Registration
Students should refer to the academic calendar on the registrar's website (registrar.colorado.edu) for specific dates and deadlines that apply to the registration process. Students should also consult individual college and school sections of this catalog and their dean's office for additional information on special requirements and procedures. The following registration policies are intended to serve as general guidelines.
Registration generally involves three steps: registering for courses, obtaining a bill before classes begin, and dropping and adding classes during drop/add periods, if needed.
Students who require accommodations because of a disability should notify the Office of the Registrar, University of Colorado at Boulder, 20 UCB, Boulder, CO, 80309-0020, or call 303-492-6970.
Enrollment Deposit +
All degree students pay a one-time-only $200 enrollment deposit that allows them to enroll without paying a registration deposit each term.
Enrollment deposits are refunded to students upon graduation or official withdrawal from CU-Boulder within established dates and guidelines. All refunds are reduced by any outstanding financial obligations. Interest earned from enrollment deposits is used for student financial aid.
The $200 deposit is required of all degree students. New students are required to pay the deposit when they first confirm their intent to enroll at CU-Boulder and are not permitted to register until the enrollment deposit is paid.
All questions regarding the enrollment deposit policy should be directed to the Office of the Registrar, Regent Administrative Center 105, 303-492-6970.
Registering for Courses +
All CU-Boulder students register for courses via web registration.
Registration instructions are sent to new freshmen as well as new transfer, new graduate, and readmitted students when they have confirmed their intent to enroll, with the exception of new freshmen and transfer students in arts and sciences, who receive their registration instructions at orientation. Continuing students are notified each semester of times, places, and requirements for registration.
Bill Distribution +
Bills are mailed to students before each semester begins. Bill distribution information appears online at www.colorado.edu/bursar and in the Summer Session Catalog. You can also access your bill online at the financial link at cuconnect.colorado.edu.
Drop/Add +
Students can adjust their schedules by dropping and adding classes via the Web. For fall and spring semesters, drop/add activity takes place by time assignment during the first two days of the semester. After that, the system is available to all students through the drop and add deadlines.
For more information, visit the registrar's website at registrar.colorado.edu.
Drop/Add Deadlines +
Specific drop and add deadlines for each fall and spring semester are listed on the registrar's website at registrar.colorado.edu. Summer deadlines appear in the Summer Session Catalog.
1. Students are allowed to add courses through the add deadline with no authorization signatures required (second Wednesday of instruction in the fall or spring semester; the deadline varies in the summer). After the add deadline in fall and spring semesters, the instructor's approval is required to add a course through the "deadline to add a course without petitioning the dean" (third Friday of instruction), unless enrollment levels are reached earlier. Courses cannot be added after this deadline. In summer, courses cannot be added after the add deadline.
2. Students can drop courses through the drop deadline with no authorization signatures required (third Wednesday of instruction in the fall or spring semester; the deadline varies in the summer). Tuition and fees are not assessed for courses dropped by this deadline. After the drop deadline, the instructor's signature is required to drop a course through the "deadline to drop a course without petitioning the dean." The signature indicates that the student is passing the course; students who are failing their courses are not permitted to drop. Courses dropped after the drop deadline appear on the transcript with a W grade and no tuition adjustment is made.
3. After the "deadline to drop a course without petitioning the dean" (six weeks after classes begin in the fall or spring semester; the deadline varies in the summer), courses may not be dropped unless there are documented circumstances clearly beyond the student's control (e.g., accident or illness). In addition to obtaining the instructor's signature, students must petition their dean's office for approval to drop the course. Petitions normally are not approved after this date.
4. Students dropping all of their courses should refer to the Withdrawal Procedures section for more information.
Credit/No Credit +
Students who wish to take course work for no credit should indicate this at the time they register for courses or during the final drop/add period; changes in credit registration are not permitted after the drop/add deadline in the summer or after the third Friday of the semester in the fall and spring. Tuition is the same whether or not credit is received in a course.
Pass/Fail (P/F) +
Students should refer to the college and school sections of this catalog to determine the number of pass/fail credit hours that may be taken in a given semester or credited toward a bachelor's degree. Exceptions to the pass/fail regulations are permitted for certain courses that are offered only on a pass/fail basis. Procedures for requesting pass/fail enrollment can be found on the registrar's website at registrar.colorado.edu or in the Summer Session Catalog.
