3.3       REGISTRAR'S POLICIES

3.3.1    PRE-REGISTRATION

New and transfer freshmen and upper-division students are pre-registered for fall-term courses upon receipt of their deposit to the College.  Students are expected to check-in on registration day.

1.         Returning students pre-register on-line in the fall and spring, in consultation with their advisors, and then follow a check-in procedure on registration day.

2.         Detailed instructions as to the faculty's part in the registration procedure are provided by the Registrar's Office.  The dates of the registration periods may be found on the Academic Calendar.

3.         Class rolls are available to instructors for the first meeting of class.  A student whose name is not on the class roll must be sent immediately to the Registrar's Office.

4.         Add-Drop notification is sent to the instructors.  This is the official notification of the student's status.  The instructor should consider the student a member of the class until the change (drop) has been received.  The instructor should not consider a student an official member of the class until a class roll or add notification has been received.

5.         Courses may be added by students prior to the start of the fourth hour of class.

6.         Department chairs submit course listings in October for the following academic year.  The Courses Offered List is published in February, with revisions in August and October.

3.3.3    WITHDRAWAL

If a student drops a course, or withdraws from the College, prior to the beginning of the third week of the term, the course is dropped from the student's academic record.

If a student withdraws from a course, or from the College, after the beginning of the third week but prior to the beginning of the ninth week of the term, the grade designation of "W" will be assigned.

A student may withdraw from courses after the beginning of the ninth week of class and until two weeks before the beginning of the examination period only as a result of withdrawing from the College.  A grade of "WP or "WF" is assigned for each course. 
A student may withdraw from the College for medical reasons until the beginning of the examination period.  All courses are removed from the academic record in cases of medical withdrawal.

Any drop or withdrawal from a course of the College must be authorized by the Office of the Registrar and must be made in writing.  Withdrawal forms are available in the Office of the Registrar.  Students considering withdrawal from the College are expected to meet with the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs.

Students who are either suspended or expelled from a course or from the College will be assigned a final term grade of either "DP" or "DF" by the course instructors as of the date of dismissal if the final examination has not been completed.  The only exception would be in the course in which a student has been found responsible for an academic integrity violation and received a penalty of "XF".

3.3.4    POLICY FOR DROPPING A STUDENT FROM A COURSE
BECAUSE OF EXCESSIVE ABSENCES

If a faculty member wishes to drop a student from a course because of excessive absences, an attendance policy must have been stated on the course syllabus or statement of class policies.  Subsequently, if a student does not adhere to the course policies, the instructor considering a drop must first send the student a written warning, with a copy to the Registrar and the student's advisor.  Based on the contents of the warning letter, if future violations occur, the instructor should prepare a written notice to the student that he/she has been dropped from the course as of a stated date, with the grade of either DP or DF.  Copies of the drop notice must be sent to the Registrar and the student's advisor.
                       
3.3.5    RECORDS MAINTENANCE

All faculty members are expected to keep an accurate record of their students' grades. Standard record books may be secured at no charge from the bookstore. These record books should be kept for a minimum of four years.  If an instructor is on leave or leaves the Faculty, these records are to be placed in the custody of the department chair. Final exams should be retained for at least one semester.

3.3.6    POLICY ON CLASS SIZE

All courses in the regular session with enrollments of five or fewer students may be canceled unless one or more of the following conditions are met:

1.         At least three of the students need the course in the semester in which it is being offered in order to complete the requirements for a major.

2.         The course is offered as a prerequisite for other courses in the major or concentration and cannot be rescheduled for another semester in which it might attract more students.

3.         When one or two students need the course to graduate and special arrangements cannot be made within the department (e.g., offering the course on an independent study basis). (Note:  When such alternative arrangements can be made within the department, the alternative adopted will not count as part of a faculty member's regular load.)

A "required course" will be interpreted to mean not only those specifically required of all students in a major, but also those electives offered on a rotational basis when that course is the only one available in a particular semester which a student can use to satisfy major requirements.

Maximum class size is determined by agreement between the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the academic department.

3.3.7    FINAL EXAMINATIONS

Courses approved by the faculty ordinarily require final examinations, which are scheduled at the times designated by the Registrar's Office.

Special arrangements, either to substitute some other form of evaluation or to schedule the final examination at a different time, must be approved by the department chair and by the Registrar.  In a case when such a change creates a conflict for a student, he or she shall have the right to take the exam at the time when it was originally scheduled.

Faculty members should resist pressure from students who wish to leave early.  In a multi-section course it is permissible for a student to take his or her exam with an earlier section if this does not inconvenience the instructor. A re-examination may be given only under circumstances that constitute an emergency.  Approval of the instructor and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is required.  In addition, a different examination must be given.

3.3.8    COLLEGE GRADING SCALE

Student work is graded according to the following scale:
                        Letter Grade                                                    Quality Points Per Course Unit
                                    A                                                                                  4.0
                                    A-                                                                                3.7
                                    B+                                                                               3.3
                                    B                                                                                  3.0
                                    B-                                                                                2.7
                                    C+                                                                               2.3
                                    C                                                                                 2.0
                                    C-                                                                                1.7
                                    D+                                                                               1.3
                                    D                                                                                 1.0
                                    D-                                                                                0.7
                                    F                                                                                  0.0
                                    P   (Work passed under "pass-fail")                Not Assigned
                                    W  (Withdrawal from a course prior to the     Not Assigned
                                           beginning of the ninth week of the term.
                                           The grade designation "W" will not be
                                           counted as a unit attempted and will
                                           therefore not affect the student's
                                           cumulative grade point average.)
                                    WP  (Voluntary withdrawal passing)              Not Assigned
                                    DP  (Involuntary withdrawal passing)             Not Assigned
                                    WF  (Withdrawn failing)                                              0.0
                                    DF  (Involuntary withdrawal failing)                            0.0
                                    XF  (Dismissed for violation of                                   0.0
                                            academic integrity)

In addition to the above grades, two other notations are used in reporting grades, but these notations do not become a part of the student's permanent record.

