Academics & Registration FAQ

Academic advising is offered through the Student Affairs Office. Current students can book an advising appointment online here. For general academic questions, please email Kellogg-advisor@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

The Academic Calendar is available for your planning purposes. It lists key class/orientation start and end dates, final exam periods and holidays. For club and other social activities, please visit Kellogg Groups.

Kellogg does not offer a formal option to audit courses. Students should email the professor directly to request permission to "sit in" a class for which they are not registered. “Sitting in” is at the discretion of the professor. There is no formal recognition of "sitting in" on a class.

Generally, Kellogg day classes are 90 minutes and evening classes are 180 minutes. The midday break usually occurs from 12:15 – 1:30pm. More details on class times and sections can be found here.

Students, faculty, and staff have the right to courteous behavior from everyone in the Kellogg community. Be respectful of others in and outside of the classroom. Professors and classmates expect you to be on time, follow generally accepted classroom norms of behavior, and remain for the duration of classes/events. Arriving late or leaving early is disturbing to everyone. Also, please respect the facilities by leaving class and study rooms in good order. Please note the policies of your professors in addition to the Code of Classroom Etiquette.

To avoid disturbing or distracting classmates, students are expected to use their laptop and hand held computing devices only for purposes related to the class session in progress.

Inappropriate computer use includes reading or sending e-mail, browsing the web for unrelated purposes, typing unrelated materials, and text messaging. All students using a laptop should do so only in the last row of the classroom. Individual faculty may modify these norms based on the specific circumstances of their classroom, teaching approach, or preference. Faculty may determine that laptops may not be used during class. Laptops must be closed for all speaker events. We also ask that you limit laptop use as a courtesy to visitors and guests.

Convocation is held on a Friday in June, one week after final exams for spring quarter end. For updated information visit the Convocation and Graduation site. The week between finals and graduation is known as Grad Week and offers a variety of activities for graduating students.

Printed and digital course packets are available through Study.Net. Digital course packs may also be available in Canvas, our course management system. Course material will be available approximately two weeks before the first day of class. You can contact your professor to confirm details. If you order a printed course packet, your order will be fulfilled by Quartet Printing, located near G27 on the ground floor of the Jacobs Center.

You can access your current registration, print an enrollment verification, and check your grades online at CAESAR. If there are any discrepancies with your class registration, please email kellogg-registrar@kellogg.northwestern.edu.

Students may drop or add courses via the Kellogg Bidding and Registration System. Courses dropped accidentally will not be reinstated. It is the responsibility of all students to monitor their waitlists, enrollments and auto-drop settings. Kellogg and Northwestern policy does not allow the registrar, deans, or faculty to approve drop or add requests after the respective deadlines.

Students may not earn credit for two classes scheduled at the same time. Occasionally students who fail to earn a bid for a class will register for one section and attend another. Unfortunately, neither is allowable as both violate Kellogg registration policy and the latter violates the Honor Code tenet regarding advantage.

Full-time study is defined as three to five credit units per quarter and is required of full-time students.

The Kellogg community fully endorses the Honor Code established by the Honor Committee and all are expected to abide by its tenets. The Honor Code is posted in each classroom. Please review this site carefully.

The grade point average on your transcript will exclude Pass (P), No Credit (NC), Withdrawn (W) marks.

Dean's List designation will be reflected on the transcript of anyone earning a 3.75 or above for a given quarter while enrolled in at least 3 credits of Kellogg classes.

Induction into Beta Gamma Sigma (honorary academic society) is offered to the top 10% of the class at the end of winter quarter of their graduation year. Graduation "With Distinction" is granted to the top 10% of the class after spring grades are calculated. Top 10% is based on cumulative grade point average.

Students interested in registering for Independent Study must complete and submit the Independent Study registration form found on the Course/Project Request page no later than the ADD deadline set by Kellogg’s Records & Registration Department.

Kellogg Ph.D. classes may be open to MBA students, depending upon pre-requisites and permission from the professor. Ph.D. classes appear as section 21 in the Course Schedule.

If you are unable to attend class because of illness or a family situation, please send an email to Dean Fran Langewisch, so that she can advise you appropriately.

Students interested in improving their language skills may register for an undergraduate course on a space-available basis. This credit will not reduce the number of course units required for the Kellogg degree, nor will grades count in the Kellogg grade point average. If you register for a total of 5 credits or fewer, there is no charge.

Kellogg students can also take advantage of Programs for English Language Learners through The Graduate School.

Kellogg contracts with Berlitz to offer non-credit conversational language courses, depending on interest, for an additional cost. You will receive registration information each quarter via email. A minimum of 5 students is required for a Berlitz class to be scheduled.

The P/NC option may be exercised for 10-week and 5-week classes.

Northwestern University is a community that respects and welcomes persons of differing backgrounds and seeks to allow students to observe their religious holidays. Faculty should provide course syllabi at the beginning of each term that specify dates of exams and due dates of assignments. Every effort should be made to avoid scheduling exams on religious holidays. It is the student's responsibility to review these syllabi as soon as they are distributed. Students should notify the faculty member of conflicts due to religious holidays and should not be penalized for related class absences. In some cases, the conflict may affect the learning experience and require that the student consider changing a class or section.

If a student is interested in taking a Chicago campus class, designated as a section 71 or 76, this class can be added to their schedule during an Add/Drop phase, if seats are still available. Due to system limitations, wait listing for these sections is not an option.

Students in the Full-Time MBA program may enroll in up to one credit per quarter of non-Kellogg Northwestern classes, no sooner than the second quarter of academic study at Kellogg. Visit the “Registration with other Northwestern Schools” page on the Serial.

Official transcripts of your Kellogg classes may only be obtained through the University Registrar. You may request an official transcript on-line through CAESAR. Unofficial transcripts can also be printed directly from CAESAR.

The Office of Student Accounts issues student bills for tuition and on-campus housing. For question regarding your tuition or other charges, please check with Student Accounts at (847) 491-5224. Tuition is charged by quarter, and may be paid on-line through CAESAR or by visiting the Student Accounts Office at 555 Clark Street. Veterans eligible for G.I. benefits should call the University Registrar at (847) 491-5234.

Kellogg second years provide small group tutoring for first year students taking core courses. This program is coordinated by the Student Affairs Office. For more information please visit the Core Course Tutoring page on the Serial.

Please update your contact and emergency information here, to make sure that it remains current.

Kellogg does not offer videotaping of classes for student viewing as attending and participating in classes is key to the educational process. Also, videotaping sometimes may inhibit participation or encourage absence.