must use the permission numbers to register themselves through the One Stop Student Services website, http://onestop.umn.edu/, or to register in person at the One Stop Student Services Center, 200 Fraser Hall, 130 West Bank Skyway or 130 Coffey Hall. Instructors sometimes wait to grant permission until the first class meeting when they are able to determine student demand. Some departmental policies centralize or limit this authority. Faculty and staff are encouraged to consult with departmental administrators to determine an appropriate approach for admitting students to closed sections. Instructors may check current registrations through "Class Lists" on the web at www.umreports.umn.edu. For more information about obtaining permission numbers or about registration procedures, contact the Office of the Registrar, 612-624-1111.
Class Overflow
Many unregistered students may attend the first day of class, usually because they hope to gain entry to a closed course. Enrollment may exceed classroom size if the course has not been controlled, the scheduled room was too small, or too many permission numbers were issued. Instructors may ask unregistered students to leave and/or admit some students with permission numbers.
Absence from First Day of Class
Some students who complete registration do not pay fees or attend classes; the only way of identifying these vacancies is through a head count on the first day. University policy states that students who miss the first day of class may forfeit their place unless the instructor is notified in advance; however, students should not be unduly penalized for late arrival. New students, especially, can be unfamiliar with the campus, parking arrangements, etc. Instructors are asked to wait a reasonable amount of time before taking attendance on the first day of class and before giving away the places of late-arriving registered students.
Failure to attend the first day, however, does not automatically cancel the student's registration, and the instructor cannot cancel the student's registration. Students excluded from a class must cancel their registration for the class themselves at the One Stop Student Services Center, 200 Fraser Hall, 130 West Bank Skyway or 130 Coffey Hall, or online using the One Stop Student Services website. Students who fail to cancel will be billed in full for the course and will receive a grade of F (or N if registered in the S-N grade base).
Checking Student Prerequisites
Because many students register without an adviser reviewing their registration, instructors should help students determine that they are appropriately enrolled in the class by reminding them of prerequisites. Students who lack essential prerequisites, who have already mastered the material, or who have completed previous work that makes the course unavailable for credit should be asked to cancel or audit the course. If review of a student's transcript is necessary to determine a student's appropriate registration, contact the student's adviser in his or her student community. (For a complete list of the CLA student communities and their contact information, see Chapter XI., CLA Student Communities.)
Unofficial "Visitors"
Student credit hours will be assigned to instructors and departments only for registered students. No student is entitled to remain in a class without officially registering, and instructors should not accept work from or submit grades for unregistered students. (For registered students whose names do not appear on the course list, see "Students With Names Not Appearing on Course List" in Chapter VIII, Grade Reporting and Records.) While occasional visiting may be permitted, instructors should insist that the habitual visitor enroll officially in order to collect student fees and to account accurately for instructional workload. This is particularly important in graduate level courses and seminars with low enrollments.
Late Registration
Students may add classes, swap classes, and change grading options through the end of the second week of classes during fall and spring semesters. (The old information, such as dropped classes, is deleted from the students' transcripts.) Students may do so in person at the One Stop Student Services Center, 200 Fraser Hall, 130 West Bank Skyway or 130 Coffey Hall or online using the One Stop Student Services website. The deadline is September 20 for fall semester and January 31 for spring semester. Summer deadlines are published in the summer session Class Schedule.
After the first week of the semester, a student may add classes only with permission from the instructor. After the end of the second week, permission is required from both the instructor and the CLA student community. Petitions to add a course after the second week are rarely approved. Students have a right to know whether there will be an opening in a class by the end of the second week of the semester. Instructors should not suggest that a student attend after the second week with hope for an opening.
Students who initially register on time but who do not attend class until after the first week may continue only with permission of the instructor. Students must process any registration changes at the One Stop Student Services Center, 200 Fraser Hall, 130 West Bank Skyway or 130 Coffey Hall, or online using the One Stop Student Services website.
Course Cancellation
Students may cancel courses freely through the end of the eighth week of classes (November 1 for fall semester, March 14 for spring semester--in person at the One Stop Student Services Center or online using the One Stop Student Services website). If the cancellation is made during the first two weeks of class, no record of the course(s) will appear on the student's transcript. A "W" (withdrawal) on the transcript will indicate any cancellation after the second week.
Note the difference between cancel and withdrawal: cancel = when no record of enrollment is evident on transcript; withdrawal = after cancel deadline and when a W will be recorded on transcript.
Though students are free to cancel courses through the end of the eighth week of classes, instructors should be aware that cancelling a class may have serious consequences for a student, including loss of full-time status, changes in scholarship/financial aid availability, or violation of visa rules. Students should be encouraged to talk with their college adviser before making any changes to their registration.
After the eighth week of classes and through the last day of instruction (before Study Day or finals, whichever comes first), the CLA student community may permit cancellations for the current semester only upon petition.
Undergraduate students are allowed one discretionary late course cancellation during their undergraduate career, after the end of the eighth week and before finals or Study Day provided that no final course grade has been assigned. Only one course may be canceled using this option. Sudents must remain registered for at least one credit in order for the procedure to qualify as a late cancellation and not a complete exit. This discretionary late cancellation may be used only once during a student's undergraduate enrollment; a W will appear on the transcript. Further selective cancellations will be approved by the CLA student community only for verified extenuating circumstances beyond the student's control that arise after the eighth week of classes. Any late cancellation must be petitioned in the student's student community. Students may completely exit all of their classes through the last day of classes before finals week but must be given approval in their student community.
Occasionally, students will petition their CLA student community for retroactive cancellation of a course. Before such petitions are acted upon, the course instructor must verify whether the student completed the course in question. No cancellations will be allowed for students who completed the course. The student must submit such a petition no later than one year after the last day of the semester in question. Selective retroactive cancellations are rarely approved. Students are held responsible for all courses not officially canceled at the One Stop Student Services Center, 200 Fraser Hall, 130 West Bank Skyway or 130 Coffey Hall, or through the One Stop Student Services website.
Tuition refunds are based on the date a student cancels, not on the last date of attendance.
