Certification of Enrollment Status

Certification of Enrollment Status policy

For purposes of certification to government or private agencies, the Office of the Registrar determines enrollment status as full-time or part-time according to institutional policies, which may differ from full-time or part-time requirements imposed by individual schools or programs. Certification of official enrollment for loan deferment, medical and auto insurance forms, and credit card applications can be obtained by going to the Office of the Registrar’s verifications webpage.

Veterans Certification: Student Veterans who are eligible for Federal and State Educational Benefits should apply for certification of enrollment at University Veteran Services. Students receiving veterans’ benefits are required to promptly report any credit change or withdrawal from school to University Veteran Services.

See Enrollment Requirements

Canceling Enrollment

Canceling Enrollment policy

Before the first day of classes (Canceling Enrollment)

If students do not wish to attend a semester and drop all courses before the first day of classes, they officially cancel their enrollment, owe no tuition or fees for that term, and have no semester entry on their transcript. In this case, it is not necessary for the student to submit a withdrawal request through MyUW.

On or after the first day of classes (Withdrawing)

On or after the first day of class, students who no longer wish to remain enrolled need to submit an electronic withdrawal request via MyUW Student Center. More information about canceling enrollment or withdrawal requests can be found on the Registrar’s website.

See Withdrawal

Authorization for Courses

Authorization for Courses policy

Enrollment authorization may be required for certain courses and/or situations, such as:

  • auditing courses
  • permission to take a course when a student does not meet course controls or prerequisites, or
  • permission to enroll in a closed course

Once authorized by the program offering the course, students then may enroll in the course.

See Add/DropAuditing CoursesCredit ChangesPass/Fail

Auditing Courses

Auditing Courses

A student auditing a course is expected to attend classes on a regular basis as an observer. Audits are not free; a course taken for audit costs the same as a course taken for credit. If students are not paying full-time fees, they will be assessed per-credit fees for an audit course. Auditors do not take examinations or submit class work. Auditors will receive a final grade of either S (Satisfactory) or NR (No Report). Audit courses do not satisfy any credit, coursework, or degree requirements, nor do they count in fulfilling minimum or maximum credits required in each term. Students holding assistantships and fellowships should be particularly aware of the enrollment requirement for their appointment, as audit requests will be denied if auditing the course would drop them below the required number of graded credits.  If students audit a course and do not attend or drop it, they will receive a grade of NR (No Report). Dissertators are not allowed to audit.  Dissertators who wish to audit a course will be removed from dissertator fee status and assessed regular graduate student fees and also will need to enroll in the appropriate number of graded credits (see enrollment requirements). Students who have research assistantship, fellowship or traineeship appointments are required to be enrolled full-time; audited courses do not count toward full-time enrollment.

Instructors may limit the number of auditors in a course and may restrict participation of auditors in courses inappropriate for that function. For example, courses that by their nature require participation (seminars, research, laboratory, performance, or language courses) are typically considered inappropriate for auditing.  Additionally, independent study courses are not appropriate for auditing.

To audit a course, a student must first obtain the consent of the instructor. The student must follow the procedures established in the program offering the course. Graduate School Dean’s approval is required for all course changes, including audit; see the Course Changes section of this document for instructions. The Dean’s signature will be fulfilled once submitted to the Graduate School. The deadline to request/cancel permission to audit is the drop deadline, which is the end of the 9th week of class during the fall and spring semester. Requests for late audits will not be considered. Specific deadline dates, including those for summer sessions, are posted prior to each semester by the Office of the Registrar.

The enrollment system counts all credits in determining maximum credit loads. A Credit Overload Request from is required if a student’s total credit load exceeds the maximum limit per term.

See Authorization for CoursesCourse ChangesCredit ChangesDean’s ApprovalDissertator StatusEnrollment RequirementsOverloadsRefunds

Attendance

Attendance

Students should not attend classes without being enrolled. Faculty and instructors may require enrolled students to attend scheduled meetings of a class and/or to participate in other course-related activities, including online learning. Students are responsible for materials presented in such meetings or activities. Because courses are designed and conducted in diverse ways, faculty and instructors should inform students in writing at the beginning of each course if there are specific expectations for attendance/participation, including whether any component of the grade is based on such attendance/participation.

See Religious and Election Day Observances Policy and Guidelines in the Academic Calendar for more information.

