Enrollment and Registration

Formal admission to Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and payment of tuition and fees are prerequisites to registration. All students, by virtue of registering, agree to comply with the regulations of the university and of the undergraduate colleges.

Registration consists of three essential steps:

1. Course selection with the aid of faculty advisement or the advising office staff.
2. Entry of the selected program through Rutgers' Touchtone Telephone Registration System (RTTRS) or Web Registration (webreg.rutgers.edu) for students with system access, or in person at the Registrar's Office for all other students.
3. Submission of the term bill to the bursar along with payment of tuition and fees.

It is the responsibility of the student to acquire, complete, and return registration and term bill information, including payment of tuition and fees, on time. Most registration notices are mailed to the student's campus mailbox. When information is mailed, the student's last address of record in the Registrar's Office is used, but the university cannot and does not assume responsibility if the student fails to receive this information. Those who do not register within the time allotted are charged the late registration fee of $50.

Students seeking to return, having voluntarily separated themselves from the university, should refer to the Admissions chapter of their school catalog. Applications must be filed before August 1st for September reenrollment and before December 1st for January reenrollment.

A student's registration is activated through the submission to the bursar's office of a term bill accompanied by payment, or an appropriate award of financial aid. Activation of registration does not take place if there are "holds" placed on a student's records because of failures to meet outstanding obligations of financial, academic, or administrative action.

• REGISTRATION - All financial holds must be cleared by the end of any Fall term in order to retain registration for the following Spring semester.
• TRANSCRIPTS - In accordance with University procedures, students or former students may not obtain transcripts of their academic records if they have any outstanding financial obligations to the University (this includes all financial obligations - tuition, parking, library and student fees).
• DIPLOMAS - Diplomas will be withheld from students who are under any financial obligation to the University.

The University will exercise the right to terminate the registration of any student who has an outstanding financial obligation to the university, after sufficient notice has been given to the student. A student whose registration is terminated at any time during the refund period because of nonpayment of amounts owed the university will receive a revised bill based on a refund calculated as if it were a voluntary withdrawal. The university reserves the right to "hold" transcripts and diplomas as a result of nonpayment of obligations, to forward delinquent accounts to collection agencies, and to levy a collection fee. "Holds" will be removed upon satisfaction of the outstanding obligation. The terminated student may petition for reinstatement of enrollment by satisfying the indebtedness to the university and paying a $125 reinstatement fee.

To cancel registration and obtain a full refund of tuition and fees, the registrar must receive written notification from the student prior to the first day of the term. A student whose registration is canceled by the registrar receives a full refund of tuition and fees, and prorated charges for room and board, if applicable. Notification of cancellation received on or after the first day of the term is treated, for billing purposes, as a withdrawal and a refund is made based on the general refund policy.

Tuition Refund Dates for Credit Load Reduction: Beginning with the first day of class - You can reduce your course load via RTTRS or Webreg only on the published add/drop dates. After these dates, you must visit your Dean's Office. Part time students will receive a 100% refund of tuition for the reduced credits until the second week of classes. After the end of the second week, there is NO REFUND for credit reduction.

No reductions are granted after the seventh day of classes to undergraduate students who withdraw from one or more courses, but remain registered in others. No adjustment from full time to part time status is made after the seventh day of classes. If withdrawal from one or more courses amounts to complete withdrawal from a program, the provision for full withdrawal applies.

Failure to attend class is not equivalent to a withdrawal - Students will not receive an adjustment of charges unless a formal withdrawal is filed with and approved by his/her dean's office, regardless of whether the student actually attended classes or took examinations.

Students who do not complete registration during the period prescribed in the registration instructions may do so during the late registration period. A late registration fee of $50 is charged. Permission to register late does not affect any academic policies.

All eligible registered matriculated students expecting to continue their programs in the succeeding spring or fall term are advised to take part in that term's registration in April or November, respectively.

Participation in this registration exercise is not financially binding on students who do not return, for any reason, in the next term; however, eligible students who do return without having participated in preregistration will be charged a late registration fee of $50.

Students may not exceed the following credit hour limits for registration, as determined by their respective colleges of matriculation*:                                                                               Maximum Credit                  Maximum Credit
                                                                                                    Minimum                  Hour Limit during               Hour Limit as of

* Maximum Credit Hours for Summer Session:
Undergraduate students (Arts & Sciences, Rutgers, Douglass, Livingston, and University College) are generally limited to12 credits in Summer Session. Some schools permit more credits. Contact your dean's office if you wish to register for more credits than the registration system (webreg or Rttrs) permits. Approved registrations beyond the established maximum must be accomplished in person at the appropriate registration site.

