COVID-19 Accommodations

The world, the UC system, and UC Santa Cruz continue to experience the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn about UC Santa Cruz COVID-19 accommodations for graduate students and academic employees on this page. Find the University of California COVID-19 Vaccine Policy on the UCOP website.

Time To Degree
Five-Year Funding Guarantee
TA 18-Quarter Limit

Return to In-Person Instruction and Work

On January 11, 2021, University of California President Michael Drake announced that all 10 UC campuses would return to primarily in-person instruction beginning fall 2021. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UCOP issued temporary guidance to UC students enrolled during 2020-21 about the process of fulfilling physical presence and intent requirements. Effective June 2021, UCOP has rescinded these temporary amendments. The temporary exception permitting UC employees to live and work remotely from an international location ended after 2021. As of March 2023, no exceptions for fully remote enrollment have been announced for the 2023-2024 academic year, indicating employees will likely need to be physically located in Santa Cruz.

U.S. universities will continue to follow the March 9, 2020 guidance and March 13 guidance offered by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). This allows continuing students who are presently in the U.S. to continue their studies, even if they will pursue a remote course of study. For more info, see the FAQs for SEVP Stakeholders about COVID-19 - May 31, 2022, and the SEVIS Broadcast Message: ICE Clarifies Continuation of March 2020 Guidance for the 2022-23 Academic Year - May 31, 2022. For F-1 and J-1 questions, email the ISSS team at iStudent@ucsc.edu. The guidance above applies to the 2022-2023 academic year. As of May 2023, an announcement about COVID-19 policy for the 2023-2024 academic year has not been issued by administration.

Time to Degree

What kinds of COVID-related accommodations have been made regarding time to degree?

Extension to Normative Time: In recognition of the impact that pandemic-related closures have had on all graduate students, the Graduate Council, with the support of the Graduate Division, has provided a one-year blanket extension of the time to degree in which one remains in good standing (six years in most programs, seven in a few—to seven and eight years, respectively). The quarters from Spring 2020 to Spring 2021 will not be counted against a graduate student’s normative time to degree. The blanket extension of normative time to degree is not a guarantee of extended funding or employment. The Graduate Division is working closely with programs and campus partners to explore potential financial support options.

Extension of In-Candidacy Fee Offset Grant (ICFOG): Once a student advances to candidacy within normative time, they will automatically receive the In-Candidacy Fee-Offset Grant (ICFOG) that waives the campus quarterly fees for two calendar years (six quarters) following advancement. Because of COVID-related disruptions, students receiving the ICFOG from Spring 2020 to Spring 2021 will have their ICFOG eligibility extended for three additional quarters.

NRST (Non-resident Supplemental Tuition) waiver extension: Because of pandemic-related disruptions, in September 2020 Chancellor Larive and CP/EVC Kletzer agreed to a NRST waiver extension for three additional quarters (beyond the usual three calendar years) for international doctoral students advanced to candidacy during COVID-impacted quarters (Spring 2020-Spring 2021).

System-wide extension of 18 quarter TA Rule: In June 2020, UC Provost Michael Brown announced a temporary extension of the total length of service for academic student employees (ASE) up to 21 quarters, for matriculated students during the quarters in which instruction is substantially impacted by COVID-19. In August 2021, the terms of this extension were expanded to include AY 2021-22. This means that students who enrolled in any of the affected quarters between Spring 2020 and Spring 2022 can receive permission to extend their total length of service to a maximum of 21 quarters at any point in the future.

Five-Year Funding Guarantee

Has the campus extended the 5-year funding guarantee due to COVID-related disruptions?

The campus is unable to extend the five-year funding guarantee, but administration has granted a one-year normative time extension to all students, thus extending student eligibility for financial aid.

TA 18-Quarter Limit

What if I need more time to complete my degree, but I reach the 18-quarter ASE (TA, AI, Reader) limit?

In June 2020, UC Provost Michael Brown announced a temporary extension of the total length of service for academic student employees (ASE) up to 21 quarters, for matriculated students during the quarters in which instruction is substantially impacted by COVID-19. This means that students who enrolled in any of the affected quarters between Spring 2020 and Spring 2022 can receive permission to extend their total length of service to a maximum of 21 quarters at any point in the future.

Updated May 17, 2023