34-00 Course Scheduling

34-10 Delivery Systems
34-20 Registration
34-52 Definition of Full-Time Students
34-53 Definition of Part-Time Students
34-58 Course Availability
34-60 Prerequisites and Concurrent Courses
34-68 Auditing and Visiting Course
34-80 Course Enrollment and Schedule Changes
34-81 Enrollment
34-83 Change in Class Meeting Time
34-85 Schedule Adjustment
34-87 Course Add
34-89 Course Drop

34-10 Delivery Systems Print This Policy

Courses are available for scheduling through three delivery systems: Resident Instruction, Continuing Education, and World Campus.

Revised: 2/5/74 (as Rule B-1)
Revised: 10/6/81
Revised: 4/23/13

34-20 Registration Print This Policy

Students register at specified times and locations for credit courses. Although the registration procedures are generally uniform, there are variations at some locations. Information on registration for courses offered through Continuing Education is available from the Office of Continuing Education at each location or service area.

Students are strongly urged to consult with their adviser before registering for any credit course regardless of delivery system. No student shall be permitted to be enrolled for more than a typical credit load (see Section 34-52) in any one semester by all delivery systems without consultation with the student's academic adviser.

No student is permitted to register for another student or to permit anyone to register on the student's behalf. Students are expected to register during the assigned time.

Students are not considered officially enrolled unless tuition and charges for the semester have been paid or arrangements for payment have been made.

C-2 Registration

Revised: 8/7/73
Revised Editorially: 3/2/76
Revised: 4/23/13

34-52 Definition of Full-Time Students Print This Policy

A full-time undergraduate student is defined as one scheduling course credits at the rate of 12 or more per semester in all delivery systems of instruction as defined by section 34-10.

The typical load for a full-time undergraduate student is defined to be from 12 to 19 course credits per semester.

Revised: 2/4/75
Revised: 12/9/75		 Revised: 9/8/81
Revised: 4/23/13

34-53 Definition of Part-Time Students Print This Policy

A part-time undergraduate student is defined as a student scheduling course credits at a rate of less than 12 per semester in all delivery systems of instruction as defined by Section 34-10.

Initial Legislation: 12/9/75
Revised: 4/23/13

34-58 Course Availability Print This Policy

Every scheduled course in this University is open to any student except as follows:

  1. A course for which the student does not have the scholastic prerequisites or concurrent courses, or is otherwise limited by the description published in the Baccalaureate or Associate Degree Programs Bulletins.
  2. A course that essentially duplicates the content of courses already taken for credit, except as provided for in Section 47-80.
  3. An overcrowded course. Priority is normally given to candidates in order of semester rank, beginning with those candidates in the last semester of their program. When necessary, priority may be given to those for whom the course is a requirement for their program. Priority may be given to students in the The Schreyer Honors College.
  4. A course where admission of the student would violate legal or Department of Defense requirements, or an agreement made by the University relating to work, supported by Smith Hughes or other special funds.
  5. A 400-level course. Fifth-semester classification or higher or membership in The Schreyer Honors College is required for admission to any 400-level course. Special permission to enroll may be granted to any other student by the head of the department or chairperson of the program sponsoring the course.
  6. A 500-level course. Such graduate courses are open to seniors who have a 3.50 cumulative grade-point average and the consent of the instructor. Students in The Schreyer Honors College may be admitted to such courses with the consent of the instructor. Other baccalaureate degree candidates with a B average or better may be admitted to such courses with the consent of the instructor and the dean of the Graduate School.

C-4 Special Course Registration Control

Revised: 9/9/75
Revised: 3/2/76
Revised: 4/4/78		 Revised: 5/2/78
Revised: 4/1/80

34-60 Prerequisites and Concurrent Courses Print This Policy

Prerequisites are approximations of the necessary specific or general academic knowledge, background, or semester classification required to succeed academically in a specific course. Concurrent courses are courses required to be taken in the same semester. The course instructor has the right to limit the students in the course to those who have the stated prerequisites. If this limitation is exercised, it must occur before the end of the course add period.

C-5 Lack of Prerequisite, Concurrent Courses, or Course Duplication

Revised: 4/14/55 (as Rule I-7)
Revised: 7/1/75
Revised: 4/6/76

34-68 Auditing and Visiting Courses Print This Policy

  1. Auditing. If a student wishes to audit a course officially and to have this fact appear on the academic record, that course must be entered on the student's schedule with the symbol AU shown under "credits." When a student audits a course, the credits become part of that semester's credit load but are not used in the determination of full-time status (section 34-52). In addition, tuition must be paid for the audit. Audits are not considered in the determination of the credit standard for financial aid.

No course may be added for audit and dropped for credit, or vice versa, after the first ten calendar days of a fifteen-week semester or the same percentage of time if the course is offered under a different time schedule. A student enrolled for official audit may be required to participate in class discussion, do practicum work, submit written work, and take examinations. See also Section 48-80, symbols for Course Audit.

  1. Visiting. Students who wish to visit a course may do so, even though they are not officially enrolled for credit or for audit in that course. To visit a course, currently registered full-time students must obtain permission in advance from the course instructor. No tuition is paid for a visit. Course credits do not become part of the semester's credit load and are not entered on the student's academic record. Paragraph 1 relating to official audit is not applicable to the student who visits a course.
Revised: 1/4/77
Revised: 1/24/89
Revised: 12/10/85		 Revised: 4/22/03
Revised: 4/23/13

34-80 Course Enrollment and Schedule Changes

34-81 Enrollment Print This Policy

An official record of course participation (grade or symbol) is limited to a student who is officially enrolled in a course according to an official University registration procedure. Except as provided for in Section 48-40, the student must be registered for the course during the semester in which the course requirements are completed and the grade or symbol must be assigned at the end of that semester.