All students may add or drop courses during the late registration period preceding the term and continuing through the seventh day of the term. The new ADD/DROP Policy is effective with the Fall 2001 Semester ("students may add courses during the first eight calendar days of the semester, and may drop courses without a "W" during the first seven days of the semester") and supersedes previously printed and distributed material.

The last day for ALL STUDENTS to drop a course without a "W" grade and a tuition charge is the seventh calendar day of the semester. These changes may be made through telephone registration (RTTRS), using the online registration system (webreg), or in person in accordance with the add/drop schedule. Priority is given to those students with the greatest number of degree credits already earned. Students may ADD courses during the first eight calendar days of the semester. As of the ninth class day of the term, no adds are permitted online/RTTRS, and all drops done online/RTTRS after the eighth day of the semester will be assigned a "W" grade. Changes sought by mail or fax are not accepted at any time.

Changes of registration for full time undergraduate students does not require any fee to be paid.

Exceptions to these regulations can be made only by an Undergraduate College's Committee on Scholastic Standing. Graduate students should consult their respective Dean's Offices.

Undergraduate students may drop courses until the end of the eighth full week of the term without academic penalty, provided the student follows the change of course procedures, as described previously. Courses dropped between the eighth calendar day and the eighth week of the term are assigned a "W" grade.  Students dropping a course after the end of the eighth full week of the term are assigned a grade of F, U, or NC in the dropped course; the grade of "F" is computed in the term and cumulative grade point averages.

A student who unofficially drops a course for which he or she is registered without following the above procedure will receive a grade of  F, U, or NC in the course. In the case of part time students, no refund of tuition is allowed for any course dropped after the seventh calendar day of the term.

No course may be dropped during the last two weeks of classes.

Graduate students should refer to the registration materials mailed to them for guidelines, and see "Change of Course" above.

• Pass/No Credit Courses

Eligible matriculated undergraduate students may register for a Pass/No Credit grading basis for one course, up to a maximum of two courses. Certain students may be eligible for P/NC after completion of 60 degree credits. Other students may exercise this option only in their senior year. Some schools require the P/NC choice to be made at the time of registration, other schools allow 6-8 weeks for the P/NC option to be chosen. However, once students declare their intention to take the course for P/NC to the Registrar, their decision cannot be reversed. A student registering for a P/NC course must complete all of the required work in the course including all examinations and assigned papers or projects. While a successfully completed P/NC course earns degree credit, it is not calculated in the cumulative grade point average. A grade of "C" or better must be achieved in order to to convert the instructor's grade to a PASS.

For more specific information on course restrictions, options available, and completion of applicable request forms, students should consult their respective Academic Deans or refer to the Academic Policies and Procedures Manual for their individual colleges.
 

• Repeated Courses

Undergraduate students may repeat a course taken at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in which a grade of "F" was earned. This applies only to courses retaken at Rutgers. For ALL Rutgers University students, both the original grade of "F" and the new grade for the repeated course (even if the repeated grade is also an "F"), remain on the student's permanent academic record (transcript). Students may only repeat courses designated as "repeatable" by their appropriate Undergraduate Colleges. For more specific information on options available and completion of applicable request forms, students should consult their respective Academic Deans or refer to the Academic Policies and Procedures Manual for their individual colleges.
1. For students repeating a course at Cook College, only the highest grade received in the course is calculated in the cumulative grade point average.
2. Mason Gross School of the Arts students who repeat a course may request that the original grade be removed from the calculation of the cumulative grade point average.
3. Courses repeated by University College students only have the last grade earned in a course included in the computation of the cumulative grade point average.
4. When Rutgers College, Douglass College, Livingston College and students from the School of Arts and Sciences repeat a course, both the original grade of "F" and the new grade are calculated in the cumulative grade point average. However, for up to four courses repeated at Rutgers University, totaling no more than 12 credits, the student may elect to have the grade of "F" removed from the cumulative grade point average. Grades deleted from the cumulative grade point average are "E-credited" (excluded from credit). To exercise this option, see your Academic Dean for completion of the appropriate request form.
In general, if a student earns a grade of "D" or "C" and repeats the course, degree credits are only earned once and both grades appear on the transcript. For most undergraduate students, both grades are computed in the cumulative grade point average. For more specific information on options available and completion of applicable repeat course request forms, students should consult their respective Academic Deans or refer to the Academic Policies and Procedures Manual for their individual colleges.
 
