ELWR Enrollment Hold

What is it?

The ELWR hold is an enrollment hold that is placed on students who are at their Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) deadline and prevents enrollment beyond the deadline quarter, per UC systemwide and UCSC Academic Senate policy.

If you have recently received an ELWR hold, this means that the current quarter is your final chance to complete the Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) AND you are not enrolled in an ELWR-satisfying course. This hold prevents any enrollment action beyond the ELWR deadline quarter. (The hold will indicate the specific term date that applies.)

For each quarter, ELWR holds are placed on students who meet ALL of the following criteria:

The quarter will be the student’s ELWR deadline quarter at UCSC.
- 3rd quarter for students who begin in WRIT 26, 1, or 1E.
- 4th for students who begin in Writing 25
- OR whichever quarter as designated by a CCI-Approved ELWR Extension. (See below.)
The student’s official UC Entry Level Writing Requirement (in the Degree Progress Report) is NOT satisfied.
The student is NOT enrolled in an ELWR-satisfying course (WRIT 1/1E).

Ways to Resolve an ELWR Hold

Make sure to check and respond to your UCSC email regularly. We track and do outreach to all students at or approaching their ELWR deadline. We want to make sure you have a viable pathway to meet this first year requirement.

Option 1 (Recommended): Enroll in WRIT 1/1E

This option is available only if enrollment is still open for your ELWR deadline quarter:

If your writing placement is WRIT 26, 1, or 1E, your ELWR deadline quarter is your third quarter of enrollment at UCSC (excluding summers).
If your writing placement is WRIT 25, your ELWR deadline quarter is your 4th quarter of enrollment at UCSC (excluding summers).
If you have an approved ELWR Extension from CCI, your deadline quarter is whichever quarter has been approved by CCI.

Once you are enrolled in WRIT 1/1E for the current quarter, the ELWR hold will be temporarily lifted.

If you need assistance with enrollment, please write to writprog@ucsc.edu. If you are on your third+ attempt at WRIT 1/1E, include your college on the email as well.

Please note that if you do NOT pass the ELWR course, the hold will be reapplied and prevent enrollment, effective immediately. (At this point, you must petition for an ELWR extension or take leave to lift this hold. See Options 2 & 3.)

Option 2: Petition for ELWR Extension

If you are not able to enroll in WRIT 1/1E for your ELWR deadline quarter, you may petition the Committee on Courses of Instructor (CCI) for an ELWR Deadline Extension. Please keep in mind:

Approval of an extension is not guaranteed. Your petition will be reviewed by a faculty committee who will make a decision based on your academic record, contributing circumstances, and plan to complete ELWR.
Petition processing may take 2-6 weeks. If you think you may need an extension, submit the petition as soon as possible. Without an approved petition, your ELWR hold will remain in place and prevent your future enrollment at UCSC.
An ELWR extension is valid only for the specific timeline indicated and approved via petition.

View/Submit the CCI Petition via this Link

The petition name is Student Petition: Writing Requirement Extension 24-25
You will need to upload a letter of support from the Writing Program as part of your petition submission. Please write to readizon@ucsc.edu to receive this letter.
Full information about CCI petitions is here. Please reach out to WP Advising or your college advising for support on submitting the CCI petition.

Option 3: Take Time Off

While we want you to remain a student at UCSC, some students choose to take time off to complete ELWR at a California Community College and transfer the course back to UCSC. More information about ELWR-satisfying transfer courses can be found here.

Once your official transcripts are received and posted by UCSC, your ELWR hold will be lifted.

For more information and to explore withdrawal and leave of absence options, visit this webpage and contact your college advisors.

I have completed, ELWR-satisfying scores/credit

If you have already satisfied ELWR via approved test scores or transfer credits but your record does not reflect this, follow the instructions below to lift the ELWR hold.

Transfer Credit

Transfer credit can be used to satisfy ELWR when the transfer course is articulated to WRIT 1 AND the course is taken either during summer or when you are NOT enrolled at UCSC. Detailed instructions and criteria are provided here.

If you have already completed an ELWR-satisfying transfer course, submit your official transcripts as soon as possible. Please also notify writprog@ucsc.edu if you are waiting on pending ELWR transfer credits. Once official transcripts for an ELWR-satisfying transfer course are processed and posted, your ELWR hold will be lifted.

Note: If you are planning to satisfy ELWR via a future ELWR transfer course, you must do so either during the summer or while NOT enrolled at UCSC. See option 3 above.

Test Scores

If you have ELWR-satisfying test scores from tests that you took prior to starting at UCSC which are not reflected in your student account, you can still submit them to receive ELWR satisfaction.

If you are in this situation, please reach out to writingprogram@ucsc.edu to let us know since the Writing Program does not review or post test scores directly. We will also verify that the score you have are in fact applicable for ELWR satisfaction.

Once official scores are processed and posted, your ELWR hold will be lifted. Official scores must be sent to UCSC Admissions. It is your responsibility to follow up with Admissions on missing scores to ensure that they are received and posted.