Senior Guest auditors

Auditing is defined as sitting in on a lecture course and not actively participating. Auditors may not recite, perform, or take examinations. Auditors are not graded and do not receive credit for the courses they enroll in. Space availability and instructor permission are required to audit.

Courses NOT available for auditing

• Conversational language courses, including American Sign Language (ASL)
• Studio and performing arts including music
• Writing, math, computer, and lab courses
• Independent study and directed study
• Seminar, research, and colloquial courses
• First Year Interest Groups (FIGs)
• Honors-only courses

Established Rules and Requirements

We welcome you to audit classes at UW–Madison but want to make you aware of the rules and requirements applicable to you as an auditor. Please review the following information to make your auditing experience as seamless and hassle-free as possible.  

• Permission to enroll in courses is at the discretion of the instructor and the department. We ask that you accept the instructor’s decision if permission is not granted. Special exception requests and appeals are not permitted.
• All official UW–Madison correspondence will be sent to your @wisc.edu email address. This includes any correspondence regarding class permissions.
• As an auditor you will not receive a grade or credit for any course you take.
• It is expected that you will respect the time of instructors, advisors, and credit students and understand that the university’s priority is with degree/credit students because Universities of Wisconsin policy stipulates that no additional costs to the university should arise from implementing the audit privilege program.
• As a Senior Guest or Guest auditor, you are a silent observer in the course and are not allowed to actively participate in synchronous or asynchronous discussions. You may not recite, perform, or take examinations. You may not submit assignments for review or grading. Professors may not respond or provide feedback to your direct communications as their priority is focused on degree/credit students in the course. All exceptions are at the discretion of the instructor.
• Failure to respect these guidelines above may result in you losing auditing privileges which may include being disallowed by the Dean’s office to enroll for future terms and/or withdrawal from the program after enrollment.
• This privilege is only for accessing courses as an auditor and not for the purposes of utilizing campus resources.

Thank you for taking the time to review this content.

Questions?

Email seniorauditor@dcs.wisc.edu

New auditors

If you are new to auditing, or it has been more than one semester (not counting summer) since you last audited a class, start by applying.

• Apply using our free application, and select the student type: Guest student, Senior Guest auditor (60+), UGSR
• Review our application tips

Not sure if you need to reapply?

If you enrolled in and audited a class in the most recent term, you should be eligible for the upcoming term.

To confirm:

• Login to your MyUW account
• Select the Course Search and Enroll tile
• Look for your earliest enrollment date and time. Note, if you check before mid-October for spring or before mid-March for summer/fall you will not yet see an earliest enrollment date.
  OR
• Email our office to ask about your eligibility for the upcoming term: seniorauditor@dcs.wisc.edu

Apply again only if you are not eligible for the current term.

Wait for your admission email

Once you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email and our office will begin processing your application.

Processing your application will take between 2 and 7 business days. During this time, please keep an eye on your email. You will receive an email once you have been admitted. This email will contain your campus ID number, which you will use to proceed to the next step.

Questions?

If you have questions while completing the application, please email seniorauditor@dcs.wisc.edu or call 608-263-6960.

Continuing or returning auditors

Your NetID, password, and @wisc.edu email address remain active, or are reactivated when you are admitted and enroll after a break.

If you’re a returning Guest auditor and have forgotten your NetID and/or password, please contact the DoIT Help Desk at 608-264-4357.

New to auditing and UW–Madison

Your NetID is a university-assigned username which will allow you to access your MyUW student portal. You must activate your NetID and create a password for your account. Your @wisc.edu email address will be automatically activated through this process.

Instructions for activating your NetID

• Go to www.mynetid.wisc.edu.
• Enter your 10-digit campus ID number (this was provided to you in your admission email and letter) and your Date of Birth.
• Select activate.
• You will be given your NetID (this will be some combination of your first and last name).
• Create a password unique to you and your account.
• Be sure to write down your @wisc.edu email address, NetID, and password as you will need to use this frequently.

NetID – Activating Your Account KB

Learn how to set up Duo multi-factor authorization (MFA)

Permission-to-enroll request form

Available:

• Early January for the spring term
• Early August for the fall term

To access the permission-to-enroll request form, follow our instructions.

Complete the permission-to-enroll form for the course(s) you would like to audit. Your request will go to the professor and/or department. Please do not contact the professor or department directly.

Permission is up to the instructor/department, and there is no guarantee it will be granted.

Once you receive permission to enroll, you need to enroll in the class via the Class Search & Enroll tool. Senior guest auditors can enroll starting the first day of class. To enroll, follow the instructions in the “Enroll in classes” step.

