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Student Information and Services: For Students in Credit Courses

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    • Overview of credit course policies

    UW Extension courses designated as credit courses may be taken for UW academic credit. Grades earned for these courses, except those taken through online learning, are included in grade-point average calculations. All credit courses are recorded on a UW permanent transcript. For credit earned through online learning, see Online Student Handbook: Transcripts.

    Students who are not pursuing a UW degree can enroll in credit courses by registering through UW Extension. Admission to a UW degree program (matriculation) is not necessary. Teacher certification candidates will also find courses to help meet certification requirements.

    Enrollment in these classes does not constitute admission to the University of Washington. However, the credits earned may be applied toward a degree should you be admitted to and matriculate in the University at a later date. Forty-five of the final 60 credits of an undergraduate degree program must be completed as an admitted student in residence at the UW.

    To earn graduate credit as a non-degree seeking student, you must be granted graduate nonmatriculated (GNM) status by an academic unit and the Graduate Admissions office prior to registration. Credit earned through online learning does not count toward graduate degrees.

    Since the UW is on the quarter system, the credit listed for each course is the quarter credit. Quarter credits divided by 1.5 equal semester credits; semester credits multiplied by 1.5 equal quarter credits.

    Advising

    Students who are not admitted to a UW degree program (nonmatriculated students) may seek academic advising for credit courses taken on campus or through online learning. Advisers can help you determine if courses meet your academic goals and explain the nonmatriculated-student registration process. If you would like to speak with an adviser or schedule an appointment, please call Advising at 206-543-6160 or 1-800-543-2320, or e-mail advisers@extn.washington.edu.

    Graduate nonmatriculated (GNM) students receive academic advising from the graduate coordinator in the appropriate school or college. Those seeking a first Washington state teaching certificate should contact Student Services, 206 Miller Hall, at 206-543-7833 or edinfo@u.washington.edu.

    If you are a student in a UW degree program (matriculated student), it is best to consult with your regular adviser regarding courses you're taking and their applicability to degree requirements.

    Deadlines and important dates

    To view dates and deadlines, see Important Dates.

    Drop/withdrawal and refund policies

    Dropping and/or withdrawing from a credit course

    (Note: This policy does not apply to certificate courses or programs. See Certificate Course or Program Refunds and Withdrawals.)

    • You may drop credit courses without restrictions during the first two weeks of the quarter. (See Important Dates.) These dropped courses will not be recorded on your transcript; however, if you withdraw completely from all courses, the withdrawal for the quarter will be recorded. A $20 change fee will be charged during the second week unless you withdraw completely.

    • You may drop only one course each academic year (defined as September through August) during the period from the beginning of the third week through the end of the seventh week of the quarter. (See Important Dates.) This course will be recorded on your transcript, followed by a "W" and the week dropped. For example, if you drop a course in the fifth week, the notation will be W5.

    • You may withdraw completely from the quarter (dropping all courses) through the tenth week of the quarter. (See Important Dates.) A complete withdrawal for the quarter will be recorded on your transcript.

    All requests to drop or withdraw from courses must be submitted in writing and must include the student's full name, the course name (department), the number and section, and the quarter of enrollment. Submit the written requests to UW Extension Registration Services via mail, e-mail or FAX:

    UW Extension Registration Services
    PO Box 45010
    Seattle, WA 98145-0010
    e-mail: uweoreg@extn.washington.edu
    FAX: 206-685-9359

    The date of the postmark or fax receipt will determine the date of withdrawal for mailed or faxed requests. Please keep your fax receipt or a copy of your e-mail until you receive a confirmation of your request.

    Failing to attend class or notifying the instructor that you wish to drop a class does not constitute an official withdrawal from the course. A grade of 0.0 will be entered on your official transcript unless you officially withdraw by submitting a written request to UW Extension Registration Services.

    Checks returned for non-sufficient funds (NSF) and credit card declines will not affect enrollment status. Registration Services assumes that the student is attending class and that payment will be made in full unless the student officially withdraws by submitting a written request as described above.

    Refund policy for credit courses

    (Note: This policy does not apply to certificate courses or programs. See Certificate Course or Program Refunds and Withdrawals.)

    Students must make a written request to withdraw from any credit course regardless of whether the course was being taken for credit or audited. See "Dropping and/or withdrawing from a credit course" (above) for details, and see the Important Dates page for deadlines pertaining to most courses.

    If you have registered for a course, refer to your confirmation/receipt for applicable refund deadlines, or call UW Extension Registration Services at 206-897-8939. See Online Learning: Fees and Finances for online learning refund and withdrawal policies.

