Exceptions Overview

Advisors can create exceptions that modify the DPR’s default functionality. These exceptions may change the content of specific curricular requirements, or override the DPR’s default logic for satisfying requirements.

Approving and entering exceptions

Academic programs have delegated authority to grant individual exceptions to their own major and minor requirements (excluding the Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement). Each program or department sets its own internal approval process. Once approved, these exceptions are entered in the DPR by the department or program.

Exceptions to University and General Education (GE) requirements, including the DC, are approved by the Committee on Courses of Instruction (CCI), and are entered by staff in the Degree Progress Unit.

Exceptions to college core courses are granted by the student’s college, and are entered by college advisors or preceptors.

Types of Exceptions

There are three types of exceptions:

Course Directive: Used to substitute or exclude courses to/from a requirement. Use a course directive anytime coursework, whether UC Santa Cruz courses, transfer credit, or exam credit, is being used.

Requirement Change: Used to change the number of courses and/or units required (e.g., change from two required courses to one).

Requirement Waiver: Used to waive a requirement entirely.

Using Course Directives

The primary purpose of course directives is to substitute or exclude specific courses from a requirement. Courses used in course directives can be UC Santa Cruz courses, transfer credit, or exam credit.

Substitute: Substitute is used when you wish to pull specific courses into a requirement. These courses may or may not be satisfying other requirements in your or another academic plan. Examples of when to use substitute are:

An exception is granted for a course that is not typically allowed to satisfy a requirement.
A student is double counting a course across academic plans (note: course must be directed on all applicable plans for double-counting to work in the DPR).
A requirement is being satisfied by one course but you want a different course to satisfy the requirement.
A course is satisfying a requirement (in your or another program), but a student requests that the course be used toward a different requirement in your program.

Exclude: Exclude removes a specific course from a requirement that it is fulfilling, freeing it to fulfill another requirement on the DPR in your or another academic plan. Examples of when to use exclude are:

A requirement is being satisfied by an in-progress course, but the student has already completed another course that fulfills it. (Note: the other completed course may now be satisfying a different requirement.)
A requirement is set up to require multiple courses (lecture+lab combinations for example), and a student wants different courses to satisfy.
Your program’s requirement is using a course that the student intended to count toward another program instead.

Using Both Substitute and Exclude: In some complex situations you may need to both substitute and exclude courses from a requirement. For example:

A major requirement needs three electives. A student has completed two courses, but wants one of those courses to apply to their minor, not their major. The student also has an approved exception to allow a course taken at UCSC to count as one elective which is not typically allowed. The advisor would exclude the first course to remove it from the requirement, thus freeing it to move to the minor. They would also substitute the approved course to add it to the requirement.

Using Requirement Changes

Requirement changes are used to change the number of courses or credits required. Requirement changes should never be used for transfer credit.Typical examples of requirement changes are:

A student is approved to waive part of a requirement. For instance, if a lecture/lab combo is typically required, but the department waives the lab portion for the student, the exception would change the number of required courses from two to one.
If a requirement needs seven credits to be satisfied, but the department approves the use of a 5-credit course, the exception would change the number of required credits from seven to five.
If a requirement needs more than one course, but the department approves the use of something other than a course to satisfy one of the required courses, the exception would reduce the number of requried courses by one.

Using Requirement Waivers

Requirement waivers are applied when the requirement will be waived completely. Fully waiving a requirement is rare. Requirement waivers should never be used for transfer credit. Typical examples of requirement waivers are:

Transfer students being exempt from a requirement
A program determines a student need not satisfy a certain requirement

Combining Exception Types

In some instances, you may need to combine requirement changes and course directives on a single requirement. Requirement waivers will never be combined with other exceptions as the requirement waiver fully satisfies a requirement with no regard to what or how many courses are used. Examples include:

A single course was approved to meet a 2-course lecture-lab requirement. First, a requirement change would be used to reduce the number of courses required from two to one. Then a course directive would be used to direct the course to the requirement.