Students who wish to register for a course on a pass/fail basis should do so when they register or before the deadline in the registrar's office. Changes to or from a pass/fail basis are not permitted after the the third Friday of the semester in the fall and spring or after the drop/add deadline in the summer.
All students who register on a pass/fail basis appear on the class roster, and a letter grade is assigned by the instructor. When grades are received in the Office of the Registrar, those courses that have a P/F designation are automatically converted from letter grades to P or F. Grades of D- and above are considered passing grades.
Variable Credit +
All independent study courses, and occasionally regular courses, are offered on a variable-credit basis. Students must designate the number of credit hours they wish to receive for the course at the time of registration. Consult the registrar's website at registrar.colorado.edu or the Summer Session Catalog for variable-credit hour ranges for particular courses. Changes can be made at the registrar's office through the deadline (the third Friday of the semester in the fall and spring or the drop/add deadline in the summer.)
Time Out Program +
The Time Out Program (TOP) is a planned-leave program for degree-seeking CU-Boulder students who wish to take a leave of absence from the university. Students must be in good ethical and academic standing with the university and cannot be on academic suspension with their college or school. Students on TOP may leave for one semester or one year to pursue academic or nonacademic interests, and they do not need to reapply to the university. Students may take courses at another campus of the University of Colorado or at another college or university while on TOP.
TOP guarantees participating students a place in their current college or school and in their current major when they return to the university. In addition, students may apply for transfer to a different college or school upon returning to CU-Boulder, provided they observe all policies, procedures, and deadlines. Certain restrictions do apply, however, for some colleges and schools. Students are informed of registration procedures at the time of application and via their CU e-mail account.
Additional information and a TOP application can be obtained from the Office of the Registrar, Regent Administrative Center 105. A nonrefundable $50 program fee is required at the time of application to TOP. The early application deadline for TOP is the six-week drop deadline for the semester the student begins TOP. Meeting the early application deadline assures a continuing student registration time assignment for the next semester. The final TOP deadline is the last day of class for the semester the student begins TOP.
Note: Students registered for the semester they plan to begin TOP must formally withdraw. See the withdrawal section below. Call 303-492-8673 for more information, or visit the registrar's office website at registrar.colorado.edu, or e-mail timeout@colorado.edu.
Withdrawal Procedures +
Students may officially withdraw from the university by filling out a withdrawal form in the Office of the Registrar, Regent Administrative Center 105, by sending a letter of withdrawal to Office of the Registrar, University of Colorado at Boulder, 20 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0020, by faxing a letter to 303-492-8748, or by e-mailing withdraw@colorado.edu from the student's CU e-mail account.
In all terms, students are not permitted to withdraw after the last day of classes.
Failure to withdraw will result in a failing grade being recorded for every course taken in a term and makes a student liable for the full amount of tuition and fees for that term. For refund stipulations, see the withdrawal policy regarding tuition and fees, in this catalog.
Rules for withdrawing may vary with each college and school. Students anticipating a withdrawal should consult with their dean's office and read the withdrawal information on the registrar's website at registrar.colorado.edu/students/withdraw.html or in the Summer Session Catalog for specific withdrawal procedures. More information is available in the Office of the Registrar, Regent Administrative Center 105, 303-492-8673, on the Web at registrar.colorado.edu, or by e-mailing withdraw@colorado.edu.
Withdrawing students (including students applying for the Time Out Program) with Federal Perkins/NDSL loans must complete a loan exit interview before leaving the university. Failure to do so will result in a "stop" on your record. This stop will prevent you from receiving a diploma or an academic transcript from the university and from registering for future terms. In order to complete a loan exit interview, contact the university Student Loans department in the Bursar's Office at 303-492-5571, or 1-800-925-9844.
Students who withdraw from either a fall or spring semester and then wish to return to the university must either reapply for admission, or if eligible, go on the Time Out Program.
Other Registrations +
Concurrent Registration +
Boulder-campus students who are unable to obtain courses required for their degree program on the Boulder campus may be allowed to register for up to two courses or 6 credit hours, whichever is greater, on another University of Colorado campus. (Note: Application forms and registration are done by the "home" campus.)
