Advising

Enrollment Options for Fourth-Years

On occasion fourth-year students may find that they do not need to remain enrolled in courses through their final quarter. Such students may consider alternatives such as Extended Enrollment status or No Further Enrollments Required status.

Options & Policies

    The Office of the Dean of Students in the College may approve an Extended Enrollment Status for students who have no further required enrollments and are working to complete a BA thesis or complete work to resolve any outstanding incompletes. Students must make the request with their College adviser prior to the end of the first week of the quarter during which the student intends to be on Extended Enrollment Status.

    Extended Enrollment Status may be held for one quarter. If a student in Extended Enrollment Status does not graduate at the end of the Extended Enrollment quarter, the student must apply for No Further Enrollments (NFER) status - see the "No Further Enrollment Required (NFER)" section below. When the student has completed the outstanding work and is ready to graduate, the student can apply to graduate provided they have,

    1. Met all of their remaining graduation requirements and have cleared all restrictions;
    2. Informed their College advisers; and
    3. Submitted a “College Degree Application Form” by the Friday of the first week of the quarter.

    Download the Extended Enrollment Status form here.

    Approved students will be assessed a quarterly fee to maintain Extended Enrollment Status. In addition to this cost, students in Extended Enrollment Status will be assessed the Student Life Fee allowing them to retain access to University facilities (such as Ratner and Regenstein). For information on the fees associated with Extended Enrollment, see the Office of the Bursar.

    Unless they have waived the insurance for that policy year, students in Extended Enrollment Status can remain enrolled in the University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP). For more information regarding the maintenance or termination of U-SHIP enrollment, see U-SHIP Information.

    If you are a student on financial aid, you should consult the Office of College Aid before electing Extended Enrollment Status. Under most loan programs, you will be allowed a grace period between the time your registration falls below half-time and the time you have to begin repayment. Please note that this may differ from your actual graduation date. If you have taken a Leave of Absence from the College for more than one term, the grace period for your Title IV loans may have been reduced by the length of the leave. A student who has exhausted their grace period and is unable to begin repayment may apply for a deferment or forbearance of payment through the Federal Student Aid Office.

    Students are eligible for a No Further Enrollments Required status in the following three situations:

    1. They have exceeded their 12 quarters of enrollment but still have work to complete
    2. They have exceeded their one quarter of Extended Enrollment Status
    3. They have completed less than 12 quarters of enrollment but have no remaining work to complete

    Students on this status will not pay any fees and will retain access to the Library and University email. Students may remain in this status until they have reached the maximum of eight quarters of leave, cumulative or consecutive, after which they will be administratively withdrawn from the College. However, petitions may be granted to extend a leave for up to 12 cumulative quarters for students as a reasonable accommodation for a disability or otherwise as required by law. Students seeking an exception to the eight-quarter maximum must petition the College Dean of Students no later than the end of the eighth quarter of leave.

    Students in the No Further Enrollments Required status are not eligible for the University Student Health Insurance Plan (U-SHIP).

    Download the No Further Enrollments Required form here.

    Students may request Enrollment Certifications through my.uchicago.edu. Students who encounter problems with this procedure should contact the Office of the University Registrar at 773.702.7891 or registrar@uchicago.edu.