Skip to content

Registrar's Office COVID-19 Information & FAQ's

Effective: July 08, 2020, 3:00 P.M. This webpage is being updated regularly, and we encourage you to check it frequently for important information. Please note that this information is constantly evolving and we do not have all the answers at this time. For full information on the University of Utah response, please visit COVID-19 Central.

The Registrar's Office is dedicated to providing the highest-quality service while focusing on student and faculty health and safety. All classes will be conducted online for the remainder of Spring Semester.

Jump to: Student Information | Faculty/Staff Information


Student Information

The following recommendations will ensure any changes in your educational experience are as seamless as possible during this unprecedented time.

  • Log in to Canvas for updates from professors on class meeting changes, including online class sessions. Your professor will provide information about the online class format.
  • Check your UMail frequently for the latest updates. 
  • Alert your professors of any absence from your online classes. For more information on when to seek medical care, visit: https://healthcare.utah.edu/coronavirus/
  • We request that you email the Registrar's Office for any assistance registrar@utah.edu.
  • During this period, all forms that normally were physically dropped off may now be emailed to registrar@utah.edu. Please be aware processing times maybe longer then normal.

USPS announced that 108 Countries were suspending USPS International Mail, your diploma will not be mailed until your mailing address will allow USPS delivery to that country.  If you require your diploma before your country allows USPS, one option is to use the graduate Express Diploma as it utilizes UPS Worldwide Express. UPS is able to deliver to all of the USPS suspended countries. You can make this request via https://www.michaelsutter.com/utah 

Please consult with each of your instructors regarding scheduled exams and final projects. No in-person exams will be given, however, online or remote delivery examinations may be administered.

Please consult with each of your instructors for information on what requirements remain to finish the semester. Beginning Wednesday, March 18 2020, students will be able to access recorded lectures, homework assignments, and engage in video consultations with their instructors. Online-only instruction will continue through the end of the semester, including finals.

Please email or call your instructor using the contact information on your syllabus. Do not go to your classroom during your class or lab period as no classes are meeting in-person. If you are unable to reach your instructor, please call or email your instructor’s academic department.

We will be shifting ALL summer courses online this year – first session, second session, and semester long summer courses. The change also will apply to continuing education courses.

Beginning Monday March 23, the university will extend the deadline to withdraw from classes to April 10. Withdrawal will be listed on your transcript, but will not affect your GPA. It will not result in a tuition refundWithdraw from you course(s) via CIS.

If you have forgotten your password, first try to reset your own password.

If you cannot reset your own password, we can assist you. To have your CIS password reset during this time please email a signed consent.  Your signed consent will need to contain the following information:

  • Your name
  • Your uNID number.  If you do not know your uNID number, please include your date of birth and let us know you need your uNID number.
  • A statement requesting that your password be reset
  • Your handwritten signature.  No typed signatures will be accepted.
  • A photo ID

Once your signed consent has been completed, it can be scanned or photographed and emailed to registration@utah.edu.

Although faculty may make schedule adjustments due to moving online, it is rare that the entire class would be canceled. The Registrar’s Office works very closely with the department offering the class, Income Accounting, Financial Aid, Veteran Services and Athletic Eligibility to ensure that students are not adversely affected before cancellations are processed.

Cancellations most likely to be approved at this point would be due to required travel and or/wilderness permitting, or cases where the course objectives absolutely could not be met in an online format.

Despite having to forego traditional spring commencement events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university leaders are finalizing plans for two graduation celebrations for the Class of 2020—a “virtual” General Commencement on April 30 and traditional college convocations on December 18 and 19, 2020.

In a survey emailed to all graduate candidates from Summer 2019, Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters, the University of Utah Commencement Committee asked students to select whether they would participate in any of the following events:

  • Class of 2020 reunion party during Homecoming Week (Oct. 10-17, 2020)
  • December 2020 convocation
  • May 2021 convocation celebrating the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021

A majority of respondents said they prefer a December 2020 convocation.

“We are grateful to all the graduate candidates who took the time to fill out this important survey,” said Lori McDonald, vice president for Student Affairs. “While none of the options are what any of us had envisioned, we hope these two graduation celebrations will provide our community members with the moments of recognition they deserve, and we thank everyone for their patience and flexibility as we navigate this public health crisis together.”

Class of 2020 celebrations

  • A virtual commencement is scheduled for April 30, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. on Utah.edu/live.
  • College and department convocations will take place in person on December 18 and 19, 2020, providing students the opportunity to receive the individual recognition they deserve. Graduates from Summer 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 will be invited to participate.

International students should consult with the International Student and Scholar Services for the best information. 

For questions about electing CR/NC grading for your course(s), please visit our Spring 2020 COVID-19 FAQ's Regarding Credit/No Credit.

For those who pre-ordered regalia and would like to change your order to be shipped rather than picked up, the Campus Store can assist.  If you would prefer a refund they can also assist with that.  Please contact them directly at 801-585-3234 or orderfulfillment@bookstore.utah.edu.