If it is less than a week before the start of the term and you haven’t received a response regarding your request, please refer to our related FAQ under the Enrollment section of our FAQ page.

Enrollment date

Senior Guest auditors enroll on the first day of classes each spring and fall term. In summer, auditors typically enroll on the first day of the earliest summer session.

Enrolling

Once the department has entered a permission into the enrollment system and it is the first day or the term or later, you will be able to enroll.

Enroll online using the Course Search & Enroll tool, which can also be found in your MyUW portal. Use our enrollment instructions guide to walk you through the enrollment process.

If you added a class to your cart before permission was granted, remove the class from your cart at this time to avoid any errors. Then, proceed with the enrollment process outlined in our enrollment instruction guide.

Enrollment troubleshooting and tips

Canvas access:

• After you have enrolled in the course, it may take 2-4 hours for it to appear in the Canvas learning management system.
• This Canvas Student Training course provides helpful tips on accessing, navigating, and using Canvas. 

Additional notes:

• Enroll by the end of the second week of classes to avoid the late enrollment fee.
• Complete the enrollment step for your Guest auditor status to remain active.
• Senior Guest auditors will be automatically opted out of any Digital Course Materials (eTexts). There is no option to opt in; however, you may independently obtain the materials in an alternative version.

Pick up your Wiscard

The day after you enroll in at least one course, you can pick up your Wiscard at Union South.

Your Wiscard is your UW–Madison photo ID card and will be needed to access campus libraries and computer labs. You will also need a Wiscard if you plan to purchase a community membership for access to the recreational facilities.

Already have a Wiscard?

If you have been a UW–Madison student, auditor, or employee in the past five years, you should not need to obtain a new Wiscard unless you have misplaced yours.

See Wiscard ID FAQ for specifics.

Attend class

If you are attending an in-person course, use the interactive campus map to help you locate your classroom building.

Getting to campus and parking

UW–Madison Transportation Services has everything you need to know about getting to and around campus, including this map showing live availability at parking lots throughout campus.

Plan ahead for next semester

Watch our website and check your @wisc.edu email address for updates about the course listings, permission form, and enrollment dates for the next term.

Course information

• Find your course(s) in Course Search and Enroll
• Make note of the course department, 3-digit course number, and the lecture number.
  • Example: History 246, Lec 001

Your NetID and password

Forgot your password? Follow the process for recovering your NetID account and resetting your password.

Your NetID and password 

If you are newly admitted you need to activate your NetID in order to access the form

Log in to your MyUW portal using your NetID and password and authenticate using MFA-Duo.

• Select your Student Center tile to launch it
• Locate and select the Student eForms tile.
• On the left-hand side of the Student eForms Center, select the Senior Guest auditor permission form.

Request only one course per form. Submit a new form for each additional course.

The form will automatically populate with your name, campus ID number, @wisc.edu email address, and the current term.

Find your course:

• Type in the department name or the first few letters, then use the magnifying glass icon (don’t hit enter) to bring up the list of matching departments.
  • Example: If you type “hist” then hit the magnifying glass, you will bring up both “history” and “history of science” departments
• Select your desired department, and a list of courses will appear. It may take a few moments for the courses to load.
  • Courses without a slider button have been predetermined as not auditable.

Select your course:

• Use the slider button to the left of your desired course to select it. It will change from “No” to “Yes,” indicating you have selected it.
• Fill in the “Course Interest” text box with a short statement of why you are interested in the course, agree to the acknowledgements, and then submit.
• Once your course has been submitted, you will receive a confirmation email.

To request additional courses:

• Use the black tab on the left-hand side to return to the Student eForms Center.
• Repeat this process for additional course permission requests.

A copy of your completed permission request form will be emailed to you. Keep this for your records. The permission request is automatically sent to the instructor and/or department.

Please do not email the instructor or department directly.

Permission request “yes” and “no” responses will be sent to your @wisc.edu email address. Please be patient as it could take up to the start of the term to receive a response.

If you don’t receive a response to your request, please do not resubmit.

Response tips

• If you don’t receive a reply before the course starts, go to the first day of class.
• If you don’t receive a response for an online course before it begins, please email seniorauditor@dcs.wisc.edu to request our office follow-up.
• Do not email the instructor directly.

• If you are newly admitted you need to activate your NetID in order to access the form.
• Forgot your password? Follow the process for recovering your NetID account and resetting your password
• Be patient with the form as it can take a moment to load at various points. Departments with many offerings will be slower to load.
• Who to contact for help:
  • DoIT Help Desk for help with your NetID, password, and multi-factor authorization
  • Our office for questions about the form seniorauditor@dcs.wisc.edu or 608-263-6960