PCHE Cross Registration

Cross registration is a program through the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education (PCHE) that provides an opportunity for enriched educational programs by permitting students to attend courses at any of ten participating colleges and universities: Carlow University, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham University, Community College of Allegheny County, Duquesne University, LaRoche University, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Point Park University, Robert Morris University, and the University of Pittsburgh.

Cross Registration Eligibility Requirements

• Must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled full-time at the University of Pittsburgh before the addition of a PCHE course. Students must also maintain full-time status after the addition of the PCHE course. The cross registration course cannot count toward obtaining full-time status.
• Enrollment in a PCHE course must not cause the student to exceed the maximum term credit limit for their career.
• Cross registration is only available during the fall and spring terms and is not available during the summer term at any PCHE institution.
• Only one cross registration course may be requested per term.
• It is strongly recommended that students do not cross register in their term of graduation.
• If a student does not meet one or more eligibility requirements, their cross registration request will be denied by the University of Pittsburgh and will not be sent to the host institution.

Fall & Spring Cross Registration Timeline

The Fall cross registration period is from July 1st until the close of business on the Friday before the first day of the semester at Pitt. The Spring cross registration period is from December 1st until the close of business on the Friday before the first day of the semester at Pitt. The deadline for the Dean’s Office to turn in your cross registration form to our office is by the close of business on that Friday before the respective semester.

Cross registration is not available to part-time students nor during the summer term at any of the PCHE institutions. In these cases, students would follow the temporary transfer student/guest student/visiting student procedure, agreed to separately by the PCHE institutions. Transfer/guest/visiting students are responsible for all tuition and fees assessed by the other institution.

Additional Cross Registration Information

There is not an additional tuition charge to cross register, however you may be assessed course fees by the host institution. The earned grade and units will be transferred to the home school and will appear on the transcript of your home school. The academic policies of the host institution prevail. It is the responsibility of the student's home institution to determine that the prerequisites for a class at the host institution have been met. However, an instructor at the host institution may ask for an unofficial transcript or additional information from the student to ensure appropriate prerequisites have been taken.

Note:  Applying to cross register does not guarantee enrollment in the requested course at the host institution. If successful, you will be notified of your enrollment by the host institution. For Pitt students, your cross registration is not finalized until your home institution has registered you in your cross registration course on your Pitt record. In the event your overall enrollment status has changed since you submitted your request, your home institution's Registrar's office will be the final approver. In order for cross registration to be complete, students must be registered at both institutions.

PCHE cross registration schools have a one-to-one credit translation. For example, 3 credits at Duquesne University equal 3 credits at Pitt. Carnegie Mellon University is the exception as they use a separate unit system. This is a three-to-one credit translation with Pitt.

CMU to Pitt Course Credit Conversion:

• 1-unit CMU course = 0.5 credits at Pitt
• 6-unit CMU course = 2 credits at Pitt
• 9-unit CMU course = 3 credits at Pitt 
• 12-unit CMU course = 4 credits at Pitt

ROTC Cross Registration

Army ROTC

The Army ROTC has Military Science classes taught at the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and Robert Morris University.  Students whose home school is Carlow, Chatham, Point Park, or Carnegie Mellon will need to cross register to one of those three schools to take the required Military Science classes. 

For questions or more information regarding Army ROTC cross registration, please contact:

Air Force ROTC

Instructions for Pitt students wishing to cross register at another PCHE institution:

1. Fill out the PCHE Cross Registration Form online (handwritten forms will not be accepted), obtain the required advisor signature, and submit the completed and signed form to their academic Dean's Office. The Dean's Office will submit dean-approved requests to the Office of the University Registrar (OUR).
2. Once the form is approved by the Office of the University Registrar, the OUR will forward the form to the host institution of the student’s choice.
3. The host institution will evaluate the request and correspond with the Pitt student directly about the result of the request. Subsequently, the Office of the University Registrar at Pitt will be notified of the result of the request by the host institution.
4. If the student has been registered in the course at the host school, the Office of the University Registrar at Pitt will review the request and the student’s record again to ensure that all PCHE eligibility criteria has still been met. Once approved, the OUR will process the enrollment on the student’s Pitt record and notify the student of their approval and successful enrollment.
5. Students should not consider their cross registration request to be complete and should not attend the PCHE class until they have received confirmation from both the host school and Pitt that their request has been processed successfully.

Please Note: Students approved for PCHE cross registration must maintain full-time status at the University of Pittsburgh. Students who drop below full-time status at Pitt will no longer be eligible for cross registration and will be dropped from the PCHE course.

For students at another PCHE institution wishing to cross register at the University of Pittsburgh:

1. Fill out the Cross Registration Request Form online (handwritten forms will not be accepted) and obtain necessary signatures from home school Registrar's Office.  The form will be submitted to the University of Pittsburgh Registrar's Office on your behalf.
2. Enrollment decision (approve, deny, special permission) will be communicated to the student via e-mail once evaluated by the Pitt Registrar's Office.
3. Requests to drop cross registered courses should come through the Pitt Registrar's Office for processing, and the result will be communicated to the student and their home school after evaluation.

Course Drops & Withdrawals

Students who would like to drop or withdrawal from their PCHE course must complete a PCHE Drop-Withdrawal form and submit the completed form to the host institution’s Registrar’s Office for processing. PCHE students must abide by the host institution’s established drop and withdrawal deadlines.