Course and Exam-Related Policies

Students should consult with their academic advisors about course and course-related policies and procedures. 

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Add Drop Period 

Add/drop deadlines for each semester can be found in the Academic Calendar.

Students should consult with their advisors before dropping below a defined number of course units (generally 4), which may have adverse consequences.

Some courses may have different add/drop policies; students should consult with their school’s advising office for further details.

School specific policies:

Auditing

Undergraduate students cannot officially audit courses; however, subject to the approval of the instructor, students may be permitted to sit in on some courses without registering. These courses will not appear on students' records. Not all departments or schools allow this type of informal audit.

Class Attendance

Policies regarding class attendance vary by school and instructor.

School specific policies:

Course Load

Policies regarding minimum and maximum course loads vary by school.

School specific policies:

Course Numbering & Academic Credit

Course Numbering

Courses are designated with a subject code and course number. The number assigned to a course generally denotes its level and may also indicate a course type.

  • 0001-3999 Undergraduate courses
  • 4000-4999 Mixed courses primarily for Undergraduate students
  • 5000-5999 Mixed courses primarily for Graduate students
  • 6000-9899 Graduate courses
  • 9900-9999 Graduate individual study (thesis/dissertation) courses

Academic Credit at Penn

All of Penn’s undergraduate programs and many of its graduate and professional programs use course units (CUs) as a general measure of academic work and progress toward a degree. Penn’s use of CUs conforms to the practices of peer institutions that use a similar system of academic credit including Brown, Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. A CU is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer).

The Schools of Law, Dental Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine do not use CUs. The Law School uses credit hours in a way that is consistent with law schools in the United States. The Schools of Dental Medicine and Veterinary Medicine uses credit hours in ways that are consistent with professional education in those fields of study.

Definition of a Course Unit

A course unit (CU) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A CU (or a fraction of a CU) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One CU is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course. A degree from one of Penn’s undergraduate programs requires the completion of 32 to 40 (or more) course units. Graduate and professional degrees vary in the number of years of study and the number of CUs required.

Assignment of Academic Credit

The course unit (CU) value of a course determined by the faculty reflects their judgment regarding the expected work of a student completing that course. Factors that may be considered when assigning academic credit for a course include scheduled class time, expected time outside of class, the difficulty and range of materials covered, and the mastery of specific knowledge through written reports, exams, and other evaluations.

The assignment of academic credit for a course is formally approved by the curriculum committee (or similar body) of the school when a course is first proposed. It is reviewed formally by the faculty of a program, department, or school through periodic program reviews or curriculum revisions. Additionally, it is reviewed by the faculty of a program, department, or school informally as part of ongoing assessments of curriculum and teaching effectiveness.

Transfer Credit

At the University of Pennsylvania, faculty in individual departments and schools make decisions about awarding credit for external courses (courses taken at a college or university other than Penn). Each school has policies and procedures for evaluating and awarding external credit. Judging both course content and student work, faculty determine whether external courses are equivalent to courses offered through their own departments and thus what credit, if any, to award. In awarding credit at Penn for external courses, faculty also determine how those credits may be used (e.g., whether they satisfy general education requirements or requirements in a major).

Undergraduate schools use a web-based, password protected application called the External Course Approval Tool, or XCAT. When academic credit is awarded for courses taken at other institutions, typically courses worth 3, 4, or 5 semester hours or worth 5 quarter hours are awarded one course unit (CU) at Penn.

 External Exam Credit

The University of Pennsylvania may award credit or advanced course standing to students who have taken Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or other internationally-recognized examinations. Scores warranting University credit vary by department.

Penn Admissions External Exam Credit Policy (for prospective students)

School specific policies:

Independent Study

Independent study allows students to pursue academic interests not available in regularly offered courses.

Students should approach their academic or departmental advisor to explore the possibility of pursuing independent study.

Further information about independent study procedures is available by school.

Liberal and Professional Studies Course Credit

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) is a division of the School of Arts and Sciences. LPS administers programs for adult, professional, and part-time students and offers late-afternoon, evening, and Saturday courses at the undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate levels. Traditional undergraduate students are eligible to take LPS courses. A certain number of spaces may be reserved for LPS students until the first week of classes, and some classes have restricted enrollments for LPS students only. Students should direct questions about enrollment policies and permits for specific LPS classes to LPS.

