Registration

The Cornell University School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions (SCE) operates primarily on student tuition revenues. Therefore, it is essential that all students attending classes officially register and pay tuition, regardless of whether they wish to take a course for credit or for audit.

Please do not permit any student to attend who has not officially registered. It is unfair to students who have paid tuition to allow others who have neither registered nor paid tuition to attend class.

In addition, the University and the faculty member can be placed at liability risk by an unregistered student. To verify a student's official registration, you may call the School office (607.255.4987).

Late registration, changes in registration, or withdrawal from a course must be made by the student using the online add/drop/change form or via petition if the deadlines to make changes have passed.

Cornell students who have been suspended or expelled from their school or college may not register for Summer/Winter Session without the permission of the dean or senior associate dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions.

Summer/Winter Session operates on an open admission basis. Therefore, it is not possible to screen academic backgrounds to ensure that students have the prerequisites for these courses. If your course has a prerequisite, in addition to indicating it in the course-description notations, you may wish to ask students on the first day of class if they have met prerequisites. You may determine at that time whether all students will be permitted to attend your class.

Late registration

When students have been granted permission to register late, it is their responsibility to make up any class work that has been missed. Admission to class after the registration deadline is subject to the approval of both the instructor and the School petitions committee.

Changes in registration

In many cases the following changes in registration must be made by the student in person at the SCE office using the online add/drop/change form or via petition if the deadlines to make changes have passed:

  • Dropping a course
  • Adding a course
  • Changing from one course to another
  • Changing the number of credit hours
  • Changing the grade option

Only the SCE Registrar may authorize changes in registration. No changes in registration will be permitted after the deadline, except for reasons beyond the student's control.

Make-up of incompletes

Students who are registering to make up an incomplete must have your signature on the Make-up Incomplete Registration form. They will not appear on your class list and will not count as part of your enrollment.

Withdrawals

Students may withdraw from Summer/Winter Session at any time prior to the deadline; withdrawals after the deadline will result in a grade of W. To withdraw, the student must submit a petition, which will be reviewed by the SCE Petitions Committee. Notifying the instructor of intention to withdraw is not sufficient and failing to submit a petition to withdraw will result in a grade of F or U on the student's transcript.

Auditors

Cornell undergraduates are not permitted to audit. A graduate or special student who prefers to audit a course must officially register for the class and pay the same tuition as if registering for credit. Regular attendance is expected. Grade options for auditing students are only "V" or "INC". Audited classes and their associated grade appear on the student's official transcript.

Precollege Summer Visitors Program

Students in the Precollege Studies Summer Residential Program for high school students are offered the opportunity to visit Six-Week Summer Session courses for a day or two in addition to the courses in which they are enrolled for credit.

In order to participate in the Visitors Program and sit in on your course, students must have your written permission. Precollege students will ask you to complete and sign a permission form, which they must return to the Precollege Studies office. As visitors, they may not participate in the class unless you allow them to do so.

Visitors' names do not appear on your class list and they do not count as part of your enrollment. If you believe that it is not in the best interest of your class, you may decide not to allow any visitors.