After the end of the term, the Registrar's Office will conduct a final evaluation that takes approximately 4-6 weeks to complete. During that timeframe, degrees are awarded daily, and diplomas and covers are mailed weekly.


Faculty/Staff Information

  • We request that you email the Registrar's Office at registrar@utah.edu for any assistance.
  • During this period all forms that normally were physically dropped off may now be emailed to registrar@utah.edu, with the exception of Grade Change Forms. Grade Change Forms may be sent via Campus Mail. Please be aware that processing times maybe longer then normal.

Class registration for Fall 2020 has been paused starting June 11 at 5:00 pm until July 1st for continuing students and July 6th for new students (First Year/Transfer) to make necessary adjustments to the Class Schedule.  The schedule will remain available to view online. We encourage students to use Schedule Builder  to plan thier schedule so that they can quickly register when registration resumes July 1st for Continuing Students and July 6th for new First Year/Transfer students.

 For Continuing Students:

  • During this time, students will still be able to view the Class Schedule and utilize Schedule Builder.  We ask the advising community to encourage students to use Schedule Builder during this period so that when registration begins, they can quickly register for their classes.  
  • Students should create their breaks and add classes to Schedule Builder, then generate schedules on July 1, to get a time conflict-free schedule. We discourage students from adding new courses to the Shopping Cart while registration is paused, because there could be changes made to the classes in the Shopping Cart
  • For students already registered, if after the schedule is updated they have no conflicts, they will not need to make any changes to their schedule.

 

For new students (First Year/Transfer)

  • New students will be able to view the Class Schedule and utilize Schedule Builder during the pause. New students meet with their academic advisor and use Schedule Builder to do Fall course planning to allow them build their desired schedule. New students registered for a New Student Orientation session between June 15 and July 6, should create their breaks and add classes through Schedule Builder and move into their Shopping Cart.
  • From June 30-July 2 the Registrar’s Office will run a process that will move courses students have saved in the Shopping Cart to Enrollment and will attempt to resolve time conflicts etc., if they occur. We are using what students placed in their Shopping Cart as the foundation for their Fall Schedule.
  • On July 6, new students will review their class schedule in Campus Information Services (CIS) to confirm their Fall 2020 Class Schedule is accurate.
  • New students who have already registered for classes, will be able to review and make any adjustments to their class schedule also beginning July 6.

 

  • While we are under extraordinary circumstances due to COVID-19, additional exam time/flexibility may occur for exams proctored during the exam week, however, should not be administered in a manner to conflict with students other scheduled exams.
  • To avoid conflicts for students, faculty should be proctoring online exams during their regularly scheduled exam period where possible.
  • Faculty may allow exams to be available during 1-2 days (preferably one of the days is the scheduled exam day), or the full exam week for students to take anytime at their convenience, allowing for greatest flexibility during the exam week.

Faculty, for guidance on how to move your class online, visit the TLT website. Faculty members with questions not answered by the website can request support by emailing classhelp@utah.edu.

Requests for exceptions to online instruction should be rare and should come from individual college deans to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for review, subject to accreditation requirements.

We will be shifting ALL summer courses online this year – first session, second session, and semester-long summer courses. The change also will apply to continuing education courses. Please see your departments scheduling coordinator to determine the most appropriate way to conduct your course.

An incomplete grade (I) should only be submitted in circumstances beyond the student’s control. The student should otherwise be passing the course and need to complete 20% or less of the course. For additional information, please view the grading policy.

To accommodate faculty/staff that are telecommuting, the Office of the Registrar will allow faculty/staff to submit grade change requests via email to grades@utah.edu for a limited time.  These emails MUST come from the faculty/staff UMail account and must include all of the following information: 

  • Student Name:
  • uNID:
  • Term:
  • Year:
  • Department Name:
  • Catalog Number:
  • Section Number:
  • Credit Hours:
  • Change grade to:
  • Date work completed:
  • Reason for report of credit/change in final grade:

Please note due to FERPA regulations there must be one email per student.  We cannot accept a batch grade change email.

If grade change requests are submitted from an email account other than UMail, or the information listed above is incomplete, the request will not be processed. 

While we normally require department approval in some instances to change a grade, we will be suspending that requirement at this time.  Once the University has returned to normal operation, grade changes processed in this manner will be sent to departments for verification of authenticity.  We will also return to the physical Report of Credit/Change in Final Grade form at that time.

Please note, a class may not be graded using a mixture of CR/NC and letter grades. The class must be graded using either CR/NC grades, or must be graded with letter grades (i.e. A-E). Please speak with your college/department to determine if CR/NC grades would be appropriate for your course, as there are implications for choosing to grade in this way.  

Please note: In an effort to minimize any adverse effects on a student's academic progress, we are offering some flexibility in grading for the spring semester. Starting Monday, March 23, students will be able to select from two options for each of their courses: To keep a traditional letter grade, or to elect a Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) grade. This process is initiated by the student and will not require the instructor to change their grading process.

 

Last Updated: 8/31/21