During registration, students meet with their academic adviser who gives them academic advisement and approves their choice of courses. Students then register themselves online via Student Self-Service and pay tuition and fees to the Office of Student Accounts, all according to published deadlines. To receive academic credit, students are required to register each semester for every course, including theses, projects and guided studies. Class attendance without registration is not permitted.
Advisement for Registration
The academic advising process is the basis for student course selection and registration. Each academic department identifies faculty or professionals who serve as advisers to the students. Before registration, students must meet with their adviser and receive approval for their anticipated program of study. Students may obtain a list of advisers and their contact information from their respective departmental offices.
To ensure that students have met with their academic advisers before registration, the Registrar places an “academic hold” on the student’s record. When students meet with their advisers, the holds are removed and students can register.
Approval to register for a course does not necessarily constitute approval to substitute that course for another course to satisfy a specific degree requirement. For example, approval to register for a guided readings course is not necessarily approval to substitute that course for another similar course prescribed in the curriculum. If the course is not normally used for that purpose, students should explicitly request such approval from the adviser. Such approval must be granted in writing and submitted to the Office of the Registrar.
Incoming first-year students may be required to take a mathematics diagnostic and/or English placement exam. These exams are free and used solely for advisement and course placement.
Registering for Classes
Polytechnic offers two registration periods for each semester (detailed below). New freshmen entering in the fall semester register during the summer preceding their arrival on campus. New students and special students receive registration information from the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or the Graduate Center.
Regular Registration
All continuing, degree-seeking students (graduate and undergraduate) are expected to register for the next semester during the latter part of each ongoing semester. All students must take advantage of regular registration using Student Self-Service, the student online registration system. All students are encouraged to enroll early in the registration period to avoid being closed out of required courses. Registration dates for each semester are published by the Office of the Registrar. Payment of tuition and fees, or arrangement for payment, is due to the Office of Student Accounts no later than the published deadline.
Late Registration and Add/Drop
The Late Registration and Add/Drop period begins on the first day of the term and ends on the published Add/Drop Deadline. A late fee is assessed to all continuing students who initially register during this period. Since Late Registration typically takes place after the tuition payment deadline, payment of tuition and fees is therefore due on the same day as registration during the Late Registration period. Students who do not complete registration by the end of the Late Registration and Add/Drop period will not be registered for that semester. After the Add/Drop Deadline, students seeking to register need to obtain special permission from the respective Associate Provost in addition to the course instructor(s). Such exceptions are rarely permitted, and must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar with the appropriate paperwork and signature approvals. A late fee will be assessed to all continuing and readmitted students for late registrations.
Additions or deletions to a student course schedule may be made according to the deadlines published in the Academic Calendar. These adjustments should be made online through Student Self-Service. A course dropped after the Add/Drop deadline is considered a Withdrawal, and such courses will remain on the student’s transcript with a grade of “W” (which has no GPA penalty). Withdrawals should also be processed by the student online via Student Self-Service.
If a student drops or withdraws from a course, tuition charges are adjusted according to the Refund/Tuition Liability schedule published by Student Accounts. |