Course Enrollment
Unit or Affiliation: Academic
Responsible Office: Undergraduate Bulletin
Policy Brief:
Students ordinarily enroll in courses at the level appropriate to their class.
Individual departments have the authority to require a C or S grade in courses that are prerequisite for advanced courses in that area.
Senior Enrollment in 100-Level Courses: Students with senior status (credits completed plus credits in progress equal to or exceeding 88) shall be allowed into courses at the 100 level only during the Program Adjustment period as defined by the University Calendar. This restriction does not apply to Music Performance courses and any summer session courses. Other exceptions may be granted by the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (Lecture Center 30).
Graduate Courses for Undergraduate Credit: A senior with a superior academic record may register for a 500-level course for undergraduate credit with the approval of the major department chair and the course instructor. In exceptional circumstances, seniors may be authorized to register for 600-level graduate courses provided they have completed most of the upper division undergraduate and other courses essential to their major and require a graduate course to strengthen it. To qualify for such enrollment the senior must have a superior record, particularly in his or her major field. To register for a 600-level course, students must have the approval of their adviser and obtain the written consent of their department chair and the instructor offering the course. The department chair should arrange for copies of these consents to be distributed to the persons involved and to be filed in the student’s official folder.
Graduate Courses for Graduate Credit: Seniors of high academic standing in the University may receive graduate credit for graduate courses taken in excess of undergraduate requirements in the last semester of their senior year provided not more than 6 credits are needed to complete the student’s undergraduate program. Consent of the Dean of Graduate Education is required and must be obtained in advance of registration to receive such credit. Seniors who are permitted to take courses for graduate credit in their last semester also must make formal application for admission to a graduate program and be accepted as a graduate student before registering for study in the final semester.
The Policy:
Auditing Courses
Informal Audit: This category of audit permits any student or resident of the state to visit any course (except those listed here). The informal auditor visits courses without tuition, fees, examinations, grading, or credit; and no record is maintained. The instructor determines the level of participation of the informal auditor. A student matriculated at Albany confers with the instructor of the course and requests consent to visit the course. An individual not matriculated at this University must first contact the Office of General Studies and then obtain consent of the individual instructor of the course. NOTE: Informal Audit is not allowed during Summer Sessions.
Formal Audit: This category of audit allows any student to formally audit any course (except those listed here). The formal auditor pays regular tuition and fees, and the course is entered on the transcript of the student with the grade of N (noncredit) or W (withdrawn) according to 6., as follows.
Exceptions: Generally, the following types of courses cannot be formally audited: practica, internships, research and independent study courses, field courses, clinical courses, workshops, and foreign study programs. Students who feel they have an extraordinary need to audit these courses must prepare a written rationale and submit it to the chair of the department in which the course is offered. Formal audit of graduate-level courses is restricted as outlined in 3. below. If a course is filled and has auditors in it, a student wishing to take the course for credit may displace the auditor.
Formal Audit Policies
- The student must register for the courses during the program adjustment period.
- Students must pay the regular tuition and fees based on their academic status. Fees and tuition will be based on the student’s total load, including courses formally audited. Credits taken by formal audit will not count toward full-time status for the purposes of academic retention.
- Registration for the formally audited course must be approved by the student’s academic adviser (for nonmatriculated students, either the Office of General Studies or the Office of Admissions) and the course instructor. A senior with a superior academic record may formally audit a 500-level course with the approval of the academic adviser, the major department chair, and the course instructor. In exceptional circumstances, a senior may be authorized to formally audit a 600-level graduate course provided the student has completed most of the upper-division undergraduate and other courses essential to the major field. To formally audit a 600-level course, students must have the approval of their adviser and obtain the written consent of their department chair and the instructor offering the course. The department chair will arrange for copies of these consents to be distributed to the persons involved and to be filed in the student’s official folder.
- A student may not change from credit to audit or from audit to credit after the last day to add a course.
- The formal audit option is limited to a maximum of two courses per term for each student.
- An individual who formally audits a course must participate in appropriate ways as determined by the instructor. It will be the responsibility of the student to ascertain from the instructor the degree of participation required. The course will appear at the end of the term on the transcript of the student with a grade of N (noncredit). A formal auditor may withdraw from a course not later than one week after the mid-semester date as stated in the academic calendar and be assigned a W. A student failing to participate satisfactorily will be withdrawn and assigned a W.
- Although not recommended, formally audited undergraduate courses may be taken for graduation credit at a later date. Formally audited graduate courses may not be taken again for graduate credit.
Adding Courses
All students must drop and add courses on the Web via www.albany.edu/myualbany.
From the first class day through the sixth class day of the semester, enter MyUAlbany on the Web and enter the class number of the course. If the course is closed or restricted, a Permission Number from the instructor is also necessary. From the seventh class day through the tenth class day of the semester, a Permission Number from the instructor is required for all adds. Enter MyUAlbany on the Web, enter the class number and the Permission Number for the course.
Subject to the approval of the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, after the tenth class day of the semester, a Course Permission Number from the instructor must be obtained before the Program Adjustment can be accepted by the Registrar’s Office. After the tenth class day of the semester, all late adds must be done in person at the Registrar’s Office, Campus Center-B52. A fee will be charged for this Program Adjustment.
In the event permission to late add a course after the tenth day of class is denied, a student may appeal that decision for any reason to the Committee on Academic Standing of the Undergraduate Academic Council. A “class day” is here defined to be any day from Monday through Friday in which classes are in session. The above methods of adding a course apply to quarter (“8 week”) courses and summer session coursework on a prorated basis, determined by the length of the course in question.
Dropping Courses
All students must drop and add courses on the Web via www.albany.edu/myualbany.
From the first class day through the tenth class day of the semester, enter MyUAlbany on the Web and enter the class number of the course. During this time, a dropped course will be removed from the student’s record. A “class day” is defined as in “Adding Courses” above.
After the tenth class day through the “last day to drop a course” (as specified in the Academic Calendar), a student may drop a course by entering MyUAlbany on the Web and entering the class number of the course. During this time, a dropped course will remain on the student’s record and an indicator of W will be entered in the grade column. The W will be entered regardless of whether the student has ever attended a class.
If a faculty member announces a failing grade in the course as a possible result of academic dishonesty, the student receiving such a penalty will not be permitted to withdraw from the course unless the grievance or judicial system rules in favor of the student.
A student still enrolled in a class after the “last day to drop” is expected to fulfill the course requirements. The grade recorded for the course shall be determined on this basis. A student who registers for a course but never attends or ceases attendance before the tenth class day, as reported by the instructor, yet does not officially drop the course shall have an indicator of Z listed in the grade column on his/her record. The above methods of dropping a course apply to quarter (“8 week”) courses and summer session course work on a prorated basis, determined by the length of the course in question.
Exceptions to this policy may be granted by the Committee on Academic Standing of the Undergraduate Academic Council.
Note: Students receiving financial assistance through state awards should refer to Academic Criteria for State Awards in the Financial Aid and Estimated Costs sections of this bulletin before withdrawing from courses.