Applying to Add/Change Program, Plan, Certificate or Named Option

Applying to Add/Change Program, Plan, or Named Option

Currently enrolled graduate students who want to apply to add, change, or discontinue a program of study, or add a certificate, do so through the Graduate Student Portal (in the MyGradPortal in MyUW).  An admissions application and fee are not required.

Students must check with the intended program concerning admission requirements (for example, letters of recommendation or statement of purpose) and eligibility. Upon receipt of a recommendation from the program, the Graduate School will notify the student of the decision. Questions regarding the status of an application are best directed to the program.

If dissertators want to add a program, typically a master’s program or a certificate program, they cannot concurrently hold dissertator fee status while pursuing the graduate degree or certificate. Dissertators who add a program or a certificate program will be removed from dissertator status and must enroll and pay fees as a regular graduate student.

International students who add/change a program or a certificate program should contact International Student Services to discuss the possible effects this change of program could have on immigration status.

Steps to Add/Change Program, Plan, or Named Option

Access MyUW and the Graduate Student Portal:

  1. Go to my.wisc.edu.
  2. Enter your NetID login information.
  3. Click on the tile “Graduate Student Portal”. If you do not see the tile, you can search for it in the top search bar and add it to your page.

Initiating a request:

  1. Once in your Portal page, select the tile on the home page titled “Add/Change Programs.”
  2. In the “Enrolled Programs” section, you will have options to add a Graduate/Professional certificate, doctoral minor (PhD students only), or major. You also have the option to discontinue a program in which you are already enrolled.
  3. Choose an action button, which will display an associated window and show fields appropriate for the type of request.
  4. Fill out the fields and click the “send” button to complete the initial request.

The request will show up as “In Review” in the Requests section on the Add/Change Programs page. Your Graduate Program Coordinator will follow up once your request is decided. More detailed instructions on this process, including example screenshots, can be found in the Add/Change/Discontinue Program Training.

See Change of Degree Level (Plan)Change of Degree Named OptionDissertator StatusNamed OptionPrograms (or ‘Majors’)

Add/Drop

Add drop information

It is a student’s responsibility to be aware of the add/drop deadlines each term. Consult the Office of the Registrar’s website for essential enrollment information and important deadlines. Courses may be added, dropped, or swapped through MyUW Student Center before and during the first two weeks of a semester (or the first week in the general 8-week summer session).

If a student drops a course, swaps out of a course, decreases credits in a variable credit course (via the “edit” function), or withdraws from the university, tuition and fee refunds are dispensed following a strict refund schedule. Modular courses and summer session courses have a shorter refund period.

International students are not allowed to drop below full-time enrollment unless they have first received authorization from International Student Services (ISS). This will ensure that they remain in compliance with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) visa regulations. International students holding graduate assistantships, fellowships, and traineeships must meet minimum enrollment requirements. A reduced course load from ISS does not exempt graduate students holding assistantships, fellowships, and traineeships from these minimum enrollment requirements.

If students enroll for a course and do not attend, they must drop the class or receive a grade of NW (No Work) or, for audited classes, NR (No Report). If students make a course change after the fee refund deadlines (including audited, modular, and zero-credit courses), they may be charged a fee even if the total number of credits for which they are enrolled does not change. The Bursar’s Office will notify students if they owe additional fees or are entitled to a refund.

Students should be aware that “swap” is a drop action combined with an add action, allowing them to swap from one section to another section within the same course, or swap one course for another course. Some cautions related to swapping courses:

  • Because swap is a DROP and an ADD, the refund and assessment schedules and the dropped (DR) grade notation on the transcript deadline dates apply.
  • All session add/drop deadlines follow the Office of the Registrar’s Enrollment Deadlines.
  • Class eligibility controls and prerequisites will be adhered to. If the class is closed or a student is not eligible for that class, the swap will NOT occur.

For more information and questions, contact the Office of the Registrar or Graduate School Office of Academic Services. Demos & Tutorials for course enrollment are available through the Office of the Registrar. For instructions on how to late add/change/drop a class, visit the Late Enrollment/Late Course Change/Late Drop section.

See Authorization for CoursesCourse ChangesCredit ChangesDean’s ApprovalEnrollment Requirements, Exceptions, Late Enrollment/Late Course Change/Late DropTuition and Fee InformationWithdrawal