The course work must be required for their degree program, students must have their dean's permission, they must be enrolled for at least one course on the Boulder campus, and enrollment levels must not have been reached on the other campus.
Note: Graduate students should check with the Office of the Registrar for exceptions to the home-campus registration requirement and limitation on credit hours at the host campus.
Students taking required courses in the Leeds School of Business or in the Graduate School of Business Administration may only exercise the concurrent registration option if they are in their graduating semester; business students who are two semesters from graduating and who cannot obtain courses necessary to complete a prerequisite sequence may also be allowed to use this option. The courses must either be required for graduation or unavailable on the Boulder campus, or the courses must conflict with another required course in which the student is enrolled.
Boulder students exercising this option will pay tuition for their total credit hours at Boulder-campus rates. Concurrent registration forms and instructions are available at the Office of the Registrar, Regent Administrative Center 105, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Registration takes place only during the designated schedule-adjustment period of the host campus.
Registration on Another CU Campus +
Boulder-campus students who wish to take course work on another campus of the University of Colorado and not through the concurrent registration program may be able to register on that campus independent of Boulder-campus registration. However, students must apply for admission to and follow the registration procedures established by the other campus. Students should check with their dean's office for approval.
Late Registration +
Students in certain categories may be allowed to register late for any given semester. These categories, however, cannot be designated until just before the semester begins. Late registration continues on a day-by-day basis until enrollment levels are met, or until the drop deadline, whichever comes first.
Students who fail to complete registration during their assigned registration period are assessed a $50 late registration fee, if eligible for late registration.
Graduate students registering as candidates for degree or for thesis hours must register during the assigned registration period or be subject to the $50 late registration fee, if late registration is held for their category. For more information, call 303-492-6970.
Registration for Faculty and Staff +
All permanent faculty and staff are eligible to take 1-6 free credit hours each fiscal year, depending on their percentage of employment. All participants of this program must be admitted to the university as nondegree or degree-seeking students. Faculty and staff who wish to enroll in the free courses must submit a faculty/staff tuition waiver form to the Bursar's Office, Regent Administrative Center 150, 43 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0043. Faculty and staff who are not continuing students (i.e., enrolled in the prior semester) must also submit the appropriate application as well as the tuition waiver form. Applications and the tuition waiver forms are available at the Bursar's Office or at www.colorado.edu/bursar. After the forms are processed, the Office of the Registrar will issue registration materials.
The tuition waiver form must be submitted by the deadline published on the bursar's website (www.colorado.edu/bursar) or in the Summer Session Catalog. To take advantage of the free credit hours, faculty and staff must wait until the day before classes start to register for fall and spring semesters. For summer semester, registration starts the first day of classes for the summer term in which you plan to enroll. Additional classes that will be paid by the student may be registered for prior to the first day of class. Detailed information is available under the faculty/staff link at www.colorado.edu/bursar.
Commencement +
Students must apply to their dean's office for graduation at least one semester before they intend to graduate. Graduation ceremonies are held in May and December and are open to the public. No tickets are required. The May commencement is held at Folsom Stadium and the December ceremony is held in the Coors Events/Conference Center. Students receiving their degrees in August should check with their dean's office if they wish to attend the May or December ceremony. Details concerning the ceremony are e-mailed to graduating students approximately one month before each ceremony. Students may also access the current semester's ceremony information at www.colorado.edu/commencement.
Only doctoral and law graduates receive their diplomas at commencement. Diplomas are mailed to all other students approximately two months after the ceremony. Students may pick up their diplomas during scheduled distribution at the Office of the Registrar approximately two months following graduation. Diplomas not picked up are mailed to students' permanent addresses. Standard diploma size is 8 x 10 inches.
Graduating students with Federal Perkins/NDSL loans must complete a loan exit interview and clear all outstanding financial balances before leaving the university. Failure to do so will result in a "stop" on the student's record. This stop prevents receipt of a diploma or an academic transcript of work at the university and registration for future terms. Students can complete a loan exit interview by contacting the university Student Loans department in the Bursar's Office at 303-492-5571, TTY 303-492-3528.
