Undergrad FAQs

For Canvas help, see this OIT Start of Term FAQ for students, instructors, and TAs.

Related to COVID-19

What are the different instruction modes for classes, and what do they mean?

The different instruction modes for classes scheduled in the Fall 2022 semester are as follows:

In-Person: exclusively in-person, all students attend on all meeting days.
Remote: remote course content will be delivered synchronously at scheduled days and times.
Online: taught in an online delivery mode and delivered asynchronously, which means students can complete the coursework throughout the week when it is convenient for them. There will be no scheduled class meetings.
Hybrid In-Person/Remote: taught using a combination of in-person and remote/online instruction. For most Ethnic Studies classes, this means that some students will attend the course in-person on certain days of the week, and will participate remotely on the other days. Please follow any instructions provided by your professor about the specifics of any of your courses with this instruction mode.
Hybrid Remote/Online: taught using a combination of online and remote instruction modes. This means that while some coursework may be completed online at a student's own pace, the class will also meet remotely at designated days/times each week.

How do waitlists work this semester?

Wednesday, Aug. 31: Fall 2022 Last Day to Waitlist for a Closed Class (11:59 p.m.) On Monday, Sept. 12, waitlists are canceled and waitlisted students lose access to online class materials. See Waitlist for a Closed Class.

If you are on the waitlist, do not attend any in-person sessions for the course until you are instructed to do so. This will exceed the COVID-safe capacity of the classroom.

Wednesday, Aug. 31: Fall 2022 Last Day to Be Automatically Enrolled from a Waitlist (11:59 p.m.) After this date, waitlisted students may be enrolled manually by the department offering the class. On Monday, Sept. 12, waitlists are canceled and waitlisted students lose access to online class materials. See Waitlist for a Closed Class.

Who do I contact if I cannot attend an in-person or hybrid in-person class?

If you are enrolled in a course or recitation that is scheduled to meet in-person and you are unable to physically be on campus, please contact the instructor of the course via email to discuss possible arrangements. Be aware that you may need to enroll in a different course.

What assistance is there if I am facing financial hardship due to COVID-19?

If you are experiencing a temporary financial hardship as a result of COVID-19, you may be eligible for assistance from the Student Emergency Fund.

Basic Needs: If you’re facing food insecurity, reach out to food@colorado.edu, and they will work with you to find food resources. If you’re having trouble paying rent or facing housing insecurity, you can get in touch with these advocates: Boulder County Housing & Human Services at 303-441-1000 or Off-campus Housing at och@colorado.edu & 303-492-7053. For assistance with landlord-tenant matters, contact Mediation Services at 303-441-4364 & mediation@bouldercolorado.edu. Other campus resources are available (including mental health resources and free therapy). Case manager resources are also available to help you find appropriate campus and local resources.
A 24/7 Suicide Prevention hotline is available: just call 303-492-2277.

Enrollment

Enrollment Request: I am attempting to enroll in an Ethnic Studies course but am unable to do so through myCUinfo. How can I get enrolled?

Your instructor must copy ethnic.studies@colorado.edu on an email addressed to your CU email address. Their message must include the following information:
- Consent to allow you into the specific course and section number (e.g. ETHN 1234-001).
- The specific override(s) they are permitting (PLEASE NOTE: enrollment appointment, credit hour maximum, and classroom fire code capacity cannot be overridden by the department).
You must ‘reply all’ to the instructor’s consent message within two business days to:
- confirm that you still wish to be enrolled in this specific course.
- include your 9-digit student ID number.
After you’ve submitted the above information, an Ethnic Studies staff member will enroll you in the course at their earliest convenience, assuming the following conditions are met:
- you have no enrollment holds or time conflicts with other courses you are already enrolled in
- you are not already enrolled in another section of this same course
- you are not already enrolled at your credit limit for the term
- you are currently eligible to enroll for the term in question
- your enrollment does not violate the classroom fire code capacity
By submitting an enrollment request, you accept all responsibility for any repercussions that result, including but not limited to:
- Once you have submitted an enrollment request, a department staff person may enroll you without further confirmation.
- Staff may encounter additional limitations while processing your enrollment request that could delay your enrollment or prevent it from being processed altogether (see list of specific conditions in number 3 above).
- Colorado Opportunities Fund (COF): Even if you are eligible for COF support, you will not receive any additional COF funding for classes added after the COF deadline for each semester. COF deadlines are listed in the Academic Calendar PDF for each semester. Review the Office of the Registrar's COF information page and the official state COF website for more details. Please use the contact information posted there if you have any follow up questions about COF.
- The department’s ability to add you to a course does not change the university’s drop deadline policies. By submitting your consent, you assume all responsibility for any impacts on your tuition and student record. Please review the university’s official Academic Calendar to be sure that you understand these deadlines and the corresponding regulations.
You and your instructor will be notified by a department staff member once the enrollment has been completed.

