Study Cards

Students officially enroll in courses for credit by including the course name and four-digit catalog number of each selected course on the study card. In addition, the instructor's signature must appear on the study card for any course that requires the instructor's permission for enrollment. Students must obtain the signature of their freshman or concentration advisers on the study card, signifying that the student and adviser have discussed the course program. Registration is not complete until the study card is filed and any required petitions for cross-registration or Independent Study have been approved. A student who is denied admission for any reason to a course listed on the study card must drop that course by petition no later than the fifth Monday of the term.

The date for filing study cards appears in the Academic Calendar. A student who fails to hand in the study card on time, ordinarily in person, will incur a charge of $40 for each week until the study card is properly filed. An overdue study card also makes the student liable for disciplinary action, including requirement to withdraw. Late study cards require the signature of the instructor for each course listed on the student's program. After the fifth Monday of a term, the Allston Burr Resident Dean's or Resident Dean for Freshmen's approval is also required. No study card handed in after the fifth Monday may add a Pass/Fail course to the student's schedule.

Beginning the day after study card day and continuing throughout the term, the student may check the course report, which lists every course in which the student is enrolled on the student's portal page at my.harvard.edu or at www.registrar.fas.harvard.edu (select "View Course and Grade Report"). It is the student's responsibility to confirm his or her program for that term. The student should check the course report carefully, as on occasion the courses listed will not agree with those on the study card because of errors in reporting or entering data. A student is considered registered only for those courses listed on the course report. He or she should report any errors to the Registrar and make any necessary changes by filing an appropriate change-of-course petition (see also page 53). Students must have a PIN to access their web-based course reports (see page 384 for information on the PIN).

A student may not sign any other person's name or initials on a study card, Plan of Study, change-of-course petition, registration form, or on any other official form or petition. Violation of this rule makes the student subject to disciplinary action, including requirement to withdraw.