Courses are offered at one or more credit levels: undergraduate, graduate, or noncredit, as noted in course descriptions. It’s important to select the status that is best for your current and future goals.
Undergraduate and Graduate Credit
If you want to receive academic credit and grades, you must register for undergraduate or graduate credit. To register for undergraduate credit, you do not have to be an undergraduate student, but you must be at least 15 years old at the time of registration. To register for graduate credit, you must be at least 18 years old at the time of registration and ordinarily, possess an undergraduate degree from an accredited US institution or the international equivalent. If you take courses for graduate credit, you may have additional or different assignments and generally are required to perform at a higher level than students enrolled for undergraduate credit.
Noncredit
To audit courses, you must register for noncredit if it is available and be at least 15 years old at the time of registration. Courses that do not have a noncredit option may not be audited. Noncredit status means you may not take final exams or submit final projects. However, you are still expected to attend and participate in adherence to instructor expectations. In some courses instructors will accept and correct other written work from noncredit students, but they may not assign grades for that work. As a noncredit student, you do not receive final grades or academic credit, but the courses do appear on your transcript.
Changing Status
You may change your credit status in registered courses through the credit status change deadline. If you are currently waitlisted, you must wait to change your credit status until you are moved off the waitlist. See Course Changes and Withdrawals for details on how to change your credit status.
Interested in a Certificate, Degree, or Premedical Program?
If you are considering earning an Extension School graduate certificate, register for graduate credit in any course that you intend to apply toward that certificate. Courses taken for undergraduate credit cannot be applied toward an Extension graduate certificate.
If you are considering earning an Extension School undergraduate certificate, register for undergraduate credit in the courses that apply toward that certificate.
If you are considering applying to an Extension School graduate degree program, register for graduate credit in any course that you intend to apply toward that degree. Courses taken for undergraduate credit cannot be applied toward an Extension graduate degree.
If you are considering applying to the Extension School undergraduate degree program, register for undergraduate credit when that status is available. Contact an admissions advisor if you have questions about registering for a course that is only available for graduate credit. Refer to the ALB program eligibility requirements for full details.
If you are a premedical program participant, you should register for undergraduate credit.