DROPPING AND ADDING UCLA ELECTIVE CLERKSHIPS

ESS “Course Available” is not accurate.

Rules for Making Schedule Changes

• All elective changes ( both DROPS and ADDS) must be made with an Elective Drop/Add Form
• ALL scheduling CHANGES MUST BE DONE 30 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START OF THE ROTATION
• No retroactive credit will be granted. You must add the elective before starting it. This includes Research, Away, and Special electives.
• Failure to appear for an elective without submitting a signed Elective Drop/Add Form may result in a FAIL.

Please follow these instructions when making changes to your schedule:

ADDING UCLA ELECTIVES:

1. Contact the student coordinator by phone or e-mail to check availability.
   • DO NOT fax over the form without speaking to the student coordinator first.
   • Don’t forget to ask the coordinator for his/her fax number. Fax numbers are not listed in the handbook or online.
   • The online version of the Handbook of Courses for Fourth Year Medical Students has the most current contact information.
2. Once availability has been confirmed, fax the Elective Drop/Add Form to the student coordinator for the signature approval of the course chair or student coordinator.
3. Allow at least two weeks for the student coordinator to return the approved form to the SAO. You can check your schedule on ESS to verify that the Student Affairs Office has received the Elective Drop/Add Form from the student coordinator and the requested change has been made.

DROPPING UCLA ELECTIVES (30 Days Prior to the Start of the Elective):

UCLA electives (electives listed in the Handbook of Courses) may be dropped online via ESS, if it is 30 days or greater from the start date of the elective.

• When you login to ESS, there will be a button labeled “Drop Electives”. 
• You will receive an automated e-mail the following the day, confirming the dropped elective.

Dropping UCLA Electives After the 30 Day Deadline:

If for some unseen circumstance, you need to drop your elective past the one month deadline, inform the student coordinator as soon as possible to open the elective for another student.  Course chairs and student coordinators do not appreciate last minute changes.

• Contact the student coordinator by phone or via e-mail to inform her/him that you are dropping the elective.
  • DO NOT fax over the form without speaking to the student coordinator first.
  • Don’t forget to ask the coordinator for his/her fax number. Fax numbers are not listed in the handbook or online.
  • The online version of the Handbook of Courses for Fourth Year Medical Students has the most current contact information.
• Fax the Elective Drop/Add Form to the student coordinator for the course chair's signature approval. You are not officially dropped from the elective until the course chair signs and returns the Elective Drop/Add Form to the Student Affairs Office.
• Allow at least two weeks for the student coordinator to return the approved form to the SAO and the SAO about a week to process it. You can check your schedule on ESS to see if the requested change has been made.
• You will receive an ESS automated e-mail once the SAO drops the elective from your schedule.

 

Reasons Why Changes are not Appearing on your ESS Schedule

• The Student Affairs Office has not recieved the Elective Drop/Add Form.
• The SAO could not add the elective because you already have an elective during the same time period.
  
  You cannot be enrolled in two courses at the same time. The SAO does not automatically drop an elective when an Elective Drop/Add Form has been received with the same date.
• The SAO received the Drop/Add Form, but it was not signed by the course chair or student coordinator.
• Remember to allow at least two weeks for the student coordinator to return the approved form to the SAO.