If an instructor or department wishes to offer a course on a pass/no-pass basis only, the course is designated as "credit/no credit only" (CR/NC only) in the Time Schedule. Since CR/NC is not a student option, the student does not request it when registering. CR/NC courses may be counted toward requirements and there is no limit on the number of CR/NC credits that can count toward a degree. Neither CR nor NC affects the student's grade-point average.

In the Time Schedule, some courses are marked Prerequisites (cancellation in effect). What does this mean?

For courses like this, if you have the prerequisite in progress when you register (e.g., you have MATH 120 in progress when you register for MATH 124), the computer checks at the end of the quarter to make sure you successfully completed the prerequisite. If not, your registration for the course is automatically cancelled (i.e., you're dropped from the course) and you're sent notification by email. Your seat then becomes available to other students. Courses with cancellation in effect usually require a minimum grade in the prerequisite; this grade is included in the prerequisite statement in the online Course Description.

The flipside of all this is that after the class is full, it is likely that seats will open up when other students are cancelled from the course. So if you haven't been able to get a seat, check on the cancellation days.

Each Sunday through Thursday evening during autumn, winter, and spring quarters, Mary Gates Hall becomes an undergraduate study center with writing labs, math and chemistry centers, and study groups for a variety of freshman courses; also open for limited hours during summer.

Your class is determined by the total number of college credits you have completed.

0-44 credits Freshman
45-89 credits Sophomore
90-134 credits Junior
135+ credits Senior

Initially, your class standing is based on an estimate of the number of transferable college credits you have. Your class standing will be updated early in your first quarter at the UW, by which time official transcripts including all your college credits should have been received and evaluated by the Office of Admissions.

Eleven schools and colleges at the UW offer undergraduate majors, including Arts and Sciences, Business, and Engineering. Many are in the College of Arts and Sciences. With the exception of pre-engineering students, most premajor students start off in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Every incoming freshman participates in UW's Common Book program. Each year a university committee selects a book to be given to all incoming students. The shared reading experience provides an opportunity for students to create academic and social connections.

Competitive majors require specific prerequisite courses and usually a minimum GPA, but meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission. In each application cycle a limited number of places are available, and the competitiveness of the major depends on how many students apply. These majors have application forms and application deadlines; some of them require standardized tests, recommendations, and/or interviews. Some competitive majors admit students only once per year.

The largest computer lab on campus is on the second floor of Odegaard Undergraduate Library, with 400 computers. PCs, Macs, scanners, video editing, CD burners, and a large array of software are available, as well as specialized audio and team labs and a digital presentation rehearsal studio.

Additional computers are available in all of the libraries on campus.

The UW Course Descriptions (sometimes called the Course Catalog) are listings of all the courses the UW offers. Only a portion of these courses are offered each quarter. The Course Description lists the title, number of credits, the general education requirements the class fulfills, a short description, and sometimes the instructor course descriptions and the quarters that class is typically offered.

You can use the Course Evaluation Catalog to find out the student ratings for the various instructors of a course you are planning to take. The Instructional Assessment System is used to collect and summarize student ratings of instruction, and is used in more than 8,000 courses annually at the University of Washington. The Course Evaluation Catalog is an online summary of these data.

Credits are earned by completing courses. In general, one credit represents one hour in class per week and two hours of study per week. Many UW courses are 5 credits, and meet 5 hours per week. Most UW bachelor degrees require 180 credits. If a student takes 15 credits per quarter and attends three quarters per year, in four years they will have 180 credits.

Until the first day of class (that is, Period 3), you can register for only 19 credits. After that you can add additional credits up to a maximum of 30 credits per quarter.

UW students and postbaccalaureate students (and graduate and professional students) may enroll in courses offered by any UW campus (Seattle, Bothell, or Tacoma) on a space-available basis. In order to be eligible to register cross-campus, students must have completed a minimum number of credits at their home campus. Students are limited to 15 credits per year and 45 credits total from cross-campus enrollment.