Article 3, Part 3 – Registration, Course Changes, and Withdrawal

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§ 3-311 Adding and Dropping Courses

  1. Except for courses described under subsection (b), a student may add a course during the Add Period, which is defined as the first ten instructional days of a semester or the first five instructional days of an eight-week part of term. A student may drop a course during the first eight weeks of instruction of a semester or the first four weeks of an eight-week part of term. The deadlines for adding and dropping non-standard courses are determined proportionately in accordance with these principles based on parts of term; exact dates can be found on the Office of the Registrar Academic Calendars (http://registrar.illinois.edu/academic-calendars). A college or department may place an advising hold on a student whom they wish to see prior to adding or dropping a course.
  2. However, some instructors or departments may shorten the Add Period for specific courses before the deadlines, as outlined above in subsection (a), in cases where missing early class sessions would severely impair the student’s chances for successfully completing the course. An instructor who intends to shorten the Add Period must secure the approval of the unit’s Executive Officer before doing so. The instructor should also announce this restriction in class and include it in the course syllabus. Where this restriction is known in advance, it should be included in the course description and in the Class Schedule.
  3. When students are allowed to add a class within the designated Add Period, the instructor must reasonably accommodate them in making up work they have missed. For admission to a class after the designated Add Period, a student must secure the consent of the departmental representative in charge of the course who may require the student to pass an examination in the work already covered by the class or to present other satisfactory evidence of ability to proceed with the class.
  4. The following rules apply only to undergraduate students. (See § 3-508 for refund deadlines.)
    1. Provided the minimum academic load required by the college is maintained, courses may be dropped, and will not appear on a student’s transcript prior to the deadline found on the Office of the Registrar Academic Calendars (http://registrar.illinois.edu/academic-calendars)
    2. A student’s college may grant an exception by petition to the drop deadline in the case of extraordinary circumstances beyond a student’s control (such as medical or other emergency reasons). If the student’s college determines a late drop is warranted, it will decide whether the course will be dropped without appearing on the student’s transcript, assigned a grade of W, or assigned a grade of F.
    3. A Study Abroad student who is registered as full-time during the semester(s) abroad by a “placeholder” enrollment must maintain 12 credits or the full-time enrollment equivalent as defined by the international institution.
  5. Change of section within a course is permitted at the discretion of the department teaching the course.
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