Stanford
Re-Approaching Stanford

Academics

We understand that there are many academic considerations for you to take into account this winter. We hope to outline the most important information below, in order to keep you informed and well-prepared for a remote learning experience.

Enrollment

If you're looking to get a better grasp of all the considerations regarding your enrollment this year, check out the video in the sidebar to hear from two of your dedicated advisors in Academic Advising, Melissa Stevenson and Gabriel Wolfenstein.

Additionally, the Registrar's Office has consolidated all of the need-to-know information for whichever undergraduate group you maybe belong to:

  • Frosh & New Transfers 

      • Students are expected to enroll in 3 quarters full-time; students will have 1 Flex Term

      • A leave of absence (LOA) would be filed if taking any quarters off beyond the Flex Term

      • Must attend Autumn or defer one year

      • Flex Term may be Winter, Spring, or Summer

  • Continuing Undergraduates

      • Students are expected to enroll in 3 quarters full-time; students will have 1 Flex Term

      • A leave of absence (LOA) would be filed if taking any quarters off beyond the Flex Term

      • Flex Term may be any quarter during the 2020-21 academic year

  • Frosh (International)

      • Students are required to enroll in 3 consecutive, full-time quarters while on campus to maintain their F-1 visa status

      • According to immigration regulations, students who enroll for 3 consecutive quarters in F-1 status do not need to enroll in a 4th quarter. They are permitted to remain in the US during the 4th quarter during which time they are not enrolled.

      • Students are expected to enroll full-time in Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters; if students complete those 3 full-time quarters then Summer would be the student's flex term 

  • Continuing Undergraduates (International)

      • Students are required to enroll in 3 consecutive, full-time quarters while on campus to maintain their F1 visa status

      • According to immigration regulations, students who enroll for 3 consecutive quarters in F-1 status do not need to enroll in a 4th quarter. They are permitted to remain in the US during the 4th quarter during which time they are not enrolled.

      • Students are expected to enroll full-time in Autumn, Winter and Spring quarters; if students complete those 3 full-time quarters then Summer would be the student's flex term

For more information on topics such as the Flex Term, Timing of Enrollment, and Leave of Absence please visit the Registrar's Office here.

Grading

There are a wide variety of circumstances affecting students' learning environments at home and on campus. Priorities may have changed and we know you may have substantial challenges performing in the same manner as you would during a typical academic year.

  • Grading policies adopted by the Academic Senate
      • All University courses offered for a letter grade must also offer students the option of taking the course for a “credit” or “no credit” grade, with the exception of courses offered by the Graduate School of Business, the School of Law, and the School of Medicine M.D. Program, unless opted in by those schools.
      • Units of credit taken for a “credit” or “satisfactory” grade will not count toward the 36-unit maximum of credits (27 credits for transfer students) not taken for a letter grade that may be applied toward the 180 units required for the bachelor’s degree.
      •  The senate urges deans, departments, and programs to consider adopting local policies to count courses taken for a “credit” or “satisfactory” grade toward the fulfillment of degree program requirements and/or alter program requirements as appropriate.
      • Courses taken as “credit” or “no credit” may be eligible to fulfill general education requirements pending review by the Breadth Governance Board (for Ways of Thinking/Ways of Doing); the Thinking Matters Governance Board (for Thinking Matters); the Program in Writing and Rhetoric (for PRW1 and PRW2 classes); and the Writing and Rhetoric Review Board for Writing in the Major.

For more information on grading policy changes for your specific department go here.

Technology

You may have some concerns related to the technological aspect of remote learning. If so, visit Stanford Teach Anywhere's student page to receive a wide variety of information on anything from internet and software access to Canvas and Zoom support.

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