The University of Washington's original campus is in Seattle. The Bothell and Tacoma campuses, both established in 1990, provide undergraduate and master's level programs to the North Puget Sound and South Puget Sound areas.
Until autumn 2006, the Bothell and Tacoma campuses enrolled only students who had at least junior standing. Beginning in the autumn 2006 quarter, both UW-Bothell and UW-Tacoma began enrolling freshman, as well. The courses and degrees offered are almost entirely different from those available at the Seattle campus.
Cross-Campus Enrollment
Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and postbaccalaureate students enrolled at one UW campus may register for courses at another UW campus with the permission of their home campus adviser beginning in Period 2 registration. Registration is handled manually by the home campus Registrar's Office. In summer quarter, cross-campus enrollment is allowed in Period 1 as well.
Eligibility
Only students who have completed at least 15 UW credits at their home campus, and who are already registered for a minimum of 10 credits in the quarter they intend to cross-campus enroll, are eligible to cross-enroll.
Nonmatriculated students are not allowed to enroll cross-campus except in the summer. This includes nonmatriculated students taking courses under the staff or Washington State tuition exemption.
Credit Limits
A maximum of 45 credits earned through cross-campus enrollment may count toward a bachelor's degree. This restriction is not monitored, so there is no restriction to the number of credits a student may complete by cross-campus enrollment, only to the number that may count toward a degree. If there are excess cross-campus enrollment credits, the department adviser should note this on the application for graduation. DARS is not programmed to know at which campus courses are completed, so a DARS audit will not point out excess cross-campus enrollment credits.
Note that this 45-credit limit applies only to credits taken at one UW campus while enrolled at another. A student who attends one UW campus and then is admitted to another UW campus may count toward a bachelor's degree any number of credits transferred from the first UW campus to the second (see below).
Credits completed at all UW campuses are posted on the student's transcript as UW credit. Which campus offered the course can be determined by the department abbreviation; each campus has its own set of abbreviations, and none are shared. The campus at which the student was enrolled in a given quarter can be determined by the student's major code that quarter; again, each campus has its own set of abbreviations.
Administrative Details
- The home campus is responsible for administrative and disciplinary issues.
- Hardship withdrawal petitions for all courses will be reviewed by the student's home campus.
- Student activity fees are credited to the student's home campus. Students are eligible for student activity fee-supported services only at their home campus.
- Students cross-campus enrolling at Seattle are eligible to purchase a U-PASS.
- Only Seattle-campus students are eligible to participate in intercollegiate athletics.
Cross-Campus Majors and Minors
Cross-campus double majoring is not allowed.
A student may declare a major on only one campus; a student cannot declare a cross-campus double major or double degree. A student who wishes to complete two majors on two different campuses must first graduate with a major from one campus, then gain admission as a postbaccalaureate student to complete the second major at the other campus.
When a student declared in a major at one campus is accepted in a major at another campus (note that this requires application for admission to the other campus, as well), the student's campus and major codes are changed to the new major.
Cross-Campus Second Degrees
A student who completes a bachelor's degree at one UW campus, and then pursues a second bachelor's degree at another UW campus as a postbaccalaureate student, must complete at least 225 total credits. Of these credits, at least 45 credits must be completed at the second campus. These 45 credits do not have to be the student's last 45 credits. Of the student's final 60 credits, however, 45 must be completed at the campus awarding the degree.
Minors
A student may complete the requirements of a minor offered by another campus. The student doesn't actually declare the cross-campus minor. Instead, the adviser records the minor on the degree application as usual, and should include a note pointing out that the minor is from another UW campus. The minor will be awarded when the degree is granted.
Students should note that UW-B and UW-T minors, unlike Seattle-campus minors, may have admission requirements. Also, most or all the courses required by a minor will be available only at the campus offering the minor.
Transferring from One UW Campus to Another
A student enrolled at one UW campus who wants to pursue a degree program at another UW campus must apply to that campus for admission. If admitted, the student's campus and major code are changed. A student cannot be enrolled simultaneously at two UW campuses.
Transfer Credit vs. Cross-Campus Credit
A student who attends one UW campus and then is admitted to another UW campus may count toward a bachelor's degree any number of credits transferred from the first UW campus to the second. The 45-credit limit on cross-campus enrollment (see above) applies only to credits taken at one UW campus while enrolled at another campus.
Residence Requirement
Only credits taken at the campus granting the degree are considered residence credit. Credits transferred from another UW campus don't count as residence credit, and don't count toward the final-year residence requirement.
Counting Transferred UW Credit Toward Requirements
Credits transferred from another UW campus may be counted toward requirements in the same manner as transfer credits from another college. That is, any adviser can determine how the transferred credits will count toward Areas of Knowledge and other General Education Requirements. The adviser should then send this information to the DARS office so that the courses can be properly tagged.
Individual departments determine whether credit transferred from another UW campus can count toward major requirements.
Transfer Evaluations
When a student is admitted to one of the UW campuses, the admissions office of that campus prepares an evaluation of any credits transferred from other colleges. Most transfer courses are recorded in the student data base with a UW Seattle equivalent or as departmental X credit, regardless of which campus has evaluated the credit. However, there are minor differences in transfer credit practices at the different campuses. Therefore, matriculating at a new campus results in a reevaluation of the credit by the Admissions Office of that campus.
Returning to the Original Campus
A student who is enrolled at one UW campus, then transfers to another, then decides to return to the original campus, must file a Returning Student Re-enrollment Application. The student's campus and major code will be changed back to the original campus. If a student earns a degree before returning to the original campus, s/he must instead apply for admission as a postbaccalaureate student.
Academic Drop and Reinstatement
A student who has been dropped for low grades from one UW campus may apply for admission to another UW campus. If that campus wishes to admit the student, it takes the following steps:
- The student is admitted.
- The student's campus and major codes are changed.
- The student's academic status is changed from drop to probation (i.e., the student is reinstated).
