Changes to Enrollment/Class Schedule

Courses may be added during the first eight calendar days for spring and fall semester through the student portal myESU.

Courses may be dropped (no record on academic transcript) during the first eight calendar days of the semester for spring and fall semesters through the student portal myESU.

Students who withdraw from a course beginning day nine through week 10 will receive a grade of “W” for that course on their permanent record. Instructor permission may be required to withdraw from a course.

After the 10th week the student may withdraw only if there are extraordinary circumstances (e.g. illness, death in the family, etc.). In this situation the student must also secure the appropriate dean’s signature and submit it to the Student Enrollment Center. A grade of “W” will be assigned if the student is passing; “Z” will be assigned if the student is failing.

Any student who discontinues attendance in a course without formally withdrawing will be assigned an “E” as a final grade. Through the class roster verification process, a student who has not attended a course during the first week (first five class days of the semester or first two days of summer session) may be dropped from the course by the instructor.

A student may withdraw (“W” or “Z”) from a maximum of 16 credits during the student’s stay at the university. Any course dropped during the first week of the semester, for which no grade is assigned, will not be counted toward this limit, nor will received for a total semester withdrawal from the university.

A student attending a course without proper registration and payment of all tuition and fees does not constitute de facto enrollment. The university will not permit retroactive enrollment in or payment for any class after the end of the term in which the course is offered.

*Except for extraordinary circumstances as previously defined.

Total University Withdrawal

Students who are withdrawing from all courses for an upcoming semester should contact the Student Enrollment Center with name, ID, the semester not attending and reason for withdrawing from the university.  

Students who withdraw from all courses during the first 8 days of the semester and have engaged in academic related activity during this period will receive a grade of "W" (withdraw) on their transcript.  Academic related activity include but are not limited to the following:

• Physically attending a class where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students.
• Submitting an academic assignment.
• Taking an exam, completing an interactive tutorial, or participating in computer assisted instruction.
• Attending a study group that is assigned by the school.
• Participating in an online discussion about academic matters.
• Initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course.

Auditing Courses

A student desiring to audit a course must submit an official request to the Student Enrollment Center after securing the approval of the professor of the course. A change of registration from credit to audit or from audit to credit may occur only during the first eight calendar days of the semester. Auditing students pay the same tuition and fees as students taking courses for credit.

Please note: Senior citizens registering for courses under the special student status will automatically be assigned an audit grade.

Accelerated Pathways

A number of undergraduate degree programs have accelerated pathway options linked with graduate degree programs.  The current accelerated pathway options are:

An undergraduate student, majoring in a program that has an accelerated pathway with a corresponding graduate program (see the list above), and who meets the requirements for participating in an accelerated pathway may have the opportunity to take graduate level courses, which will count both toward the completion of the undergraduate degree and graduate degree. Each academic department determines the number of graduate credits that can be taken.  Please check the specific program in the undergraduate catalog for the amount of graduate credits that can be taken to count towards both the undergraduate and graduate degrees.  Students are encouraged to meet with their academic advisors before electing to participate in the accelerated pathway.

In order to qualify to participate in an accelerated pathway, the student must have attained at least junior standing and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 before taking graduate courses in the intended graduate program.  If the intended graduate program requires a higher GPA, the student must meet the higher GPA before taking graduate courses.  Each accelerated pathway option has specific requirements. Please check the specific program in the undergraduate catalog for those specific requirements.     

A student must have obtained a grade of “B” or higher in the graduate course in order for it to count towards the graduate degree program, while a grade of “C” or higher is necessary in order for it to count towards the undergraduate degree program. 

A student doing an accelerated pathway may be provisionally accepted into the respective graduate program and formally admitted upon completion of his/her undergraduate degree so long as all the other program admission requirements have been met (see complete graduate degree program admission requirements in the graduate catalog).

Undergraduate Students Taking Graduate Courses

ESU undergraduate students may take a maximum of six graduate credits during their senior year if the following criteria are met:

1. Satisfaction of the grade point requirements for admission with full graduate standing, i.e. 3.000 GPA in the major and 2.5000 GPA overall (may be higher for some majors);
2. Verification of senior class status (completion of 90 credits);
3. Approval by the appropriate faculty member teaching the class;
4. Approval of the dean of the Graduate College. This must be submitted to the Student Enrollment Center.

All appropriate signatures must be secured prior to registering. Graduate credit that is used to satisfy graduation requirements for the bachelor’s degree cannot be used to satisfy the requirements of a master’s degree at ESU.