    If we are unable to enroll you in a course, or if your course is cancelled, you will receive a refund of all fees associated with that course within three weeks. Refund checks will be issued to third-party payers if a third-party payer made the original payment.

    Short courses: Short courses have a different refund schedule. For courses 10 days and longer, refunds occur on a pro rata schedule (one day of a two-week course equals one week of a 10-week course). For courses meeting 10 days or less, a 100 percent refund, less the registration fee and any late fees imposed, is available through the last business day before the first class session; a 50 percent refund, less the registration fee and any late fees imposed, is available through the first day of the course; there is no refund thereafter.

    Grades

    Final credit course grades are available on MyUW the Wednesday following the last day of the quarter.

    Final credit grades are not mailed.

    An official UW transcript is established when the first credit course is taken, and all future credit course activity is recorded on this permanent record of academic work at the UW. For a copy of your transcript, write the Transcript Department, Box 355850, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-5850. Include $4 per transcript copy, and note your student identification or Social Security number, the most recent quarter in attendance and all former names. Transcripts for current quarter courses will be available approximately three weeks after the end of the quarter. For more information about transcripts, please call 206-543-1803.

    Course grading methods

    There are two types of grading methods for courses at the UW. Most courses are graded on a numeric scale, with 4.0 being the highest grade. Other courses are graded on a Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) basis, which is a method of grading determined by the academic department offering the course, and is not a student option.

    Student grading options

    All requests for grading options must be submitted in writing to UW Extension Registration Services, 4311 - 11th Ave. NE, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98105-4608. A $20 change fee will be assessed after the first week of the quarter. Students may select one of the following grading methods for credit courses:

    1) Numeric:

    The University of Washington uses a numerical grading system. Instructors may report grades from 4.0 to 0.7 in 0.1 increments and the grade 0.0.

    For graduate and GNM students, grades reported in the range 1.6 to 0.0 will be converted to 0.0. A grade of at least 2.7 is required for courses used to meet Graduate School requirements.

    Numerical grades may be considered equivalent to letter grades as follows:

     A 4.0-3.9  B- 2.8-2.5  D+1.4-1.2
     A- 3.8-3.5  C+2.4-2.2  D 1.1-0.9
     B+ 3.4-3.2  C 2.1-1.9  D- 0.8-0.7 *
     B 3.1-2.9  C- 1.8-1.5  E 0.0 **

    * Lowest passing grade for undergraduates

    ** Failure or unofficial withdrawal. No credit.

    An undergraduate student whose grade-point average falls below 2.0 will be warned about low scholarship. Failure to maintain a 2.0 will result in probation. If 2.0 is not maintained after 25 credits, the student will not be permitted to take additional credit classes.

    2) Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory (S/NS):

    Students may elect to take numerically graded courses on a Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory (S/NS) basis.

    S/NS is a grading option intended primarily for elective credits. Credits earned as S/NS may not be used to satisfy University, college, or departmental requirements. Matriculated students must earn at least 45 credits before choosing this option and cannot take more than six credits as S/NS in a given quarter. No more than 25 S/NS credits may be applied to the minimum of 180 credits required for graduation. Advisers should be consulted to determine restrictions and eligibility because colleges and departments vary in their rules concerning this grading option. Students may change to S/NS through Sunday of the seventh week of the quarter.

    Undergraduate students must earn a grade of at least 2.0 to receive a grade of S. Course grades of 1.9 and below will be recorded as NS when the S/NS option is selected by an undergraduate student. Graduate students must earn a grade of at least 2.7 to receive a grade of S. Course grades of 2.6 and below will be recorded as NS when the S/NS option is selected by a graduate student.

    3) Audit:

    Persons who do not require credit and a grade in a course may wish to audit. Permission to audit is ordinarily granted for lecture classes only, and an auditor may not participate in class discussion or laboratory work. No entry is made on the permanent record for courses audited. However, courses changed to audit after the second week of the quarter will be recorded on undergraduate academic transcripts with a "W" and a number designating the week of the quarter in which the change occurred. You may change from audit to credit or from credit to audit through the second week of the quarter. The cost to audit a class is the same as taking a class for credit.

    Incomplete

    An incomplete grade can be awarded only if the student is doing satisfactory work up until the last two weeks of the quarter. The student must furnish proof to the instructor that the work cannot be completed because of illness or other circumstance beyond the student's control. To obtain credit for a course in which he or she has received an incomplete, the student must complete the remaining work for the course by the last day of the quarter following the quarter of enrollment. An incomplete grade for a Spring Quarter course, however, does not have to be made up until the last day of Autumn Quarter.