I would like to drop a course after the enrollment/drop period has ended. How can I do this?

If you are thinking about dropping a course after the drop/add period, please make an appointment with your advisor for guidance on how the decision may impact you and your specific circumstances (future implications). The process and repercussions vary depending on when you decide to drop. Drop deadlines and related information are listed on the Academic Calendar.

After the final drop deadline, students must file a detailed college petition to request a late drop, which may be approved under the following conditions:

After the tenth week of class and before the last day of class in the term, a student may be approved to late drop a class with documentation to verify extenuating circumstances beyond their control or a university error.
Students who are approved for a late drop of a class will receive a grade of "W" for that class on their transcript.

Students are responsible for being aware of the consequences of a late drop(s), including impacts on financial aid/scholarships, health insurance, on-campus housing eligibility, academic progress towards degree requirements, etc.

Late drops: If you are a student in the College of Arts & Sciences, you can petition to drop if there are extenuating circumstances beyond your control. Please see the College of Arts & Sciences Forms & Petitions website under "Petitions" for more information on the Late Drop Petition process.

Please note: tuition charges may apply if a course is dropped after the final drop date. The Ethnic Studies Office does not handle any inquiries regarding student tuition. Please refer to the Office of the Registrar’s website, or contact them directly by phone: 303-492-6970.

I would like to enroll in an Ethnic Studies Independent Study or Honors course. How can I do that?

If you are seeking Ethnic Studies independent study or honors enrollment, please email ethnic.studies@colorado.edu to request information about required procedures, and to obtain the form that you and your instructor must complete before you can be enrolled in the corresponding course/credit hours. If your instructor has already provided the necessary form and instructions, please proceed as directed. For all other enrollment requests, please follow the procedures detailed in the answer to the first Enrollment question.

I would like to add a course after add deadline. How can I do this?

Do you want to add a course after the add deadline?

If you aren't registered in the class, email your instructor for permission to add. Instructors’ email addresses can be found on the department website's People page. If permission is given, please follow the instructions given in the first Enrollment Request answer above.
Email the Department of Ethnic Studies at ethnicst@colorado.edu and follow the instructions listed in the Enrollment Request answer above.

Is it the last week of the term or has the semester just ended?

If you have completed a course but mistakenly were not registered for it, please complete the retroactive add petition below.
Print the petition and ask for your instructor's help, as they will need to fill out part of it and sign it!
Electronically submit your petition to ascurriculum@colorado.edu or bring your completed petition to the Curricular Affairs office in Old Main 1B90 or send it via campus mail UCB 275.
If your petition is approved, your instructor will then submit a change of record form to add the course to your record.

I am attempting to enroll in an Ethnic Studies course, and I am getting a notice that I do not have the required prerequisites to take the course. Why is this? What do I do?

First, please check if you have completed the requirements outlined in the course description.
If you have completed the requirements, and you still cannot enroll into the course, please contact the Ethnic Studies Department at ethnic.studies@colorado.edu.
If you have NOT completed the requirements, you may not enroll in the course.
If you have a compelling reason as to why you should be allowed to enroll in the course despite not completing the prerequisites, please email the course instructor to ask for permission to enroll. If permission is given, please forward the instructor’s approval, as well as your name, ID number, and the course number(s) to ethnic.studies@colorado.edu. Instructors’ email addresses can be found on the department website's People page. If permission is given, please follow the instructions given in the first Enrollment question.

I have registered to take a course, but I am wait-listed for the recitation section I am hoping to get into. What will happen?

If you are waitlisted for a recitation – even if there are open spots in the lecture – you will NOT be enrolled in the course until you are fully enrolled into both the lecture and the recitation. You will be placed on the waitlist for the lecture and the recitation until you are enrolled into the recitation.
If other students chose to take the course, and register for the open recitation, they are entitled to be enrolled in the lecture before you, even if you registered first. The open spots in the lecture go first to students who are enrolled in the open recitations.
After the first week of the semester, we recommend that any students who are still waitlisted for a recitation switch into an open recitation. Otherwise, the chances of getting into the lecture and desired waitlisted recitation are slim.
If open registration is closed at this point, please contact the Ethnic Studies Office to enroll you into the OPEN recitation and OPEN lecture (ethnic.studies@colorado.edu).
If the add deadline has past or if the recitation or lecture you are attempting to enroll in is full, the Ethnic Studies Department cannot enroll you without instructor consent.

I am attempting to enroll in an Ethnic Studies course that has an “R” next to the course section number, and I am unable to get into the class. Why is this?

Any course with an “R” is a Residential Academic Program course. In order to take this course, you MUST live in the dormitory the course is taught in.
The Ethnic Studies Department cannot enroll you into these courses, and we have no additional information regarding these courses. Any enrollment questions or requests to be enrolled in the course should be directed towards the instructor or RAP office of the specific dorm in which the course is taught. That information can be found in the RAP section of the Housing & Dining website.

Grade Changes, Pass/Fail, Incomplete

Can I take a course as Pass/Fail? How and when could I do this?

Maybe. Students in Arts & Sciences have up to 6 hours of pass/fail that they may apply toward the 120 hours for graduation. Instructors do not know when a student has elected to take a course as pass/fail; they simply award a grade at the end of the course as usual, and anything "D-" or higher is converted to a "P". However, if a course is taken as pass/fail then it cannot be applied to fulfill MAPS, CORE, Major, or Minor requirements. For this reason it is advisable to avoid taking a course as pass/fail unless you have first confirmed that it is truly just an elective.

For more information on Arts and Sciences' policy on pass/fail credit limitations, visit the CU Boulder Catalog's A&S "Requirements" page, click "Credit Limitations," and scroll down to the "Pass/Fail Credit" section. Do have a conversation with your advisor before electing to take a course pass/fail.
If you are taking a class pass/fail that is not allowed to be pass/fail, please follow the process for your college. Students in the College of Arts & Sciences can complete the Pass/Fail-to-Graded petition located on the A&S Academic Advising Center Forms & Petitions page.
Note: You cannot petition to change a class from graded to pass/fail.

For questions about this process, please contact the Arts & Sciences Academic Operations team at asoperations@colorado.edu or call (303) 735-5591.

I would like to apply to change a low grade in an Ethnic Studies course. How can I do this?

You will need to follow the procedure for your college. Students in the College of Arts & Sciences can fill out a Grade Replacement Form found on the College of Arts & Sciences Forms & Petitions Page. The grade replacement policy is outlined below:

Under the grade replacement policy, degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students may retake a course in which they earned a low grade (C- or lower) in an attempt to improve their cumulative and/or major/minor GPAs.
If you retake a course for grade replacement, the grade you earned in the most recent prior attempt will still appear on your transcript, but it will be replaced by the grade you earned in the latest attempt in your cumulative GPA and credit totals. For more information on this policy, please visit the registrar's grade replacement page.
This policy is effective Fall 2019. It can only be used on classes you are retaking Fall 2019 or later.

I need to request an Incomplete for the semester. How can I do this?

Policy on Incomplete Grades

An incomplete grade of "I" is given at the discretion of the course instructor only when a student has satisfactorily completed a substantial portion of a course and, for reasons beyond the student's control, is prevented from completing all work for the course within the term. Incomplete grades must be requested by the student and should not be awarded by the instructor for non-attendance. (In the case of non-attendance, the instructor should award the student the grade[s] earned.) If an incomplete grade is given, the instructor is required to document the reasons/grounds for the awarding of the incomplete grade, the specific work and conditions for completion of the course and the time frame within which the coursework must be completed. The maximum time the instructor can allow for the completion of the coursework and subsequent award of a course grade is one year from the end of the term the course was taken. After one year, if no final grade is awarded, the "I" grade will change to the grade of "F." A copy of a departmental Incomplete Agreement signed by the student and instructor and accompanied by documentation of the extenuating circumstances that resulted in the awarding of an incomplete should be filed with the instructor's department office, and a copy should be given to the student. (No copy of this agreement needs to be sent to the Arts and Sciences’ Deans Office.)

If you are a student with extenuating circumstances beyond your control, email your instructor to inquire about requesting an Incomplete for the semester, following the policy above. Ethnic Studies instructors’ email addresses can be found on the department website's People page.

Declaring a Major or Minor

I would like to change my major to Ethnic Studies. How can I do this?

Declaring a Major or Minor in the College of Arts & Sciences

Are you currently declared in a major (including open option) in the College of Arts & Sciences and plan to change your major? Do you plan to add or drop an additional major and/or minor? You can meet with an advisor during their open hours or during a major declaration meeting to change/add to your academic plan.

Kara Lentz is the Department of Ethnic Studies Undergraduate Advisor.

I would like to minor in Ethnic Studies. How can I do this?