Registration and Enrollment

Late Change of Schedule

Policy

College of Computing, Data Science, and Society students will be allowed a total of two late changes to their schedule.*

Late changes include:

Late drop of Early Drop Deadline (EDD) courses after the 2nd week deadline;
Late add or drop of courses after the 4th week deadline; and
Late change of grading option after the 10th week deadline.

Students may use both late changes in one semester or use one late change in two different semesters. This policy applies to Fall and Spring semesters only and does not include Summer late changes.

Please consider your request carefully and meet with a CDSS College Advisor if you have any questions. It will be important to consider the impact of late action on your financial aid, progress toward degree, or academic standing, as these things are not checked during petition processing. You are still expected to graduate within the allotted time frame (8 semesters for first-year admits and 5 semesters for transfer admits). If you have any questions about this process or the impact that a drop or grading option change will have on your academic progress, please contact a CDSS College Advisor.

*Note: As of Fall 2024, continuing students’ number of late changes will not reset. This means that any late changes approved by your previous college will apply toward the two-late change limit in CDSS.

Conduct Violations

Students with a conduct violation related to a course may have limits on schedule changes. Please discuss this with the Center for Student Conduct.

Deadline for Submission

Fall/Spring semesters:
Last day of instruction (Friday before RRR week) at 11:59pm PT

You can submit a Late Change of Schedule by going to your CalCentral "My Dashboard" tab and selecting "Late Schedule Change Petition" in the Student Resources section.

The CalCentral Late Schedule Change “eForm” will be automatically routed to the appropriate offices (Athletics, Berkeley International Office, instructors, etc.) for required signatures.

Submit the eForm through CalCentral to drop courses, add courses, change a grading option, or change variable units.

Use the Drop action to drop a course.
Use the Add action to add a course.
Use the Grading Option action to change a grading option (available only when the CalCentral enrollment system does not offer grading option changes).
Use the Variable Unit action to change variable units – this will not count towards the two late-change limit.

If you have any questions about this process, or the impact a drop, add, grading option change, or variable unit change will have on your academic progress, please feel free to contact CDSS College Advising.

Students who wish to withdraw from all of their courses should not use this petition. Instead, they should follow the directions on the Office of the Registrar’s website.
Please note that students receiving financial aid, international students requesting to drop below 12 units, and NCAA student athletes should consult those offices before submitting an eForm.

Student Considerations

Financial Aid Eligibility

Please note that financial aid coverage can be jeopardized if a student plans to drop below the 12 units. Students should contact Cal Student Central for information about specific cases.

DSP Students

If a student is registered with the Disabled Students' Program (DSP) and they are requesting a late change related to the impact of their disability outside of the traditional add/drop deadline, students can request a DSP-related late change of class schedule. Students should contact their DSP specialist to request a letter of verification that will be submitted with the late schedule change eform via Cal Central.

International Students

International students requesting to drop below 12 units of in-person classes need to consult with the Berkeley International Office for visa eligibility information. More information can be found here.

UCEAP Reciprocity students will not be able to access the Late Schedule Change petition “eForm” in CalCentral. Please email us for additional support.

Simultaneous Degree Students

Students completing a simultaneous degree with CDSS and another college will need to consult with both colleges for the request to be considered.

Concurrent Enrollment

Concurrent Enrollment is when a student plans to enroll in a course(s) at another institution while they are also enrolled in a Fall or Spring semester at UC Berkeley.

CDSS undergraduate students can pursue Concurrent Enrollment without requesting prior approval from CDSS College Advising, and no petition is required. Official transcripts will need to be submitted to UC Berkeley upon completion of the coursework. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with a CDSS College Advisor and/or Major Advisor to discuss whether pursuing concurrent enrollment is a good option.

Degree and Enrollment Requirements

Concurrent enrollment units do not count towards the minimum enrollment per semester at UC Berkeley. In other words, you still need to enroll in a minimum of 12 units at Berkeley unless you are otherwise approved for a reduced course load.

It is the student's responsibility to confirm that the coursework they are taking is transferable and applies to a particular degree requirement. See Transfer Credit section on this page for more information about transferable coursework.

Students are encouraged to speak with a CDSS College Advisor if they have questions about satisfying college requirements.

Students are encouraged to speak to their Major Advisor if they have questions about satisfying major requirements.

Special Permissions/Applications

Permission or application approval might be required in particular circumstances:

Simultaneous Degree students in any college besides CDSS and L&S are required to receive permission from their other college.
Students in the Fall Program for First Semester should consult with their FPF advisor.
Students interested in applying to a visitor and exchange program or UC Berkeley Extension Concurrent Enrollment program should review the separate application processes.