    If the remaining work is not completed by the deadline, the UW Registrar converts the incomplete to a grade of 0.0, unless the instructor has directed that a grade other than 0.0 be recorded. An instructor may approve an extension of the incomplete removal deadline. Such approval must be received by the UW Registrar's office no later than the last day of the quarter following the quarter in which the incomplete grade was given. Extensions may be granted for up to three additional quarters and must be received before the incomplete has been converted to a failing grade.

    An incomplete received by a GNM student does not automatically convert to 0.0, but remains an incomplete if the course work is not completed. For extensions of enrollment periods for online learning students, see Online Student Handbook: Extensions.

    Grades in dropped courses

    See Dropping and/or withdrawing from a credit course.

    Credit for high school students

    High school students may be eligible to earn University credit through UW Extension and UW Online Learning courses. They should contact their high school counselor to determine if enrollment in University-level courses is appropriate and will further their educational goals. Also see UW Extension enrollment policy for important information.

    Registration and course types

    If you are registering for a course that requires the instructor's permission, you need to obtain forms from UW Extension Registration Services, 4311 - 11th Ave. NE, Suite 100, Seattle (see map), 206-897-8939; you can also download the forms from this site - see Directions for Taking UW Courses. After the first week of the quarter, credit courses listed in this UW Extension online catalog require the instructor's signature. Students taking credit courses listed in this online catalog will receive undergraduate credit unless they are currently in a graduate program or have graduate nonmatriculated (GNM) status. Credit earned through online learning does not count toward graduate degrees.

    Standby registration: Some state-funded UW credit courses are offered by UW Extension on a space-available basis to students who are not admitted to a degree program. While enrollment in these courses is on a standby basis and cannot be guaranteed, written permission by the department and instructor is not required. Matriculated students, i.e. those formally admitted to a UW degree program, must register for these courses through MyUW and check the UW Time Schedule for more information. Nonmatriculated students, i.e. those not admitted to a UW degree program, may enroll for these standby courses through this UW Extension Web site. Enrollment is strictly on a space-available basis. Official enrollment in standby courses will be confirmed no later than the end of the second week of the quarter. If official enrollment cannot be completed by the end of the second week of the quarter, you will be issued a full refund.

    UW Extension courses

    Credit courses offered through online learning or as T-section credit courses (for example, ART 106TA) are open to both matriculated and nonmatriculated students. Students taking these courses may earn undergraduate credit unless they are accepted into a graduate program or have GNM status. Credit earned through online learning does not count toward graduate degrees. (GNMs should call Registration Services at 206-897-8939 for additional registration information.) To enroll in these classes, see How to Register. Registration through MyUW is not available for these courses. Matriculated students pay separate fees for T-sections and courses taken through online learning; the fees are not included in regular tuition statements.

    Course prerequisites

    Students are responsible for providing documentation (transcripts and/or test scores) verifying the stated prerequisites for credit courses at the time of registration. Students may register for courses with prerequisites via mail, fax, or in-person. Documentation must be attached to the registration form. If the prerequisite courses were completed at the UW, please indicate your UW student number for prerequisite verification.

    Enrollment in 500-level courses

    Possession of a baccalaureate degree is a general requirement for enrollment in 500-level courses. Credits earned as a nonmatriculated student cannot be applied later towards a UW graduate degree program.

    Graduate credit

    If you desire graduate credit, you must apply for graduate nonmatriculated (GNM) status and register as a GNM student. Credit earned through online learning does not count toward graduate degrees. For GNM application information, contact the graduate coordinator in the appropriate UW department. The deadlines to apply for GNM status are Sept. 1 for Autumn Quarter, Dec. 1 for Winter Quarter, March 1 for Spring Quarter, and May 15 for Summer Quarter. For additional information, call UW Extension Registration Services at 206-897-8939, or the GNM Office at 206-543-7097.

    Student classifications

    Matriculated students

    These students are formally admitted to UW degree programs. They must fulfill all the University requirements for graduation as outlined in the General Catalog.

    Nonmatriculated students

    These are students who, for any number of reasons, are not admitted into a UW degree program but wish to complete credit courses. They may take credit courses to meet licensing requirements, to develop an educational background leading to matriculation and a degree, to change careers, or for personal enrichment. Credit accrued as a nonmatriculated student does not guarantee admission to the University, but may count toward graduation and fulfill requirements if the student is later admitted to an undergraduate degree program. Credit taken as a nonmatriculated student may not be applied toward requirements for a graduate degree (see Graduate Nonmatriculated Students below). Some students may elect to audit a class (see "Student Grading Options - #3 Audit" above). For academic advising, please call 206-543-6160 or e-mail advisers@extn.washington.edu. Nonmatriculated students have access to the UW libraries and computer centers. However, they are not eligible to receive other campus services such as financial aid or access to the IMA, etc.

