Student biographical and contact information
As part of registration, you must provide your legal name, gender, date of birth, e-mail address, and postal mailing address. You are responsible for the accuracy of all biographical and contact information that you provide or another person provides on your behalf, both online and on all paper forms and applications. Honesty in all communications, including self-representation, is a requirement of student enrollment. Submission of fraudulent information is subject to review by the Administrative Board and may be grounds for disciplinary action.
Your biographical information
The name that you provide when registering must match exactly the name on your passport or other government-issued photo identification. Please check that your name and biographical information are correct in online services. To report a legal name change, a birth date or Social Security number correction, or changes to gender or other biographical information, you must submit a biographical change form to the Registrar’s Office with acceptable documentation, as described on the form.
Your contact information
All critical school and faculty communications are sent via e-mail. These include:
- Harvard community advisories
- Extension School notices of school-wide weather cancellations
- Individual class meeting cancellations
- Course meeting time, classroom, and instructor changes
- Admission from waitlists
- Faculty messages about course assignments and deadlines
You are responsible for maintaining accurate contact information (e-mail address, postal address, telephone numbers) with the Extension School. If we receive notice that your e-mail address has been rejected by the e-mail host, we will inactivate that e-mail address in our system. Similarly, we will inactivate a postal mailing address if mail to that address is returned as not deliverable.
To protect the privacy and security of your student records, you must provide an e-mail address that is unique and not shared with any other person. Duplicate e-mail addresses will be inactivated. Within 2 days of registering, you are eligible to create a unique Harvard e-mail account if you do not already have a private e-mail address. Your Harvard e-mail account will remain active throughout your term of enrollment or your degree candidacy. You must update your contact information in online services if you wish your Harvard e-mail account to be used for Extension School communications.
Repeating courses
You are allowed to repeat most Extension School courses, in accordance with the following policies and restrictions:
- All repeated courses and grades assigned for those courses are included on your Division of Continuing Education transcript.
- You may not repeat EXPO E-25 or a graduate proseminar other than ENVR E-200 if taught by the same instructor, whether or not you intend to apply the course towards degree program admission. If you register for one of these courses taught by the same instructor, you may be dropped by the Registrar before the full-tuition-refund withdrawal deadline.
- The Extension School may prohibit your repeat registration in other courses if the school determines that your repeat enrollment will be disruptive to course instruction.
- If you are earning a degree or considering applying to a degree program, be aware of policies related to grade-point average, credits, and grades earned for repeated courses. See the enrollment policies for the degree program that interests you.
Enrollment status
One credit is equivalent to 1 semester hour. Full-time enrollment is 14 credits per term, while half-time enrollment is 8 credits. Enrollment in a graduate thesis; a required graduate internship; or EDUC E-599, ENVR E-599, JOUR E-599, or MATH E-599 (effective spring 2011); also constitutes full-time enrollment. Courses for which you have withdrawal (WD), required-to-withdraw (RQ), administrative withdrawal (WA), and excluded-from-course (EXD) grades are excluded from these definitions. Certifications of current enrollment status, including loan deferment certifications, are based on these calculations. If you are enrolled full time, you must comply with Massachusetts immunization regulations.
Maximum credit enrollment. You may enroll in no more than 16 credits per term unless you are an Extension School candidate in a degree, diploma, or health careers program and you receive your program advisor’s approval. If you do not have this approval and you register for more credits than the maximum, you must drop your overload course(s) by the late registration deadline, or you will be dropped from those courses by the registrar.
In January session, you may enroll in no more than 4 credits. Enrollment status is not calculated for the January session, and January courses are not included in calculations of fall or spring term enrollment status.
Time conflicts. You may not be enrolled in courses that meet at the same or overlapping times unless at least 1 of the courses is also offered online. If you register for courses with time conflicts, you must drop 1 or more of the conflicting courses by the late registration deadline, or you will be dropped from those courses by the registrar.
Registration confirmation
You may print a copy of your registration schedule from online services. You are also sent a registration confirmation via e-mail if you register online. Your registration confirmation constitutes proof of registration, and you should have it with you when you are on the Harvard campus. In compliance with security regulations, you may be asked to present your confirmation with a photo ID for admission to certain classrooms in the Science Center, Longwood Medical area, and other buildings on the Harvard campus.
Harvard University photo ID cards are only issued to students who have been admitted to Extension degree and diploma programs.
Immunizations
In compliance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Harvard University immunization regulations, if you enroll full time (14 credits) or while on a visa, you must submit proof of immunization against certain communicable diseases. Have a certificate of immunization form completed by your healthcare provider or medical records official, and submit it to the Registrar’s Office by August 29 for fall and January 23 for spring. The form requires certification of the following immunizations:
- Measles vaccination (2 immunizations at least 1 month (30 days) apart on or after the first birthday in 1967 or later);
- Rubella vaccination (2 immunizations at least 1 month (30 days) on or after the first birthday in 1967 or later);
- Mumps vaccination (2 immunizations at least 1 month (30 days) on or after the first birthday in 1967 or later);
- Tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis booster (1 booster within the last 10 years);
- Hepatitis B immunization series (3 doses: the first and second must be at least 30 days apart, the third at least 2 months after the second and 4 months after the first);
- Meningococcal vaccine (1 dose within the past 5 years and at least 2 weeks before the start of classes). A waiver of the meningococcal vaccine may be allowed for students who submit the Massachusetts waiver form.
Documentation of a positive blood test for immunity to measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis B is acceptable in lieu of immunizations. For immunizations requiring more than 1 vaccine (measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis B), you must submit proof that you have begun the series and have had as many of the vaccines as possible within the specified time frame.
For more information about the meningococcal disease, please read the Massachusetts Department of Health public health fact sheet.
Please see other government and school regulations.