C-2 Registration

Revised: 1/24/89
Revised: 4/23/13

34-83 Change in Class Meeting Time Print This Policy

No instructor has the right to change the regular scheduled meeting day and time for a class or to allow students to attend other sections of the same course without the consent of the dean of the college or the campus executive officer in which the course is taught, except when a student is directed to change from one section of a course to another section of the course by the instructor's department head.

Revised: 4/23/13

34-85 Schedule Adjustment Print This Policy

Once a course has started, a student who wants to add or drop that course from his/her schedule must follow the guidelines for Course Add (34-87) or Course Drop (34-89).

Course Add and Course Drop do not apply to a student who wants to change from one section of a course to another section of the same course. This section change is processed through the department offering the course.

Revised: 8/7/73 (as Rule J-1)
Revised: 4/23/13

34-87 Course Add Print This Policy

A student may add a course to his or her schedule during the course's Add Period. This period begins on the first day of classes for the semester and ends eight hours after the end of the Drop period (see Policy 34-89). In other words, the Add period continues from midnight to 8 a.m. after the end of the Drop period. A course may not be added to the student's schedule after this Add Period, except under the following conditions:

  1. The course is an individualized instruction course, or the student is advised by an instructor in a scheduled course to move to a lower- or higher-level course in the sequence of courses in which the student is enrolled.

  2. Permission is obtained by signature of the instructor of the course in which the student wishes to enroll.

C-2 Registration

Revised: 3/5/53 (as Rule J-3)
Revised: 3/6/73 (as Rule J-3)
Revised: 8/7/73 (as Rule J-2)
Revised: 11/12/74 (as Rule J-2)

 Revised: 9/9/75
Revised: 1/6/76
Revised: 5/4/76
Revised: 9/8/81		 Revised: 2/19/91
Revised: 3/16/04
Revised Editorially: 10/20/09
Revised: 4/27/10

34-89 Course Drop Print This Policy

A student may drop a course without academic penalty during the Course Drop period (however, a tuition penalty may be assessed according to Penn State’s tuition policies – see http://www.bursar.psu.edu/adjustments.cfm#PENALTY). This period is the first ten (10) calendar days of either the fall or spring semester, if the duration of the course is equal to the duration of the semester. For all other courses (those not equal in duration to a semester of which they are part and all courses offered in the summer), the duration of the Drop Period is calculated by multiplying ten (10) days by the duration of the course (in days) divided by seventy-five (75) days, and then rounding up to the next higher whole number of days.

There is no limit to the number of courses/credits that can be dropped during this period and courses dropped during this period do not show up on the student's academic record.

The Late Drop period for a course begins with the first calendar day after the Course Drop period and ends on the day when 80 percent of the duration of the course is attained. During the Late Drop period, the student may drop a course (Late Drop), and a WN symbol will be entered on the student’s academic record. Specific rules regarding the use of Late Drop credits are as follows:

  1. Use of the Late Drop during the Late Drop period is limited to a maximum of 16 credits for undergraduates in baccalaureate programs. Students registered as nondegree (regular or conditional), provisional, and associate degree students are limited to ten Late Drop credits.
  2. If a student's period of enrollment is interrupted, the available Late Drop credits do not get reset upon re-enrollment except in the case of academic renewal (Policy 58-60).
  3. Late Drop credits used while a student is in nondegree or provisional status will count towards the Late Drop credit limit when the student enters or re-enters a degree program (baccalaureate or associate).
  4. Late Drop credits used in one degree program will count towards the Late Drop credit limit for students who switch to another degree program without earning a degree in the first program. However, if a degree in the first program is earned and a student pursues a sequential degree (Policy 60-20), the Late Drop credits are reset to the number allowed for the sequential degree.

Note: By exercising a Late Drop, a student may be seriously jeopardizing his or her expected progress toward graduation. It is possible that a student will not be able to schedule the dropped course in the succeeding semester for a variety of reasons, thereby delaying progress toward graduation. In addition, financial aid may be affected. Therefore, students with financial aid are strongly urged to consult with Penn State’s Office of Student Aid.

A student may not drop or late drop the last/only course on his/her schedule. Dropping or late dropping the last/only course must be done through a withdrawal (policy 56-30).

C-2 Registration

Revised: 3/6/73 (as Rule J-2)
Revised: 8/7/73 (as Rule J-2)
Revised: 4/2/74 (as Rule J-2)
Revised: 11/12/74 (as Rule J-2)
Revised: 10/14/75 (as Rule J-2)


Revised: 11/11/75 (as Rule J-2)
Revised: 12/6/77
Revised: 5/2/78
Revised: 2/5/80
Revised: 6/2/81
Revised: 9/8/81

Revised: 10/6/81
Revised: 4/6/82
Revised: 5/25/82
Revised: 3/21/89
Revised: 2/19/91
Revised: 9/14/93
 Revised: 4/25/95
Revised: 3/16/04
Revised: 4/28/09
Revised: 3/16/10
Revised: 4/27/10
Revised: 4/23/13

This page maintained by the University Faculty Senate Office (afb11@psu.edu).