    Graduate nonmatriculated (GNM) students

    Graduate Nonmatriculated (GNM) defines a student status at the University designed to provide access to graduate courses for qualified postbaccalaureate individuals. GNM students are not currently seeking a graduate degree but may later apply a maximum of 12 credits toward such a degree. Students must meet minimum Graduate School admission standards as described in the University's General Catalog. An undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 or equivalent qualification is expected. Individual departments and colleges may have requirements greater than the minimum requirements of the Graduate School. Students should contact the academic unit for an application. The deadlines for the submission of all GNM application materials to the GNM office are Sept. 1 for Autumn Quarter, Dec. 1 for Winter Quarter, March 1 for Spring Quarter, and May 15 for Summer Quarter. For additional information, call UW Extension Registration Services at 206-897-8939, or the GNM Office at 206-543-7097.

    Teacher certification endorsement

    It is possible to complete some of the endorsement programs offered at the University of Washington, Seattle, without being admitted as a student. As a nonmatriculated (non-admitted) student, you may register through UW Extension and take courses to satisfy requirements on a space-available basis. For information on endorsement programs at the UW, see depts.washington.edu/coe/ or call the Teacher Education Office, 206-543-1754.

    Student ID number, private access code (PAC) and UW NetID

    Upon enrollment in credit courses, you will be assigned a UW student ID number and a private access code (PAC):

    • UW Student ID Number: A seven-digit number that is your official University of Washington student identification number. The UW ID number is printed on the Transaction Summary mailed to you after registering for a credit class. Please keep a copy of your numbers in a safe place. UW student ID numbers are not released over the telephone.

    • Private Access Code and UW NetID: After registering for a credit class, you will also receive a letter providing your private access code (PAC). This code can be used to establish your UW NetID, your personal network identification to use campus computers, computing labs, dial-in modem pools, UW e-mail, Web publishing, administrative applications, and more. Once your UW NetID is established, you may connect to MyUW to view your registration schedule and grades, and access information about University resources and activities. If you need help or have technical questions, please e-mail help@u.washington.edu.

    U-PASS

    Students taking campus credit courses through UW Extension, and English Language Programs (ELP) students in credit or noncredit courses on the main campus or in downtown Seattle may purchase a U-PASS through UW Educational Outreach for $50 per quarter. You may purchase a U-PASS when registering, but it will not be distributed until the course enrollment is official. The U-PASS sticker must be affixed to a UW ID card. UW Online Learning students are not eligible for the U-PASS.

    U-PASS holders ride free on all Metro, Community Transit, and Sound Transit routes, and on the Sounder commuter train; and get discounted carpool parking, subsidized vanpools, merchant discounts, and biking and walking discounts. For more information, call 206-543-0450 or visit the U-PASS Web site.

    UW education requirements

    General requirements

    Courses satisfying UW general education requirements are identified in the course listings by the following abbreviations:

    QSR: Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning

    I&S: Individuals and Societies

    NW: The Natural World

    VLPA: Visual, Literary and Performing Arts

    Writing requirements

    There are two types of writing requirements that must be met by most students entering the UW after autumn 1985: a five-credit composition requirement and a W-course requirement. Both requirements can be met by enrolling in the appropriate credit course identified by the following abbreviations:

    C: English Composition

    W: Writing course

    Foreign language proficiency requirement

    The University of Washington has a foreign language requirement that can be met through UW Extension credit language courses.

    UW General Catalog

    The UW General Catalog, which contains information about degree requirements, may be purchased from the University Book Store or by calling 206-634-3400, ext. 358. The book store mails the catalog and textbooks anywhere in the world.

    UW ID card and Husky CardTM Account

    UW ID cards are available to nonmatriculated students enrolled in credit courses, and to students enrolled in noncredit courses who purchase a quarterly computer account. A U-PASS (see U-PASS above) may be affixed to a UW ID card. The UW ID card may also be used to set up a Husky CardTM debit account, which is required to pay for printing at the UWired campus computer labs. The Husky CardTM is accepted at campus dining facilities to pay for meals, and at the Montlake parking lot to pay for parking. Information on how to obtain UW ID and Husky cards is provided with course confirmations.
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