SUMMER SESSION

Late Registration

SPS students may register for courses during the first week of Summer Session but incur a $75 late registration fee. Full payment of tuition and applicable fees are due at the time of late registration. We cannot guarantee that all classes will still be available. Late registration does not excuse you from missed course work.

Late registrations are accepted Monday, June 22 through Friday, June 26 at the following locations:

Registrar, School of Professional Studies
Wieboldt Hall
339 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Summer Session Office
School of Professional Studies
405 Church Street
Evanston, Illinois 60208-4220

Credit and Grades

Course Credit

SPS students earn one unit of credit per course unless otherwise noted (e.g., Field Study and Study Abroad courses).

Pass/No Credit (P/N) Option

The pass/no credit option is designed to encourage students to learn about subjects outside their field of study without endangering their academic standing.

SPS students admitted into a degree program and with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher may use the P/N (pass/no credit) option to satisfy elective and distribution requirements only. P/N may be used for every nine courses completed at SPS. Students are limited to a total of four courses taken P/N and may enroll in no more than one P/N course per quarter. Courses taken P/N are not figured into the grade point average.

At Northwestern, the P/N option is a "blind registration" - the instructors do not know whether a student is taking the course P/N. Faculty assign a grade for the course and it is then converted to a P or an N.

The P/N option may not be used for English 110, 111, and 205 or any first-and second-year language courses. Consult courses listings for additional restricted courses. Courses taken P/N will not apply toward future admission requirements and are not figured into the GPA.

Students in credit-earning Post-baccalaureate certificate programs may not take courses P/N.

All requests to take courses P/N must be approved by an academic counselor before the second class meeting. Changing from P/N to a grade also must be done before the second class meeting. The Pass No Pass Option Request Form can be downloaded at www.sps.northwestern.edu/forms.

Independent Study

SPS students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 who have been admitted to a bachelor’s degree program and wish to pursue academic interests not available in SPS course offerings may design an independent study project. This project may involve in-depth research of a topic introduced in a regular course, original research, or creative work under the guidance of a faculty member. Separate applications are available for each type of independent study and must be submitted to the associate dean of student services and registration for approval at least two weeks before the term begins. Independent study is the most advanced course an undergraduate student can take and is comparable to a 300-level course. Required courses in the major may not be taken as independent study. Students may enroll in a maximum of three independent study courses in a bachelor's degree program.

Intensive Course Sequences

Intensive course sequences compress three quarters of academic work into one summer. Each course counts as one quarter of work and carries its own tuition. Individual courses in any intensive sequence may be taken separately, subject to prerequisites. The following intensive course sequences are offered in summer 2020:

• ARABIC I: 111-1,-2,-3
• ARABIC II: 121-1,-2,-3
• CHEMISTRY 110-0 Quantitative Problem Solving; 131-0, 132-0 General Chemistry I & II
• CHEMISTRY 210-1,2,3 Organic Chemistry
• FRENCH 111-1,2,3 Elementary French
• FRENCH 121-1,2,3 Intermediate French
• GERMAN 101-1,-2,-3 Beginning German
• ITALIAN 101-1,2,3 Elementary Italian
• PHYSICS 130-1,2,3 College Physics
• PHYSICS 135-1,2,3 General Physics
• SPANISH 101-1,2,3 Elementary Spanish
• SPANISH 121-1,2,3 Intermediate Spanish

Auditing Courses

School of Professional Studies students may audit certain School of Professional Studies courses under special circumstances. Summer Session courses offered by other Northwestern schools are not open to auditors. Students may not audit computer and lab courses, courses that meet for fewer than six weeks (including those that are part of intensive sequences; see complete list of intensive course sequences below); or any other course in which it is indicated in the description. Auditors are not permitted to submit written or oral assignments, or take examinations. Auditors do not earn academic credit, but audited courses appear on students' transcripts. Auditors are charged an auditing fee; please see Tuition and Fees for more information.

Students wishing to change their status from audit to credit must do so before the second class meeting and must pay the difference in tuition in full at the time the request is submitted.

Only the following courses may be audited:

• All Organization Behavior courses with instructor’s consent.
• ENGLISH 113-CN Introduction to Literature
• BIOL SCI 170-CN Concepts of Biology
• BIOL SCI 313-CN Human Anatomy

Grade Reports and Official Transcripts

Grade reports are available on CAESAR soon after the end of the semester or quarter. Grades are not given by phone, e-mail, or in person at either SPS office. Requests for official transcripts may be submitted in person or by mail to either SPS office at a cost of $8 electronically and $10 on paper each. When requesting transcripts by mail, please include the following information: the date, your name, mailing address, student ID number, date of birth, daytime phone number, date of last attendance at SPS, and signature. Please indicate whether you will pick up the transcripts in person (at the SPS office in Chicago only) or if you wish to have them mailed. If you want them mailed, include the complete address for each institution they should be sent to. Please indicate if you would prefer to have the transcripts mailed after Summer Session grades are posted.

Additional Information for SPS Students

Field Studies and Summer Study Abroad

To receive credit for a Field Study or Study Abroad program, SPS students must petition the SPS Academic Affairs Committee before the start of Summer Session. Up to six units of credit may be earned through these programs.

Academic Advising

If you have questions about regulations, degree requirements, course sequences, or other academic matters, you may arrange an appointment with an academic adviser in Evanston (847-491-5612) or Chicago (312-503-6950).

CAESAR Access

Online registration is open for all students from April 13 through June 21. You can log on to CAESAR at www.northwestern.edu/caesar and register with an active NetID. Simply enter your NetID and password on the CAESAR welcome page.

If you don't yet have your NetID, you can still browse courses. Login as a guest.

Detailed information about using the CAESAR system is available on the Student Enterprise Systems (SES) page. For assistance, contact the SPS Registrar Help Line at 312-503-3329 or CAESAR Technical Support at 847-467-4357.

About Your NetID

To use CAESAR, you need an active NetID and password. If you have taken a course at SPS during the 2020 Spring term, your NetID is already active. If you don't know your NetID, visit the NUIT Support Center on the first floor at 1800 Sherman Ave on the Evanston campus or Wieboldt Hall on the Chicago campus to receive it.

If you have not taken a course at SPS during the 2020 Spring term, you must renew your status and activate your NetID to use CAESAR. To renew, send an email to onlinereg@northwestern.edu and include your first and last name and date of birth. Then you can visit the NUIT Support Center or Wieboldt Hall to receive your NetID and password

Note: It takes 48 hours to process your renewed SPS status. NetIDs and passwords must be picked up in person with a valid WildCARD or government issued photo ID.