Students - Registration + Classes

You can determine how a class will meet by looking at the Mode of Instruction. See Instruction Mode for more details.

The official class time slots are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 50 minutes or Tuesday and Thursday for 75 minutes. This schedule applies to all undergraduate and many graduate courses (professional schools may have their own schedules). 

The University Community Hour began with the Fall 2004 academic term. It is scheduled every Friday during the fall and spring semesters on Fridays from 12:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. No required academic activities of any type may be scheduled during this period. Implementing the University Community Hour facilitates student and faculty attendance at campus-wide gatherings and special events, especially those that foster community building at Case Western Reserve University.

The Faculty Senate Curriculum Subcommittee endorsed the following definition of a credit-hour as it pertains to undergraduate courses (effective 4/25/12):

  • The assignment of credit-hours to a course occurs through a formal review process conducted at the appropriate levels of faculty governance.
  • For undergraduate courses in lecture format, one credit-hour represents the subject content that can be delivered in one academic hour of contact time along with associated work that can be completed by a typical student in 2-3 hours of effort outside the classroom, each week for the full duration of one academic semester (typically fourteen weeks). For graduate and professional courses taught in lecture format, 3-4 hours of outside work is expected for each academic hour of contact time.
  • For courses taught in other than lecture format (e.g., seminars, laboratories, independent study, clinical work, research, etc.), one credit-hour represents an amount of content and/or student effort that in aggregate is no less than that described in (2) above.

When a student attempts to register for classes which have conflicting meeting times (for all or portions of the class), SIS will allow registration in one course and then return a time conflict error message for the other. The student may request permission to override a time conflict from the instructor of the class that will be missed. Students should NOT request permission from the instructor of the class that will not be missed.

The university does not automatically cancel courses with low enrollments for the fall and spring terms. The university does sometimes cancel summer term courses with low enrollments. Decisions regarding course cancellation are made by deans' offices and academic departments.  Such decisions are not made by the University Registrar's Office.

If a course is full, you cannot register for it. You will need to request permission from the instructor through SIS. (See Permission Requests for instructions.) If the instructor chooses to allow you into the course, then the instructor will grant the permission for you, and you will receive a notification email. If the instructor grants the permission, you must still register for the course. The instructor permission is not a course registration; it is only consent to register. You will be able to view all permissions granted to you in the Student Information System.

During the drop/add period, you can drop a class through SIS. (See Academic Calendar for dates.) From Student Home, click the Classes & Enrollment tile. On the page that appears, click Modify Classes, then Drop Classes.  You will see the courses in which you are enrolled. Click the box to the left of the course(s) you wish to drop and then click Next. Review the courses you have selected and click the Drop Classes button to process your drop request. Click Yes to confirm.  Next you will see a message indicating whether or not the drop was successful.

If you are withdrawing from all classes, there are two options available to you. The first option is to submit a Withdrawal Request through SIS. To withdraw from all classes during the Fall or Spring terms, choose Withdraw from All Classes from the Modify Classes folder under the Classes & Enrollment tile.

The second option is to complete a withdrawal form and obtain a Dean's signature from the Office of Undergraduate Advising Support. See also Withdrawals and Tuition Refunds. 

If you wish to withdraw from all classes during the summer, you may drop all classes from the Drop Classes menu in the Modify Classes folder under the Classes & Enrollment tile.

When you attempt to register for a variable unit course, there is a drop down menu where you can choose the specific number of units. It always defaults to the lowest possible value. If you're already registered for a course and need to change the hours, you may do so during the drop/add period. (See Academic Calendar for dates.) Click the Classes & Enrollment tile, select the appropriate term, select the Modify Classes folder, then select Edit classes. Select the class to edit and follow the prompts for changing the number of units. 

Yes. You can use the Google Calendar Course Schedule Tool to add your class schedule to your calendar.