COURSE REGISTRATION

Students consult with their academic advisers to preregister for classes in November for the spring term and the Interim Session Program, and in April for the fall term. A student who fails to register within the scheduled periods will be subject to a late registration fee of $50 unless exception is granted by the Dean of Studies or the Registrar. Students who fail to register within the first two weeks of the semester will be regarded as resigned and must apply to the Dean of Studies if they wish to return. Course and hour schedules and other registration materials are issued by the Registrar's Office just prior to the registration periods.

Withdrawal from Courses:
During the first two weeks of each semester a student is permitted to drop a course without notation and replace it with another. From the end of the two-week period until the end of the eleventh week of the semester, students may withdraw from a course without penalty and with a "withdrawal" recorded on the transcript if approval is granted by the Academic Progress Committee. Ordinarily, approval will be granted provided that after the course deletion the student's schedule does not fall below three courses. A student who drops a course without Committee approval will fail the course.

If a petition to withdraw produces a roster of courses that falls below three course credits, the student must provide the Academic Progress Committee with a cogent educational rationale to justify the waiver of standard policy. A student must continue to attend all classes until the petition has been reviewed by the Committee.

In all cases, petitions to withdraw should include an indication of the means by which any deficiency incurred will be made up.

Repeating a Course:
When a student fails and retakes a course, both grades are included in the student's Lafayette College transcript and the cumulative grade point average. With the exception of Math 161 and 162, only courses in which a student receives a failing grade may be repeated.

Auditing Courses:
Auditing privileges are limited to listening and observing in the classroom. Auditors need not take exams nor complete other written assignments nor may they expect the instructor to comment on or evaluate such work. No credit will be granted, but upon recommendation of the instructor, the fact that the individual has audited the course will be noted on the permanent record if the student has met attendance regulations and other requirements set by the instructor. Courses which require a high degree of participation (e.g., laboratory courses, studio art courses, and foreign languages emphasizing conversation) may not be audited.

A regularly enrolled full-time student may audit one and, under unusual circumstances, two courses per semester by petition to the Academic Progress Committee and with the approval of the academic adviser and the instructor in the course or the head of the department in which the course is offered.

Degree-seeking students are not charged for auditing privileges in any semester in which they are enrolled full time.

Normally a student who is auditing a course may not change status so that credit is awarded. In those instances where conversion seems justified, it may occur only upon approval of the Academic Progress Committee prior to midterm.

A student must declare as an auditor no later than the end of the two-week drop/ add deadline.

Cross-Registration:
A full-time upperclass student may register at any of the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC) member institutions (DeSales, Cedar Crest, Lehigh, Moravian, Muhlenberg) for courses suitable to Lafayette degree programs. Courses must be ones which cannot be scheduled at Lafayette, are normally limited to no more than two per semester, and may not produce an overload. Students may not cross-register for January term courses. A student must have the written approval of his/her adviser, the Lafayette Registrar, and appropriate persons at the host institution.

Questions concerning the suitability of particular courses to Lafayette degree programs should be referred to the Dean of Studies or the Registrar. Grades earned under the cross-registration program will be used in computing semester and cumulative averages. It is the student's responsibility to arrange transportation to any cross-registered courses, although the Dean or Registrar may be able to assist in identifying alternative sources of transportation.

Summer Courses:
A student wishing to take summer courses at another institution, whether for enrichment or to make up deficiencies, must, in advance, petition the Academic Progress Committee for approval. Course credits are transferrable only if the student earns a grade of "C" or better as certified on an official transcript. Grades earned elsewhere are not recorded on the permanent record; transfer grades affect the cumulative average only in courses taken at other LVAIC institutions. Students with junior or senior status are not normally permitted to transfer courses from two-year institutions.

Incompletes:
According to faculty policy, an Incomplete is given only when the student has been unable to complete the work of the course for some reason outside the student's control and has been doing passing work in the course up to that point. When an Incomplete is given, the faculty member should indicate to the Dean of Studies or the Registrar the reason for the Incomplete and give an assessment of the student's work to date.

The student must make arrangements with the instructor as to the timing and manner by which the Incomplete is to be satisfied.

Normally, an Incomplete is to be made up by the end of the second week of the following semester. The instructor may specify a longer period of time after consultation with the dean, but all work must be completed and a grade assigned no later than the first day of classes of the second semester of attendance subsequent to the Incomplete. If the instructor specifies a period longer than two weeks, the reason for the longer period and the date established for the completion of the outstanding course work must be stated in writing to the student with copies to the student's adviser, to the Dean of Studies, and to the Registrar.

Unless the course work is completed and a grade assigned by the instructor by the end of the specified period, the Registrar will automatically replace the Incomplete with an F.

A student with more than two Incompletes pending will not be permitted to begin a new academic year.

Class Attendance:
Class attendance is expected of all students because the lecture, the laboratory, and the discussion group are the formal basis of a college learning experience. Faculty members establish and maintain attendance requirements in their courses and must inform students and the Office of the Dean of Studies of those policies. Students are responsible for meeting class and examination schedules. Unwillingness to meet attendance obligations may result in a penalty, often failure in the course.

The following activities necessitating absence from class are normally considered excusable: College academic course activities such as field trips and scholarship activities, College varsity intercollegiate athletic competitions, health-related absences as verified by the College physician, family emergencies, and extraordinary situations as determined by the Office of the Dean of Studies. Students seeking Dean's excuses for planned absences are expected to provide professors with the dates and total number of proposed class absences as soon as possible and no later than the first day of classes in order for the faculty to determine whether or not the frequency of expected absences violates the pedagogical integrity of the class. In such cases, faculty may advise the student to withdraw from the class or be prepared to accept the academic penalty for such absences.

Students on academic probation may have no more than two unexcused absences from any course. Students on probation who do not meet their attendance obligation will be reported by faculty to the Office of the Dean of Studies. Any student with excessive or unexplained absences will also be reported to the Dean.

Please note that the College does not recognize airline schedules or other traveling plans as a legitimate reason for rescheduling final examinations. Please check the final exam schedule before making travel plans. This schedule is usually available by the fifth week of each semester, and students can obtain a copy from the Office of the Registrar.

Evaluation of Faculty and Courses:
Student evaluations at Lafayette College provide information to (1) instructors and department heads for use in faculty and course development; (2) the Provost for use by the faculty committee on Promotion, Tenure, and Review as one of several considerations in recommendations concerning appointments, promotions, and tenure; and (3) students for use in course selection.

Near the end of each semester, instructors set aside a portion of class time for this purpose. The standard evaluation consists of a questionnaire and a comment sheet. Within a few weeks of the evaluation, computer results and written comments are sent to instructors and to the Provost. Numerical results are available online to students.