Adding and Dropping Courses

Students should:

• Use Enterprise/Self-Service system for all course changes.
• Use the Registrar Late Course Change form to add a first-half semester class after the 5th day of classes.  First obtain approval from the  department offering the class, then meet with a College Advisor in Grainger Engineering.

• For most cases, students should use Enterprise/Self-Service system for all course changes. 
• For the cases below, students must seek approval by making a request at the Add/Drop Portal:
  
  • Late adding a full-semester class (approvals are needed as indicated on the online form generated by the Add/Drop Portal). Follow instructions on Using the Add Drop Portal.
  • Changing a section for a full-semester class (students must drop and add - follow instructions on the Add/Drop Portal).
  • Students with College Holds (graduating seniors, students who missed their mandatory success meeting, etc.).
  • Students in the ZJUI Program may have a College hold.  They must use the Add/Drop Portal to request course changes.  ZJUI students should indication they are in the ZJUI program when emailing their PDF form to engineering@illinois.edu.
  • Dropping a class that brings total number of credit hours below 12 (underload) - Note that international students or students who have financial aid will need to check with other units (ISSS or OSFA) prior to making such requests.
  • Adding a class that brings total number of credit hours above 18 (overload).
  • Check important details about using the Add/Drop Portal in section thereafter.
• All holds (besides a College Hold) will need to be cleared before requesting late schedule changes. 

After 11:59 pm CDT on the campus deadline it is not possible for students to make any changes via Enterprise/Self-Service (except for adding or dropping a second-half semester class). Students who want to request a course drop after 11:59 pm CDT missed the deadline.

• ADD requests must be added through the Late Course Change request.
  • The last day to request a late add is the last day of instruction. 
• LATE drop requests require students to meet with a College of Engineering Advisor to discuss their situation:
  
  • Students will meet (virtually or in-person) with a College Advisor to discuss their situation - If after discussing, students wish to petition, they will complete the Late Course Drop Petition, that includes supporting documentation and a narrative. A college committee will review the petition and send the outcome via email.
  • Students must have extraordinary circumstance beyond their control that directly affected academics (medical or other emergency reasons) as stated at https://studentcode.illinois.edu/article3/part3/3-311/ (part d-2).

Students should ONLY use the Add/Drop Portal if Enterprise/Self-Service system cannot be used.  Students will use the Add/Drop Portal to drop below 12 hours, add over 18 hours, if there is a college hold, or if graduating.  The Add/Drop Portal will only be available through the drop deadline.  

1. Log into the Add/Drop Portal to request a course change.
2. Input the requested course information.
3. If approvals are required, print form as PDF and save electronically.  
4. Obtain approvals from Department if needed.  The form indicates if Department or other approvals are needed.  Email the PDF form for any required signatures prior to meeting with a College Advisor/Dean in The Grainger Academic Advising Center. 
5. Email PDF form with all signatures to engineering@illinois.edu with the subject "Course Change Request."  Students at ZJUI should also indicate they are at ZJUI in their email.
6. The Course Change Request will either be processed or students will be contacted to meet with a College Advisor/Dean. 
7. If an advising appointment is required, students will meet (virtually or in-person) with a College Advisor/Dean in The Grainger Academic Advising Center to discuss the situation.   The College Advisor/Dean will review and make decision about approval.   
8. Make sure to cancel any unwanted requests.
9. After the Drop Deadline - Students are required to meet with a College Advisor/Dean to discuss their situation.  

• If the request does not require approval as indicated at the Add/Drop Portal:
  
  • It will be processed within 2-3 business days. You will also receive an email when your request has been processed or if there is a problem with your request.
  • Please note that schedule changes are only processed during business hours.

To determine if the request has been processed, visit UI-Integrate to view the schedule. The Add/Drop Portal keeps track of the list of all requests made via the Add/Drop Portal for the current semester, and their current status.

• Not all requested changes will be approved.
• If adding a course will result in an overload (above 18 hours), the request must be approved by a College Advisor/Dean in the The Grainger Academic Advising Office (4th Floor of Grainger Library).  Enrolling in extra courses with the intention of dropping some later is strongly discouraged. Drop requests under these circumstances may be denied after the tenth day of classes. Overload requests for this purpose will not be approved.

• If dropping a course, check the Class Schedule for co-requisites for enrolled courses. Drop requests of co-requisite courses may require additional documentation and may be denied.

Students can use Enterprise/Self-Service system until 11:59 pm Central Time of the Drop Deadline to drop a full-semester course.

If the Add/Drop Portal is needed (dropping below 12 hours, students with college holds, etc), the portal closes at 11:59 pm on the drop deadline (October 13 for Fall 2023):

• Until 4:00 pm CT on Drop Deadline: Enter requests for schedule changes in the add/drop portal (https://my.engr.illinois.edu/coursechanges) and meet an advisor.  The advising office in 206 Engineering Hall will be open virtually until 4:00pm to consider add/drop portal requests.
• Between 4:00 pm CDT – 11:59 pm CDT on Drop Deadline, Students who would like to request a course drop should submit their request in the Add/Drop Portal, print the PDF and email this from their Illinois email to engineering@illinois.edu. In addition to the PDF from the Add/Drop Portal, the email should include the course they are requesting to drop and the 5 digit CRN.  Requests received via email by 11:59pm on the Drop Deadline will be evaluated on the following day on a case-by-case basis using the same criteria as requests made via the add/drop portal or via virtual visits (e.g. is the request for a drop of a restricted course?, will the change put the student at an overload/underload?, etc).
• After 11:59pm CDT on Drop Deadline, all drop requests are late, and students who missed the deadline must formally petition and meet with a college of engineering advisor in The Grainger Academic Advising Center (4th Floor of Grainger Library).  Drop requests after the drop deadline will most likely not be approved. 

• The Add/Drop Portal is telling me to print a form and get signatures on the form; what do I do?
  No need to print a form. Simply generate a PDF version that you can send to the different units/Advisors for digital signatures, in the order specified on the form. On your last stop (College Advisors/Deans in 4th Floor of Grainger Library), the College Advisor/Dean you meet with will ask you to show the form with all needed approvals, other than the College Engineering Dean/Advisor (last step/signature).
• I want to drop a class "with W" after the drop deadline, will my request automatically be approved?
  Requesting a drop after the deadline is not guaranteed. You must have extraordinary circumstances beyond your control that affected your academic performance and are well documented. If your drop request is approved, you will get a 'W' on your transcript. 
• What is a 'W' and how does that affect me?
   A 'W' indicates that you registered and subsequently dropped the class and will appear on your transcript. It does not factor in your GPA. Some professional schools (such as law or medical) will evaluate 'W' grades as failing grades. 
• I have questions, where do I go?
  You may either email engineering@illinois.edu or ask to meet with an advisor. See go.grainger.illinois.edu/UPOAdvising. The advising team in the Undergraduate Programs Office handles all academic matters.  We are here to help, guide and assist. We will work with you and help you find solutions.
• I have been advised to "see a Dean", where do I go?
  We are in The Grainger Academic Advising Center (4^th Floor of Grainger Library, East Wing) or see go.grainger.illinois.edu/UPOAdvising. The advising team in UPO handles all academic matters for the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs.