ENROLLMENT, REGISTRATION, ATTENDANCE, AND CLASS STANDING
College of Arts and Science Academic Catalog 2008-2009
Class Attendance. A primary responsibility of students is class attendance. Learning is an experience which requires active participation, and the University expects participation of students in all their scheduled classes be they lectures, laboratories, seminars, studios, field trips or other types of activities. It is understood that occasional absences are unavoidable, but the student is responsible for his or her decision to miss a particular class meeting. In deciding to miss a class, a student must be aware that he or she is accountable, nonetheless, for any test or quiz and all assignments, material covered, and announcements made in that class. Faculty are entirely at their discretion about whether or not to allow a student to make up missed assignments. Furthermore, class participation itself is an appropriate criterion for grading and a student’s failure to participate can be expected to affect his or her grade in the course. Failure to drop or withdraw from a course that the student is not attending will result in a final grade of F.
Requests by students whose religious observance precludes class participation on specific days to reschedule graded work will be honored. Graded work includes final examinations, scheduled tests, graded written assignments, graded laboratory projects, and graded oral assignments. Alternative dates will be set by consulting with the instructor or instructors and, if necessary, through consultation with a dean from the Office of Academic Services. It is the student’s responsibility to make alternative arrangements as early as possible.
Course Changes. Each student is responsible for his or her course schedule and any changes in it, such as adding, dropping, or withdrawing. Failure to drop or withdraw from a course that the student is not attending will result in a final grade of F. All actions must adhere to the deadlines. Each student should print and inspect a schedule of his or her classes after registration and each time a change (drop, add, etc.) is made. Any discrepancy should be addressed immediately by making the appropriate change and verifying it by printing the correction or by contacting the Office of the Registrar. No credit is allowed for a course in which the student is not officially registered and which is not listed on the student’s printed schedule.
Students may add courses to their schedule by enrolling through Banner. Banner displays all courses for which a student is enrolled. Credit can be awarded only for those courses in which the student is enrolled. The end of the first week of classes is the last day to add a course.
Students may drop courses from their schedule. Courses dropped from a student’s schedule will not be displayed on the student’s schedule or transcript, or on the instructor’s course roster. The end of the third week of classes is the last day to drop a course.
After the third week of the semester, a student may withdraw from a course by completing the required course withdrawal form (available from the Office of the Registrar). Courses from which a student has withdrawn will be displayed on the student’s record with a final grade of W. This has no effect on a student’s GPA calculation and does not satisfy any graduation requirements. The last day to withdraw from a course is the Friday of the 9th week of the semester.
NOTE: Discontinuing attendance in a class does not constitute dropping the course. A Drop (or Add) is not official until the student successfully completes and verifies the action in Banner or completes the appropriate form and delivers it, in person, to the Office of the Registrar. No student should assume that an instructor has dropped him/her from a course. Each student is responsible for seeing that his or her schedule is accurate in Banner.
During the Add/Drop Periods, students may make changes in their course schedules without written permission from their advisors. After the first three weeks of the semester, withdrawal from a course requires written approval of both the advisor and the course instructor (provided on the Course Withdrawal form). Students living in campus housing are expected to maintain a course load of at least 12 credits. The Office of Academic Services and the Office of the Dean of Student Life must approve exceptions to this policy in writing.
Full-Time Student. If a student intends to graduate in eight semesters, normal progress toward a degree is as follows: A minimum of 28 credits completed for the first two semesters and 15 to 18 credits completed during each of the remaining six semesters, for a total of 120 credits for B.A./B.S./BLS (see Class Standing and Academic Progress).
A full-time student is enrolled in 12 or more credits. A student may drop below a 12-credit course load by completing and submitting an Underload form. However, a residential student may not live in the residence hall while carrying less than 12 credits unless special written permission has been obtained from the Office of Academic Services and the Office of the Dean of Student Life. Students receiving financial aid should consult the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid before dropping below a full course load. Students participating in NCAA intercollegiate sports must maintain a minimum 12-credit course load unless they have been granted a special written exemption from the Director of Athletics, in consultation with the Office of Academic Services.
Without special permission to overload, a continuing student in good standing may take no more than 18 credits. Permission for an overload is given only on the basis of academic performance, never simply to provide for acceleration toward the degree. Students with a GPA of 3.00 for the most recent semester at UMW are eligible for an overload to 19 credits. Students with a GPA below a 3.00 or who wish to attempt 20 or more hours will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Students may request an overload by completing a request form in Academic Services. Once the overload is approved, a student must register for the overload in person at the Office of the Registrar.
Class Standing and Academic Progress. If a B.A./B.S. student intends to graduate in eight semesters, normal progress toward a degree is a minimum of 28 credits completed by the end of the second semester of the freshman year and 15 to 18 credits completed during each of the remaining six semesters for a total of 120 credits. Under this definition of normal progress, students are classified as follows:
| Freshmen | 1 to 29 credits |
| Sophomores | 30 to 59 credits |
| Juniors | 60 to 89 credits |
| Seniors | 90 or more credits |
Students who wish to accelerate their progress and graduate in fewer than eight semesters must consistently take 17 or 18 credits each semester and attend summer sessions. In this way, a student can graduate in three calendar years.
Auditing a Course. A degree-seeking student may audit a class (sit in for no credit), by completing the Auditor’s Registration Form in the Office of the Registrar the day after the end of the Add Period. Auditing is permitted, by written permission of the instructor, in non-restricted courses in which space is available. Non-degree students may also audit a course, provided that the instructor approves, space is available in the class and the course is non-restricted.