Enrollment Definitions

Relay’s academic year is divided into three terms: summer, fall, and spring. Enrollment and participation in all three terms may be required for successful program completion depending on a program’s course, scope and sequence. Eligible students’ individual enrollment is certified by the Registrar’s Office within the institutional term dates. Therefore, documents requiring proof of enrollment in the academic year, such as loan deferment forms, will only reflect the term dates in this table. Proof of enrollment can be provided after the census date of each term. For more information, see Census Dates.

Term Dates

*Finalized for AY24-25 are subject to change

Census Dates

A census date is the point in a term at which students’ enrollments are final and credits are locked. Census dates coincide with the last date in a term that students can withdraw for a full tuition refund (please see Billing Due Dates and Refunds for more details), request a switch in major/area of study, submit a program-transfer request, and/or return to Relay from a leave of absence, withdrawal, administrative withdrawal, or program dismissal. Students returning from a medical leave may be permitted to return after the term census date if approved. Census dates for the academic year can be found in Table 4. 

Students who take leaves of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed on or before the term census date will not receive credit for assignments or assessments submitted during that term, even if they receive a grade in the course. 

Students who take leaves of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed after the term census date and before the end of the term will not earn grades and/or credit for courses taken that term. In this case, students’ transcripts will demonstrate a “W” in lieu of a course grade. Students who take a leave of absence, withdraw, are administratively withdrawn, or are dismissed on or after the last date of the term will earn the grades for the term they just completed (see Terms for more details).

2023-2024 Census Dates

*Projected for AY24-25; dates will be finalized in Spring 2024

Credit Hours

The unit of credit used at Relay is the semester credit hour (referred to in this document as “credit(s)”). One semester hour of credit represents a minimum of 15 clock hours (of 50 minutes each) of instruction plus an expectation of 30 hours of out-of-class student work, or an equivalent amount of work for other academic activities as established by the institution, over the course of an academic term.

Enrollment Load and Status

Enrollment Status

For second-year or continuing students in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC: Students’ status will automatically change from “accepted offer” to “enrolled” upon receipt of the completed Enrollment Agreement.

For all other students: Students' status changes from "accepted offer" to "enrolled" when students attend class(es) and are marked present. Failure to attend classes after accepting admissions will result in students being classified as “no shows” and administratively withdrawn from Relay.

Enrollment Load

The number of credits students are registered for and enrolled in per term will determine students’ enrollment loads. Students’ enrollment loads are either classified as being enrolled as a full-time student (9+ credits) or as a part-time student. Students enrolled as part-time can be further classified as being enrolled as half-time (4–8.99 credits) or less-than-half-time (fewer than 4 credits). At Relay, most students will be enrolled as half-time. The table below demonstrates student enrollment loads by credit per term.

Transfer Credit 

Transfer Credits for Credits Earned Within Relay Programs

Should students wish to transfer from one Relay program to another, the credits for coursework with a passing grade or above in their original Relay program will be applied to the applicable coursework in their new Relay program. These credits must not have been awarded as part of another Relay degree that has been conferred. Please see Program Transfers for more details.

Students who participated in Relay’s initial programmatic structure (effective academic school year 2021–22 and before) and transfer into Relay’s revised programmatic structure (effective beginning Summer 2022) will earn credit for coursework completed with a passing grade—as determined by Relay’s institutional requirements and state requirements for licensure—if there is an equivalent course in the revised programmatic structure. Relay's vice provost of teacher preparation or their designee will approve coursework equivalency for transfer credit. A grade will be presented as part of the student’s academic history for the equivalent course(s) based on the student’s previous grade(s) from Relay’s initial programmatic structure; however, it will not be included as part of the student’s overall cumulative GPA. If a student does not agree with a transfer credit evaluation, they can request a reevaluation by sending an email to support@relay.edu.

Transfer Credits for Credits Earned at an Outside Institution

Relay does not generally accept transfer credit from outside institutions but will review outside credits on a case-by-case basis. Transfer credit will be evaluated through the submission of a course description, syllabus, and associated transcript by the Office of the Provost. The Registrar’s Office will communicate with the student regarding the outcome of the evaluation. 

Students seeking to transfer credit from Relay to another institution are advised that transfer of credit is controlled by the receiving institution and that accreditation does not guarantee transferability.

Credit for Prior Learning

Credit for Prior Learning for a Professional Learning Experience Completed with a Relay Partner

Partners, on behalf of a cohort of students, may seek credit for prior learning for a professional learning experience that is sponsored by the partner. Examples of professional learning experiences that are applicable under this policy are pre-service training (e.g., summer institutes or intensives prior to the start of a student’s classroom teaching experience) and professional development series that are focused on a specific topic. Activities such as weekly team meetings, general school-specific professional development sessions and professional learning communities are not applicable under this policy.

Partners requesting credit for prior learning for a professional learning experience should provide the following information: 

• the Relay course(s) for which credit for prior learning is being sought
• the number of hours of the professional learning experience
• the list of key knowledge and skills addressed, and 
• a scope and sequence of the session topics and/or objectives

If a student’s employer or sponsoring organization has submitted and been approved for credit for prior learning under this policy, the student or partner must submit performance-based evidence of students’ application of the skills from the learning experience. Acceptable forms of evidence include a final portfolio or a rubric-based evaluation of teaching.

If performance-based evidence of skills is not available, the student may submit a certificate of completion for the learning experience AND the final portfolio for the course(s). The final portfolio will be evaluated using the course’s assessment rubric. If the student receives a passing score, then the credit(s) for the course will be added to their transcript. 

Note: Credit for prior learning will only be granted to students who submit the required documentation by the end of the term in which the course is offered according to their academic plan. 

A fee of $100 per credit will be charged for each course credit that is granted, per student. For Relay’s master's-level programs requiring between 30–39 credits, a maximum of nine (9) semester credits may be granted under this policy. For Relay’s post-baccalaureate programs or certificates requiring between 18–28 credits, a maximum of six (6) semester credits may be granted under this policy. 

Accepted credit for prior learning will be reflected in a student’s transcript with the name of the Relay course the credits are being applied to and the grade “CPL.” These credits will not impact a student’s GPA.