• Credit Prefixes

E    No credit earned toward the degree and no grade computed in the cumulative grade-point average
J    Credits are earned toward the degree, but the grade is not computed in the cumulative grade-point average
K    Credits are not earned toward the degree, but the grade is computed in the cumulative grade-point average
N    Assigned at the time the student initially registers for the course. It indicates no credit earned toward the degree,
        no grade computed in the grade-point average, no final exam taken, and the student received a grade of
        "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory)
P/NC  Indicates a course taken on a Pass/No Credit basis
 
• Withdrawal

A student who desires to withdraw from an Undergraduate College must:
1. Obtain a Notification of Withdrawal Form from the Registrar or his or her Dean of Students.
2. Secure an appointment with a counselor in the Office for Student Life for the purpose of obtaining permission to withdraw without penalty.
3. Be prepared to state in full, in writing, for the record, the reason(s) for withdrawing.
4. Obtain signatures of approval from the financial aid, housing, and, if applicable, EOF offices.
Return the completed form, in person, to the Undergraduate Registrar.

A student who leaves the college unofficially without following this procedure receives a grade of F, U, or NC in each course. A student who is unable to adhere to the above because of illness or other sufficient reason may submit the Notification of Withdrawal Form by mail to the Registrar's Office.

Refunds of tuition are calculated from the date the written Notification of Withdrawal Form, approved by the Office for Student Life, is received by the Registrar. See the "Tuition and Fees" chapter in your school catalog for information concerning the computation of refunds of tuition. A student is not eligible for a refund unless his or her withdrawal is formally reported to the Registrar.

When a student officially withdraws, a grade of "W" is assigned in each course. This symbol is recorded on the student's record.

Withdrawal as such is not recognized during the last two weeks of class meetings; students leaving during this period receive standard grades for the term.

Please note: Any notification to the instructor, adviser, or school does not fulfill the student's obligation to communicate directly and in writing with the Registrar in all matters pertaining to changes in registration and withdrawal.
 

• Student Classification

Certain Colleges (School of Arts & Sciences, Rutgers, Douglass, Livingston, University College) require a minimum of 120 credits to qualify for an Undergraduate Degree, while other Colleges (Cook, Mason Gross, Engineering) require additional credits for completion of an Undergraduate Degree, therefore, students should check with their Academic Dean to determine actual graduation requirements. Generally, students following a normal four year program are grouped according to their projected year of graduation on the basis of the number of credits they have satisfactorily completed, scaled as follows:
 
First year students           0 - 22 credits
Sophomores                   23 - 57
Juniors                            58 - 89
Seniors                           90 and above

In special cases, classifications are decided upon by the Registrar, with the advice of academic authority when necessary.
 
• Full- and Part Time Status for Undergraduate Students:

The designation of undergraduate students as full- or part time is necessary for the regulations governing tuition charges, student fees, statistical records, and other issues affected by such status. Status for undergraduate students is determined during the fall and spring terms as follows:
 
12.0 or more credits = full time
  6.0 - 11.99 credits = half time
 fewer than 6 credits = less than half time

During the Summer Session, status for undergraduate students is:
 6.0 credits = full time
 3.0 credits = half time

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Special Registration Options for Graduate Students

Credit Prefixes

E    Course does not count in average or toward degree
G    300-400 level Undergraduate Course - taken for credit toward graduate degree currently sought (not
        applicable for non matriculated students)
N    Not for Credit - S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) Grade -- No final exam
P    Course taken on PASS/NO CREDIT basis -- Only permitted by student's school and
       school offering course
Note: Credit Prefixes required only under the above conditions

During the Fall or Spring Semesters, Full- and Part Time Status for graduate students is as follows:

                        9 or more credits = full time
                        6.0-8.9 credits    = three quarters time
                        4.5-5.9 credits    = half time
                        0.0-4.4 credits    = less than half time

        During the Summer Session, status for graduate students is:
                        4.5 or more credits = full time
                        3.0-4.4 credits       = three quarters time
                        2.0-2.9 credits       = half time
                        0.0-1.9 credits       = less than half time

        During the Winter Session, status for graduate students is:
                        6 or more credits =    Full time
                        3.0 - 5.9 credits  =    Half time
                        0.0 -2.9 credits   =    Less than Half time


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Religious Holiday Policy

It is University policy (University Regulation on Attendance, Book 2, 2.4.7B) to excuse without penalty students who are absent from class because of religious observances, and to allow the make-up of work missed because of such absence. Examinations and special required out-of-class activities shall ordinarily not be scheduled on those days when religiously observant students refrain from participating in secular activities. Absences for reason of religious obligation shall not be counted for purposes of reporting.

Students are advised to provide timely notification to instructors (at the beginning of the semester) about necessary absences for religious observances that would interfere with their participation in classes during the semester. Students are responsible for making up the work or exams according to an agreed upon schedule with their instructor.


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Updated: October 17, 2007 [Newark Registrar] [New Brunswick Registrar] [Camden Registrar]