Registration Holds

Holds are placed on students’ registrations by a variety of offices with a range of impacts. Typically, students are most impacted by holds by not being able to enroll in courses until the hold is lifted.

You can view holds when logged into CalCentral. Click on the registration hold alert for information about why it is there, who placed it, and how to clear it.

Registration holds placed by CDSS College Advising

Reading and Composition

To be eligible to have your R&C registration hold removed, you will need to meet with a CDSS College Advisor to discuss your plan for completing the requirement.

Due to limited seat capacity in R&C courses on campus, students in their 5th semester or later may experience difficulty in accessing enrollment in R&C courses. You may need to explore alternate options to complete this requirement, for example, through a UCB Summer Sessions course or through an approved course at a California Community College

Unapproved Reduced Course Load

This hold may be placed when you are currently enrolled in an unapproved reduced course load (meaning you are enrolled in fewer than 12 units without College permission). These holds will be placed each semester after the add deadline.

A habit of taking unapproved reduced course loads can be an indicator that there are unaddressed extenuating factors that are impacting your ability to take a course load of 12 units each semester. There are many cases in which a student may be eligible to take an approved reduced course load each semester. To remove this hold, email the CDSS office for further instructions.

Incomplete Grades

With mutual agreement between an instructor and student, it may be appropriate for a professor to assign a grade of Incomplete if a student finds themselves in circumstances – beyond their control – unable to finish their work in a course by the end of the term. A grade of Incomplete should only be issued when the student’s work in the course has been of passing quality to date. If a grade of Incomplete is assigned, the student is required to finish any remaining assignments prior to the deadlines set forth below. Failure to complete the work within the deadline will result in the Incomplete lapsing to a failing grade.

Deadlines for Resolving Incomplete Grades (Lapse Date)

At the instructor’s discretion, an earlier deadline for completion of undergraduate student work can be imposed. If no such deadline is set by the instructor, the lapse date will be as follows:

For Incomplete grades given in a Fall semester: First day of instruction of the following fall semester by 11:59:00 p.m. PT.
For Incomplete grades given in a Spring semester or Summer term: First day of instruction of the following spring semester by 11:59:00 p.m. PT.

Replace an Incomplete Grade

Student Deadline: Student to submit work to instructor to resolve an incomplete - due 30 days in advance of the lapse date or the instructor-provided deadline, whichever is earlier.

Instructor Deadline: Instructor to enter corrected grade - due by the lapse date.

Extending an Incomplete

Deadlines

Student Deadline: Student to submit petition to extend to instructor - due 30 days in advance of the lapse date or the instructor-provided deadline, whichever is earlier.

Instructor Deadline: Instructor to email signed petition to extend to CDSS college advising - due by the lapse date.

Petitions for an extension of an Incomplete may be considered under circumstances where an Instructor failed to issue a grade within the completion deadline. The Petition to Extend an Incomplete Grade must be completed by both the student and Instructor, and sent to CDSS College Advising via email at cdss-undergrad@berkeley.edu. This petition must be submitted according to the deadlines listed above.. If approved, students must complete the course by the new deadline. Requests for freezing or retaining an Incomplete on a course approved for an extension will be denied. If an extension is denied, the grade must be entered by the instructor by the deadline or the Incomplete will lapse to an F grade.

Retaining/Freezing an Incomplete

Deadline

Student Deadline: Student to submit petition to freeze to CDSS college advising - due by the lapse date.

Instructor Deadline: Not applicable.

A student may retain ("freeze") two incomplete grades throughout their undergraduate career so that they remain permanently on the record as Incompletes (they never lapse to an F or NP) by filing the appropriate petition according to the deadlines listed above. Late petitions will not be accepted. Once an I grade has been frozen, the course or its equivalent can never be completed or repeated. Thus, a student may not freeze an I grade in a required course. I grades may not be frozen after an I grade has been extended.

Petition to Request to Retain/Freeze an Incomplete Grade

Hold for Excess Incomplete Grades

If you have 12 units or more of unresolved incompletes on your record, you will not be allowed to register at Berkeley in the subsequent Fall or Spring semester. Berkeley senate regulations require that you complete some or all of your Incomplete grades before registering for another term. If you have 12 units or more of unresolved incompletes on your record (not including “frozen” Incompletes), an “Excess Incompletes” hold will be placed on CalCentral preventing you from enrolling in additional units in the upcoming Fall or Spring semester. You must resolve some of those incomplete units in order to lift the hold. CDSS College advising staff can support you in planning how to move forward.