Spring 2023 FAQ

Yes. More than 90 percent of spring 2023 courses will be held on campus. On-campus is the default instructional mode for all courses with fewer than 100 students.

As of the start of the fall semester, 166 million people in the United States had received the coronavirus vaccine. UIC introduced a vaccine policy for students, faculty, and staff to advance health and safety on campus.

If there is a spike in the COVID-19 infection rate after the semester starts, appropriate steps will be taken to protect the UIC community, including switching to remote instructional delivery if necessary.

University leaders continue to monitor the pandemic to inform the full fall-semester plan.

Yes. Please read this summary of guidance and requirements for students, who must be fully vaccinated as of 14 days before the start of the spring 2023 semester.

Free vaccines are available from many sources throughout the city, including at UI Health. Learn more on this webpage.

UIC follows city, state, and federal public health guidance on PPE requirements, social distancing, and other public health measures.

Read the full vaccine policy for students here.

If you are fully vaccinated:

• You no longer need to participate in regular on-campus saliva testing. (Find the university’s current guidance on saliva testing here.) You may continue to take a saliva test once per week if you choose to.
• You must complete the online COVID-19 Safety Training.
• You must comply with the university’s current requirements for mask wearing, distancing, and other safety measures. Find them here.
• You must use the online reporting tool to report COVID-19 symptoms, a positive COVID-19 test, an exposure to an individual with known or suspected COVID-19, or out-of-state or country travel.

If you have not yet been vaccinated:

• You must continue to take an on-campus saliva test every two weeks. Find campus testing information here.
• You must conduct a UIC HealthCheck for each day you will be on campus, and you must be prepared to show your UIC Daily Pass while on campus.
• You must complete the online COVID-19 Safety Training.
• You must comply with the university’s current requirements for mask wearing, distancing, and other safety measures. Find them here.
• You must use the online reporting tool to report COVID-19 symptoms, a positive COVID-19 test, an exposure to an individual with known or suspected COVID-19, or out-of-state or country travel.

All new and continuing international students who are able to travel to the United States are strongly urged to attend campus in person.

The Office of International Services Office is monitoring travel restrictions, visa issuance, and vaccine requirements worldwide.

Some classrooms are being equipped with technology for remote synchronous instruction. If a class is not listed as remote asynchronous, however, students will be expected to be on campus.

We are optimistic that health indicators will allow in-person instruction, but we will pivot to remote instruction if necessary.

Yes. We expect student orgs will be able to meeting in person and that other extracurricular activities will take place on campus, too.

Campus Housing has continued its operations, remaining open to students during the 2022-23 academic year. Students who would like to live on campus for summer 2023 term or the upcoming academic year beginning in spring 2023 can apply at https://housing.uic.edu/

We expect classes, campus housing, dining, recreation and student activities to resume, with capacity limits as needed.

If you have been admitted to the College of Engineering and have submitted your Intent to Enroll (ITE), the first step is for you to take any UIC placement tests in English composition, chemistry, computer science (1), and mathematics. After taking the placement tests, you can sign up for the online orientation modules using the my.uic.edu portal.

After you have finished the orientation modules and the College of Engineering survey, you will be contacted by an engineering advisor regarding what courses to register for in the fall.

The Guaranteed Paid Internship Program gives incoming fall freshman and transfer students the opportunity to serve as paid interns, usually during the summer months, providing they meet certain criteria by the end of their first year of study. Visit the GPIP page for freshmen or transfers for further information.

There are two sections of ENGR 100 Engineering Orientation, one is reserved exclusively for first-year freshmen. If you are a first-year freshman, you need to register for the specific ENGR 100 section that is reserved for freshmen. If you are transfer student, you need to register for the “No Freshmen” ENGR 100 section.

You may find that you have tested out of certain requirements because of your AP exam scores, but you cannot register for higher classes because prerequisites are needed. To rectify this problem, please make sure that you have sent your official AP scores to the UIC Office of Admissions and Records. UIC needs to have these official scores before credit it given and allowing you to register for the next level.

Visit the UIC Catalog page to see what AP scores are required to receive credit.

If you are entering UIC’s Honors College in addition to the College of Engineering, you may want to know which classes you can take to receive credit for your major as well as for the Honors College. A representative of the Honors College will reach out to you with information on this topic. If you have not heard from a representative or have additional questions, please contact one of the Honors College advisors.

Most courses will be coded with one of three “Instructional Methods”:

1. On campus = The course is planned to meet on campus.
2. Online asynchronous = The course will be taught online and will be recorded in advance.
3. Online synchronous = The course will be taught online and will have live lectures at the listed class times.

There may be a few courses listed as “hybrid” that have online lectures combined with on-campus lab sections. If you are interested in an “on campus” or “hybrid” class but do not feel comfortable coming to campus, please check with the course instructor to see if there is an option to complete the course remotely.

If you try to register for two courses that have the same scheduled meeting time, you will receive a “time conflict” notification. To register for both courses, you would need to receive approval from both instructors and then contact the College to request a time conflict override. Issues regarding expectations of attendance and time conflicts with quizzes and exams would need to be worked out beforehand. Remember, for example, that courses that have the same scheduled meeting time are going to have final exams scheduled at the exact same time. It is up to the student to work out details as to how they will work with the instructors when exams are scheduled at the same time.

The university is designating on-campus spaces for students who need a place to take an online class while they are physically on campus. This situation may occur when a student has an on-campus class that is preceded or followed by a synchronous online class. Study spaces for this purpose will be designated in the following classroom buildings:

• Behavioral Sciences Building (BSB)
• Burnham Hall (BH)
• Lincoln Hall (LH)
• Taft Hall (TH)
• Stevenson Hall (SH)

Additional study spaces will be available in the libraries, Student Center East, and Student Center West. Information about these hours will be available on the student academic resources page before the semester starts.

Visit the UIC Study Lounges page for more information.

Not at all. The courses you take online will appear no differently than they would if you had taken them on campus — there is no distinction made on your transcript. Also, please keep in mind that university students all over the country are engaging in remote learning as well, and the experience you have with online instruction at UIC reflects that of hundreds of thousands of your peers.

The UIC Bookstore has an online search function where you can find out what books and materials are required for your classes. You can check using this link and then choose to order either from the UIC Bookstore or from other places on the web.

Course materials are decided by each individual instructor. If online options for books and/or supplies are not available, the UIC Bookstore will allow for curbside pickup of orders. For students who are not in the Chicago area and cannot use the curbside pickup option, please contact the UIC Bookstore for shipping or other options.

If you are a UIC student enrolled in the spring 2023 semester and need a laptop or cellular hotspot, please visit this page.

Some courses have multiple Course Registration Numbers (CRNs), especially when there is a lecture combined with a lab/quiz/discussion section. Only one CRN for a course will have the credit hours listed. The other “linked” sections of that course will all be listed as zero hours.

The university’s published response is as follows: “Do not come to campus. Isolate at home and contact your provider or Student Health Service at (312) 996-2901 for further guidance if you have questions. You do not need to notify Student Health Services if you are COVID-19 positive if you are studying/working remotely unless you require a medically excused absence to ‘return to class’ (remotely or in person).” This answer comes from an extensive FAQ that UIC has provided on related topics.