Registration

Registration Procedures

New students, both graduate and undergraduate, can register for classes once all requirements for admission to the university are met.

After admission requirements are met, new graduate students will register in accordance with the procedures set out in the Schedule of Classes.

After admission requirements are met, new undergraduate students will receive their registration information in connection with the orientation program provided for such students. Further instruction for completing registration will be given during the orientation program.

Former students returning to the university after an absence of a semester must notify the Office of the Registrar of their intent to register for the semester or summer session in which they plan to enroll. Specific information for each semester's registration procedures is given in the Schedule of Classes for that particular semester; these procedures are available at the Office of the Registrar website registrar.uni.edu. The registration system is accessed on the My Page tab of MyUNIverse in the Student Center section. See myuniverse.uni.edu.

Change of Registration

Students can add classes without approval during the first 5 instructional days of the semester. Days 6-10, they need departmental approval. For shorter sessions such as summer and winter, this time frame is proportionally shorter. After the tenth day, adding a class is rare and requires approval from the instructor, the student's advisor, and the department head.

Courses dropped after the deadline to drop with a W (withdrawn) will receive an F (failed) grade. If there are extenuating circumstances, the student may seek approval by submitting an Academic Student Request, to drop the course with a W after the deadline.

Important deadlines for adding, dropping, and grading changes are listed in the Schedule of Classes.

Withdrawal Procedure

A student who has started attending classes, and who finds it necessary to withdraw completely from school, initiates the withdrawal through the Office of the Registrar. Students who live in residence halls must also cancel the housing contract through University Housing & Dining. Students receiving financial aid must contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. Students who wish to drop one or more courses and yet remain enrolled should refer to Change of Registration.

A student who has registered but decides not to attend UNI should withdraw through the Office of the Registrar as soon as possible. Withdrawal after classes begin will cause a tuition charge.

Tuition and Fee Refunds

The information below applies to students who withdraw completely from school during an academic term. Dropping one or more classes does not constitute a withdrawal unless a student drops all registered courses for the term.

If credit is earned during the period of enrollment, there is no tuition and fee refund. For any two- or three-week session, there is no tuition and fee refund. Room and board refunds are made according to agreement set out in the Contract for Room and Board.

Academic fees for a student enrolled for a regular semester or summer session who withdraws from the university will be reduced by the percentage stated in the table below, beginning with the date of formal withdrawal with the Office of the Registrar. The reduction will vary from 90 to 25 percent. For summer sessions, reduction percentages are on a day-count basis. (Please see the Schedule of Classes for information pertaining to a particular semester or summer session.)

Fall/Spring Semester Refund Schedule

Refunds for tuition and mandatory fees are calculated using the dates and percentages below:

  • Before Classes Begin: 100%
  • First Week: 90%
  • Second Week: 75%
  • Third Week: 50%
  • Fourth Week: 25%
  • After Fourth Week: 0%

Summer Session* Refund Schedule

8-week or longer session

6-week sessions

4-week sessions

  • *No refund for two- or three-week sessions.

Credit/No Credit Grading

An undergraduate student having earned twelve semester hours of credit at this university may take courses offered by this institution for which the student is otherwise eligible for degree credit without grade under the following conditions:

  1. The course work requirements for a student taking work on an ungraded basis shall be the same as for a student taking the work on a graded basis.
  2. A grade of C- or higher is required in a course to receive credit on the credit/no credit option.
  3. Not more than 22 hours of ungraded course work in addition to courses authorized to be offered only for ungraded credit may be taken toward any bachelor's degree.
  4. Ungraded credit may not be applied to work required for a major, minor, or certificate except with the consent of the head of the department in which the course is offered.
  5. No course taken in the credit/no credit option may be applied toward meeting a UNIFI/General Education requirement.
  6. Except for Student Teaching (EDUC 4132 through EDUC 4140), ungraded credit may not be used to meet the Professional Experiences Requirements for the teaching program.
  7. Course work passed without grade (CR=credit) may not be retaken except by special permission of the dean of the college in which the course is offered.
  8. A graded course completed may not be retaken on an ungraded basis.
  9. The credit/no credit system may not be used with Credit by Examination, Extension, or self-paced courses.
  10. Change of registration in a course to or from a non-graded basis may not be made after the deadline published in the Schedule of Classes. Only one such change of registration may be made per course.
    A graduate student may include up to three credit hours of non-graded graduate course work in the program of study with the approval of the department.
  11. The credit/no credit grading system may not be used in Presidential Scholars Seminars or for the Presidential Scholars Thesis/Project credit.

Note: No upper level (3000-level and above) accounting courses may be taken on a credit/no credit or audited basis without written consent of the department head or director of the MAcc, except ACCT 3090, ACCT 3092/5092, ACCT 3179, and ACCT 6090.

Auditing (Visiting) Classes

A student may register for a class(es) on an audit/non-credit basis at the University of Northern Iowa if space is available in the course.  A student auditing (visiting) a course is not required to take examinations, take part in class discussions, or complete other work.  There is no reduction of tuition and fees for auditing (visiting) a course.  Audited courses will not be recorded on the permanent record for the student except by a student request approved by the instructor and indicating the student regularly attended the course.

If the term load limit for the student will be exceeded with the addition of a course being audited (visiting), a Student Request must be completed for approval prior to registration.

Specific information on auditing (visiting) classes may be obtained from the Office of the Registrar.

Independent Study

Undergraduate students of outstanding ability and achievement may be permitted to earn credit by departmental independent study.

This method of study follows the pattern of an investigation undertaken by a graduate student, although in reduced form. It involves independent thinking, the drawing of conclusions, the summarizing of evidence, or creative work. Whenever possible, the result of the investigation is summarized in a scholarly paper or report, prepared and documented in an approved fashion. This report is filed in the department office.

Independent study should not involve work available through regular university courses; neither should it be confused with individual instruction, or the tutorial method. Individual instruction is provided on rare occasions for instruction in a university course not currently being offered.

Application for independent study, including an outline of the proposed project, should be made to the head of the department in which the study is to be done and must have this approval before the project is undertaken. The student's program of independent study will be under the immediate supervision of one or more faculty members. Except for the major in Individual Studies, not more than six hours of credit earned by independent study may be used to meet the requirements of a major.

Independent study may also be taken under the Individual Studies program. Refer to Individual Studies major in this University Catalog for details.