University at Buffalo (UB)
This collection of resources is designed for UB faculty and staff to easily assist and advise undergraduate students who have majors in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Our ten professional academic advisors specialize in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) majors and minors, and are liaisons with department advisors and faculty. All CAS majors are assigned to a specific CAS acedemic advisor. Each summer and winter we work extensively with incoming freshman, transfers and re-enters before they set up their schedules. Throughout the year we run workshops, outreach projects, and meet with students on probation, first semester freshman and anyone who needs assistance navigating advisement needs. Faculty and staff are invited to consult with our staff on any student-related issues. Students who are exploratory, transitioning between majors or in pre-health tracks will also work with the Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center (EPAC) in 112 Capen Hall. Students in specialized areas (Honors, Athletics, EOP, ACE, Ackers) have their own advisement teams.
Holds prevent enrollment activity until the student has completed the requirement listed within the hold. Some examples may be paying a parking ticket or a bill, completing a profile update or a mandatory orientation. Students can check for holds on HUB in the “To-Do” tile.
Students may add or drop classes through the 7th day of classes (including Saturdays, not including Sundays or holidays).
Specific add/drop deadline dates can be found on the Registrar’s website each semester. (Note: Full time is considered 12 credits +.)
Students may resign from courses starting on the 8th day of the semester and ending on Friday of the 11th week. An “R” grade will appear on the transcript for the resigned course, but will not impact the GPA. It is each instructor’s responsibility to provide students with some concrete evaluation of their progress in every course before the end of the 11th week. The University’s position is that students are responsible for managing their enrollments and resigning from courses in a timely manner. Resigned courses do not count towards a student’s academic status, i.e., if a student resigns and falls below 12 credits, he or she will be considered a part-time student. This can have serious implications for financial aid. Specific add/drop deadline dates can be found on the Registrar's website each semester.
Students with financial aid (especially TAP, Pell and Excelsior) need to meet certain registration criteria each semester. It is especially critical that those students meet with their financial aid advisor each semester (especially if they may be considering resigning a class) and that they meet with their assigned academic advisor each semester. Students with questions on financial aid should be directed to the financial aid office. Academic advisors are not qualified to answer most financial aid questions.
**Beginning spring 2021, students may opt for S/U grading by the resign deadline for the course.**
For full S/U Grading policies, limits and details, see the Office of the Registrar website and the Undergraduate Catalog.
A grade of Incomplete indicates that additional course work is required to fulfill the requirements of a given course. Students may only be given an Incomplete if they have a passing average in coursework that has been completed and have well-defined parameters to complete the course requirements that could result in a grade better than the default grade. (Default grades are defined below.)
Prior to the end of the semester, students must initiate the request for an “I” grade and receive the instructor’s approval:
An “I” grade may not be assigned to a student who did not attend the course. Students with an incomplete should not register to re-take the course. The full Incomplete Policy can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
An instructor can initiate a grade change by using a Grade Change Tool in the password-protected Faculty/Staff Portion of the Registrar’s page. Reasons for the change, aside from changes of Incomplete and J grades, must be fully explained and justified on the form. Permanent grades, including Incompletes that have been updated or allowed to default, may not be changed except to correct a grading error.
When a student repeats a course at UB, the second grade replaces the first in the GPA calculation. A student who wishes to take a course a third time (or more) for a letter grade must receive permission from the relevant department and be force registered in the class. If a student fails the course a second time, it may be taken again, but all subsequent failing grades will count in the student’s GPA. When the student eventually passes the course, the final passing grade and the credit will also be included in the GPA. A student may repeat a UB course by taking the equivalent course at another school, but this does not result in a change to the student’s UB GPA. The full repeat policy can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.
All third attempts of classes (including graded attempts and Resigns/Rs, excluding Withdrawals/Ws) will need to be added by department force registration. Students will need to contact the department directly to obtain assistance to register for the class in any semester. Academic advisors are not able to force register students into classes.
Students who wish to repeat courses on the ‘Controlled Enrollment (CEC)’ list do not have priority registration access during a fall/spring term, except in the case of a Withdrawal/W grade the first time. They do have normal registration access during summer/winter terms. Students must be informed that a course is ‘Limited Enrollment’ in the syllabus, and an announcement should be made the first week of classes. Students may enroll in CEC courses during fall/spring to repeat them when that restriction is lifted (generally somewhere between the week before the classes begin to the first day of class) if seats are available.
Most, but not all, CAS majors are direct admit. If a student adds a second major it may be coded as an “intended” major. Students are required to be fully approved into any major, minor and/or certificate program on their records in order to graduate. It is especially important to be an approved major by the time 60 credits are copmleted, for the purposes of financial aid eligibilty. To see the prerequisites for any major, and for departmental contact information to apply to a major, see the Undergraduate Catalog for the particular program.
Undergraduate students must apply for their degree through HUB and can apply up to one year in advance. A student must be an Approved major before applying for graduation. Deadlines and conferral dates are:
Graduation Term
Fall
Spring
Summer
Application Deadline
October 15
February 22
July 15
Conferral Date
February 1
June 1
August 31
A Leave of Absence is normally granted for 1 or 2 semesters but may be extended for one additional year by written request. The online request form is available on the Registrar’s website and does not require the approval of an academic advisor. Eligibility will be verified in the registrar’s office. Students are eligible if they:
Students who are not enrolled for one fall or spring term without taking a Leave must be readmitted to UB in order to enroll again.
A student who must withdraw from classes should consult with his or her academic advisor to see if they are eligible for an Academic Withdrawal. If eligible, the student would need to work with the advisor for appropriate procedures, justification, and documentation to request an administrative withdrawal to be applied for the semester in question (grades of “W”). Academic withdrawals based upon extraordinary circumstances are normally considered only for all courses in a semester, not selected courses. The deadline is one full semester following the term being requested. Students should be directed to their assigned advisor to discuss this petition process further but more information can be found on the leaving UB page.