Part Time Status

Traditional undergraduate students are generally expected to maintain full-time status. Students should consult with their school advising office for further details. Students who are enrolled either half-time or less than half-time are considered to be part-time students.

Please note that dropping to part-time status may affect other considerations, such as visa status, athletic eligibility, financial aid, and/or insurance coverage.

More information for specific populations of students can be found below:

School specific policies:

Petitions

Students who believe a special circumstance might warrant an exemption from a school policy and/or requirement may submit a petition. Petitions are subject to review by a school-based committee. Students should first consult with their academic advisor.

For petitions regarding course registration deadlines, see the Guidelines for Student Petitions Regarding Course Registration Deadlines. 

Policies and procedures regarding petitions vary by school.

School specific policies:

Policy on Common Midterm Examinations

Instructors teaching a course with multiple sections who plan to schedule a common midterm examination outside the class’s regular meeting time must notify students of this event during the first week of the semester and be prepared to offer one or more make-up examinations to accommodate any student who is enrolled in a course that meets at the time of the common examination.

Students enrolled in a course that conflicts with the time of a common midterm examination must notify the instructor administering the common midterm examination of the conflict by the end of the course selection (add) period. Students may not be required to miss their regularly scheduled class.

(Source: Almanac – April 20, 2010, Volume 56, No. 30)

Retaking Courses

Policies governing retaking a course vary by school.

School specific policies:

Rules Governing Final Examinations

  1. No instructor may hold a final examination nor require the submission of a take-home final exam except during the period in which final examinations are scheduled. When necessary, exceptions to this policy may be granted for postponed examinations (see 3 and 4 below). No final examinations may be scheduled during the last week of classes or on reading days.
  2. No student may be required to take more than two final examinations on any calendar day during the period in which final examinations are scheduled. If more than two are scheduled, the student may postpone the middle exam. If a take-home final exam is due on a day when two final examinations are scheduled, the take-home exam shall be postponed by one day.
  3. Examinations that are postponed because of conflicts with other examinations, or because more than two examinations are scheduled in the same day, may be taken at another time during the final examinations period if the faculty member and student can agree on that time. Otherwise, they must be taken during the official period for postponed examinations.
  4. Examinations that are postponed because of illness, a death in the family, for religious observance, or some other unusual event may be taken only during the official periods: the first week of the spring and fall semesters. Students must obtain permission from their Dean’s office to take a postponed exam. Instructors in all courses must be willing to offer a make-up examination to all students who are excused from the final examination.
  5. No instructor may change the time or date of a final exam without permission from the appropriate Dean.
  6. No instructor may increase the time allowed for a final exam beyond the scheduled two hours without permission from the appropriate Dean.
  7. No classes or required class activities may be held during the reading period.
  8. The first examination of the day begins at 9 a.m. and the last examination concludes by 8 p.m. There will be one hour between exam time blocks.
  9. All students must be allowed to see their final examination. Exams should be available as soon as possible after being graded with access ensured for a period of at least one regular semester after the exam has been given. To help protect student privacy, a student should have access only to his or her own exam and not the exams of other students. Therefore, for example, it is not permissible to leave student exams (or grades or papers) in publicly accessible areas.
  10. Students may not be asked for their Social Security Numbers. Instructors may not publicly display a student’s Penn ID or any portion of the Social Security Number, nor use names, initials, or any personally identifiable information to post grades. Even when an identifier is masked or absent, grades may not be posted in alphabetical order, to protect student privacy.
  11. Final exams for College of Liberal and Professional Studies (LPS) courses must be given on the regular class meeting night during the week of final examinations. No change in scheduling is permitted without unanimous consent of all students in the class and the director of LPS. LPS final exams may not be administered during the last week of class or on a reading day.

In all matters relating to final exams, students with questions should first consult with their Dean’s offices. Faculty wishing to seek exceptions to the rules also should consult with their Dean’s offices. Finally, the Council of Undergraduate Deans and Student Committee on Undergraduate Education (SCUE) urge instructors to see that all examinations are actively proctored.

(Source: Almanac, April 17, 2018, Volume 64, No. 31)

Withdrawing from a Course

Students may withdraw from a course through the end of the tenth full week of the semester, with the permission of the instructor, and should consult the Academic Calendar for the official withdrawal deadline for each semester.

Summer courses and part-of-term courses have different deadlines. Consult with an academic advisor for more information.

Withdrawal procedures vary by school: