Registration, SPN, Withdrawal Policies

All first-year students who did not receive AP or IB credit for an English exam are required to take the Writing Placement Exam. 

Students who place into College Writing (355:101) or College Writing Extended (355:104) must take this course in their first year on campus (if all College Writing sections close in the Fall, there will be an opportunity to take the course in the Spring semester).

Students who place into EAPI (356:155) or EAPII (356:156) should take those courses as soon as possible, as these are prerequisite courses for College Writing.

All students who transfer to Rutgers need to meet with an advising dean in their respective school (SAS, RBS, etc.).

All new students need to take the Writing Placement Exam, unless an advising dean and/or the Writing Program has deemed that they have completed a class at another university that is equivalent to Rutgers' College Writing course. See the Writing Program's Transfer Students page for more information.

After their first semester, students can register by using the Online Registration System. For more specific information about registration, please visit the Office of the Registrar or the registration page on the School of Arts and Sciences website. This website contains information on when students can register, based on the amount of credits they've earned.

Dozens of sections of College Writing (355:101) are offered each semester. As a result, students who are unable to enroll in College Writing (or its equivalent) in the Fall will have the opportunity to enroll in the Spring semester.

The Writing Placement Exam dictates whether students should enroll in College Writing or College Writing Extended.

These courses both meet the WC core learning goal requirement. As such, they follow the same curriculum. The only difference is that College Writing Extended meets one extra class period a week (and thus is worth 4.5 credits). 

Students must complete the WC core learning goal requirement through a College Writing course in their first year on campus. Students who are unable to complete the requirement in the Fall will have the opportunity to enroll in the course in the Spring semester.

Students who place into EAPI often take College Writing in their second year on campus (see the Directed Sequence of Writing Courses page).

Students who place into EAPI (356:155) or EAPII (356:156) should take those courses as soon as possible, as these courses are pre-requisites for College Writing. See the Directed Sequence of Writing Courses page or read below for more information:

• • • Students who place into EAPI (356:155) need to take a three-semester sequence of writing courses to fulfill the WC core requirement, in this order: EAPI, then EAPII, and then College Writing or its equivalent.
    • Students who place into EAPII (356:156) need to take a two-semester sequence of writing courses to fulfill the WC core requirement, in this order: EAPII and then College Writing or its equivalent.

The Writing Program does not give SPNs to over-enroll courses. It will not be helpful to contact instructors with requests to be added to their classes, as instructors do not have access to and cannot provide SPNs to students because of this policy.

Students who wish to add a specific, closed section of a course should keep checking the University Schedule of Classes to see if the desired section opens.

The online scheduling system will not allow students to drop any course that is in the Directed Sequence of Writing Courses (i.e., EAPI or II, College Writing) without a Special Permission Number (SPN). 

To receive an SPN, students must first contact an advising dean in their college (via the relevant Academic Advising Office and their Live Chat functions, etc.).

Advising deans who grant requests to drop courses will then contact the Writing Program directly to obtain the SPN.

Students need pre-approval from advising deans because dropping a course can potentially disrupt SAP (Satisfactory Academic Progress), cause a student to lose their full-time status (being enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits each semester), and thus lose financial aid that is predicated on such full-time status.

Students who wish to change sections of a required class in the Directed Sequence of Writing Courses (i.e., EAPI or II, College Writing) can do so without obtaining an SPN. Once students add the section they wish to take, the undesired section will immediately be dropped from their schedule.

The Add/Drop schedule for each semester can be found in Rutgers' Academic Calendar.

The university allows students to add courses during the first eight calendar days of the semester, and to drop courses without being penalized with a "W" during the first seven days of the semester. As of the ninth class day of the term, no adds are permitted, and all drops done online will be assigned a "W" grade. Visit the Office of the Registrar for more information.

Please be advised that the Writing Program holds students responsible for all days missed. It is not advisable for students to "shop" for classes they like during this period, as doing so will decrease their potential for success in the class.

Students who are de-registered for financial reasons should continue to attend their classes and complete the assignments.

When their financial aid comes through, they should come to the Writing Program Office (Murray Hall Room 108) to request a SPN, allowing them to re-enroll.  These SPNs are only given out to students who have been faithfully attending class and completing the course work.