The Change of Program (COP) Process

Some courses, notably independent study, internship, thesis, special projects, and other courses so designated by the department may require use of the manual Change of Program (COP) process for registration only.

These courses appear in the schedule without a Class Number, and with a footnote indicating you are to contact the department and use the COP process for registration. These courses require you to see the department or faculty for permission to register. The faculty or department may give you the Class Number and ask you to add through the Portal. In other cases they will provide you a COP form to register. Follow the instructions provided.

You may add courses for a letter grade only using the Portal. To change to Credit/No Credit grading or to add the course as an audit, follow the procedures outlined below.

1. Obtain a Change of Program (COP) form from the faculty member, department office offering the course, or on the Student Records and Registration Office Web page on the Chico Web. Read and follow the directions on the COP form.
2. After the second week of classes, request approval by obtaining the faculty and other appropriate signatures required according to the “Important Registration Activities, Dates, and Deadlines.” You will need only the faculty member’s signature during the third and fourth weeks of classes. You will need a serious and compelling reason (see The University Catalog), and the instructor’s, department chair’s, and dean’s signatures after the fourth week of classes.
3. Return all COP forms with all signatures required to the Student Records and Registration Office (SRO), MLIB 180, by the deadlines indicated. COP forms must be submitted to SRO within ten working days of the final required signature date or they will not be accepted. You will be provided a receipt copy upon submission.
4. If your adds and drops change your fee category, go to Student Financial Services, Kendall 212, to pay additional fees, or file for a refund if appropriate. Failure to pay registration or course fees owed will result in disenrollment from these courses.

Note: There is a $10 late fee charged for handling each COP form submitted after the fifth week of classes.

For elective courses not taken for major, minor, or General Education requirements, undergraduate students are allowed the option of taking the course Credit/No Credit or for a letter grade. To change your grading option in an elective class (e.g., “A, B, C, D, F” to “Credit/No Credit”), follow the procedure outlined below.

Change of Grading Option Procedures:

1. Obtain the Electing Courses for the Credit/No Credit Grading Option form available here. Follow the directions on the form and return it to SRO by the end of the fourth week of classes. Until the end of the second week of classes, no approval signature is required. During the third and fourth week, the instructor’s approval signature is required.
2. After the fourth week you will need a serious and compelling reason and the permission of the instructor, department chair, and college dean to change your grade option.

Important Advisory Notes on CR/NC Grading

1. If you plan to transfer to graduate or professional schools, be aware that some schools regard CR grades as C’s, and NC grades as F’s, when evaluating transfer credit.
2. You may elect Credit/No Credit grading in elective courses only. You may not select this grading option for courses you intend to use for General Education requirements, or to meet major or minor requirements.
3. Up to 30 units of elected CR/NC course work may be applied to a bachelor’s degree. Graduate students should check with the Office of Graduate Programs before electing to take courses on a CR/NC basis.

Regularly admitted students may audit courses on a space-available basis only. You must have faculty permission to audit a course, and you must meet all COP deadlines. If you are given permission to register, the course will appear on your official record as an audit, and no grade or credit will be awarded. See “Auditing ” in the University Catalog.

To add a course as an audit, use the COP process. Inform the instructor that you wish to add for an audit, and secure all signatures required on a COP form. Your instructor may wait until all other students have registered before approving your audit of the class.

Undergraduate students who intend to drop all classes should begin the process in the Advising Office, MLIB 190. Graduate students begin in the Office of Graduate Programs, THMA 209. All students should carefully read the sections “Fees, Tuition, Credit and Refunds” on The Class Schedule and “Withdrawing from the University” in the University Catalog.

Your instructors will exercise care in endorsing changes to your program and in maintaining class records that reflect your enrollment and attendance. However, it is your responsibility to make sure that any changes to your program, COPs (adds, drops, and changes to or from CR/NC grading), are accurately reflected in Student Records and Registration Office (SRO). Check and update your course registration, account summary, and personal information on your Portal account frequently.