IN represents an incomplete and indicates that the student has not completed, for valid reason approved by the instructor, the work of the course.  The incomplete work must be submitted to the instructor not later than two weeks after the beginning of the next term, including the summer session, at which time the instructor will assign the final course grade.  Grades of IN are not included in determining a student's grade point average.  When the IN is converted to a permanent grade the student's GPA will be recalculated.

SP is recorded on the authorization of the Registrar's Office for the student who is under the care of a physician at the time of the examination or who has not completed the work of the course by reason of illness.  The work of the course must be completed before the end of the next semester in which the student is enrolled or the SP will automatically become an F.  At the beginning of each semester in which a student does not enroll, the grade of SP must be renewed by submission of a physician's statement and approval of the Registrar's Office or it becomes an F.

Students who have received either an IN or an SP and who fail to make up work, or who unsatisfactorily complete their work, will be immediately subject to the rules of academic discipline (warning, suspension) which would have applied when the original course was completed.

A student who is absent from a final examination without valid reason will receive a zero on the examination.  If there is valid reason for the absence, the grade of SP or IN may be given.

NG represents no grade and indicates that the instructor does not submit, at the time grades are due, a final grade.  A grade of NG is recorded in consultation with the Office of the Registrar.  An NG must be converted to a final grade by the end of the next term, including the summer session.

The WP/DP/WF/DF grades reflect the grade in the course as of the date of official withdrawal.  The grade designation WP and DP will not be counted as a unit attempted and will therefore not affect the student's grade point average.  A WP is recorded only if a student officially withdraws from a course through the Registrar's Office.  In each case that the grade designation WF or DF is assigned, the course will be considered as a unit, or partial unit, attempted and will be considered as an F in the computation of the grade point average.

3.3.9    REPORTING OF GRADES

1.         Mid-term grades must be recorded on-line for all freshmen.  In addition, faculty are expected to record deficient (current grade lower than C-) grades at the mid-point of each semester for all other students.

2.         Final grades must be recorded on-line at the end of each semester within the time limit designated by the Registrar.   Grades should not be e-mailed to students for reasons of confidentiality.

3.         Examinations and other incomplete course work must be completed within two (2) weeks after the beginning of each semester.  Grades must be reported to the Registrar no later than one week after the incomplete work has been made up.

3.3.10              CHANGING OF A FINAL LETTER GRADE

1.         A change to a final letter grade may be submitted no later than one year after the date final grades are due for the term in question.

2.         A change must be submitted by the instructor of the course in question to the following people in the order listed:

a.         Department Chair
b.         Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
An approved grade change is then forwarded to the Associate Dean/Registrar for recording. 
           
If the faculty member who taught the course is no longer employed by the College, the chair of the department may submit the request for grade change.  If the grade change originates with a department chair, the change must be submitted to the following people in the order listed:

a.         Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
b.         Dean/Vice President for Academic Affairs

3.         The faculty member requesting the grade change must substantiate the need for the change.

4.         A change may be approved only on the basis of:

a.         Correction of an instructor’s non-evaluative error (i.e. miscalculation of the grade or error in recording a grade)
b.         Ultimate identification of unsigned course work
c.         Implementation of departmental policy as published in the catalog.

5.         A change will not be approved for work turned in after the final grades are submitted (except in the case of an IN or SP).

6.         A change whose purpose is to raise academic standing, graduate or re-gain a financial award will not be approved.

3.3.11              FRESHMAN ADVISING

All newly enrolled freshmen and transfer freshmen are assigned an academic advisor.  Freshman advising is both developmental and academic in nature.  The Advising Program is coordinated by the Goode-Pasfield Center for Learning and Teaching.  Students normally remain in the Advising Program until the declaration of a major.

3.3.12              UPPER-DIVISION/DECLARED MAJOR ADVISING

Upon meeting the requirements for declaration of the major, the student is assigned a faculty advisor from within the appropriate department.  The department chair makes assignment of a major advisor.  The Associate Dean and Director of the Goode-Pasfield Center for Learning and Teaching insures that advising services are available to students.

3.3.13              GOODE-PASFIELD CENTER FOR LEARNING & TEACHING

Faculty may refer to the Goode-Pasfield Center for Learning and Teaching those students who seem likely to profit from the special programs of assistance offered.  The Goode-Pasfield Center for Learning and Teaching administers the following:

                        - Subject Tutoring Program                - The Writing Center
                        - Freshman Advising                           -  Special Academic Services (for
                        - Study Skills Assistance                                students with disabilities)
                        - Peer Mentoring Program                                                                                                                             
Programs are open to all students.  Students are encouraged to drop by to seek assistance; they may also be referred by faculty.

3.3.14              OFFICE OF CAREER SERVICES

The Career Services program is available to assist students and alumni in developing, evaluating, and effectively implementing career plans.  The program provides students with opportunities to engage in self-assessment; obtain occupational information; explore occupational opportunities and/or graduate study; and obtain placement in employment or further professional preparation.  Students are encouraged to begin the planning process in the freshman year.