All F-1 and J-1 students are required to be enrolled full-time (12 units or more) while at UCSD during the academic year (Fall, Winter and Spring quarters). A Reduced Course Load Form (RCL) is a type of student status that allows you to enroll below 12 units. 

You may be eligible to enroll below 12 units due to academic, medical,  final quarter or final quarter for filing fee reasons, but you must request and receive approval for Reduced Course Load (RCL) authorization from ISEO before dropping a class.

See ISEO's website for more information about RCL and how to apply via iPortal.

Once an RCL iPortal request is submitted, it will get routed to the ECE Department for review. It takes 3-5 business days for the department to process your iPortal request. After it is approved, it will be routed to ISEO for further review and your new I-20 will be issued. 

With approval, students can attend UCSD at half-time status. Graduate students are considered half-time if they enroll in 1-6 units in a quarter. Enrolling at half-time status requires approval. To see more details about fees, eligibility, and the application process, please visit Half-Time Study (Graduate Students).  Graduate students are eligible for half-time status if they enroll in 1-6 units and are applying by the end of Friday of Week 2 of the quarter that they would like to be a half-time student.

The iPortal forms via ISEO's website make modifications to I-20 documents while GEPA's forms trigger billing adjustments.  Students who would like to pursue this option need to submit both forms: Final Quarter RCL and Half-Time Form. 

• International students are eligible to apply for a final quarter RCL and enroll in less than 12 units for their final quarter.
• The RCL can correspond to the half-time study (graduate students) application depending on when the student is applying and the number of units enrolled. 
• Graduate students are eligible for half-time status if they enroll in 1-6 units and are applying by the end of Friday of Week 2 of the quarter that they would like to be a half-time student. As long as the request is submitted by the deadline, it will be time-stamped and honored, unless there is an on-campus employment issue or other conflict.
• Students who would like to pursue this option need to submit two forms: Final Quarter RCL and Half-Time Form. 
  • Full-time status (12+ units which will require paying full-time tuition and fees)
  • Part-time status + RCL (7-11 units which will require paying full-time tuition and fees)
  • Half-time status + RCL (1-6 units which will require half-time tuition and fees - due by Friday of week 2 of the quarter that you are requesting HT for)
    • Be sure to list pmercier@ucsd.edu in the faculty advisor email address section and Mercier, Patrick P in the faculty advisor name section.
      • Please do not contact Professor Mercier about this. The application will be routed to him automatically and it will approve it once it is in his queuing system. 

Half-Time Billing Information:

• It typically takes about 2-3 weeks for a half-time application to be approved by everyone; students will need to plan accordingly and pay the bill by the billing deadline. 
• If your bill was paid for full-time tuition, and then you applied for half-time by the Friday of week 2 deadline, you will receive a reimbursement, which will be reflected on TritonLink.
• If your half-time application is still in progress and the billing deadline is approaching, you will be expected to pay for the bill by the deadline and then receive the reimbursement via TritonLink, once your application has been fully approved. 
• If you applied for half-time well in advance of the billing deadline and got approval from all parties, the fees will be adjusted via TritonLink and you can pay the reduced amount by the billing deadline.
• Once your application has been fully processed by all 8 parties, your reduction in tuition will be reflected in TritonLink whether that is in the form of a reimbursement or billing adjustment.

• Yes, you will need to apply for an RCL any time you drop below 12 units.
• An EASy request to drop a class with a 'W' prior to the UCSD drop deadline will also need to be submitted.