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1. Course Loads: The normal course load in each of the four terms of the
academic year is three courses. While two- or four-course loads are allowed
within specified limits, no matriculated undergraduate may have in any term a
load of fewer than two courses or may in any term take, or receive credit for,
five or more courses. Any registered student not officially enrolled in at
least two courses by the end of the tenth day of classes in a term is liable to
administrative withdrawal. Should a student have what he or she believes is a
compelling reason for adding a course after the tenth day, a petition may be
addressed to the Registrar. The petition must explain fully the circumstances
that have arisen since the start of the term to cause the request, and must be
accompanied by written permission from the intended instructor. For regulations
regarding withdrawal from courses after the tenth day of classes see Section 3
below.
a) Two-Course Loads: A student may have a two-course load in any three
terms, as a maximum, during his or her college career. There is no reduction in
tuition associated with the taking of a two-course load. (See the section on
tuition reduction under College Charges, for possible exceptions involving
disabilities.)
The end of the tenth day of classes of any term is the deadline for a
student to reduce a course load from three to two or increase it from two to
three. No change in either direction may be made after that date. See the first
paragraph of this section for the possibility of filing a petition to add a
course. There are no special restrictions as to the taking of Credit/No Credit
courses or courses under the Non-Recording Option that apply to the course load
chosen.
Election of a two-course load is intended to permit increased concentration
of effort upon the student’s courses or to allow other unofficial academic
effort. Although it is not necessary for a student to have at least one extra
course credit accumulated before undertaking a two-course term, the election of
a reduced load should not impair normal progress toward graduation.
b) Four-Course Loads: A student may without permission or extra charge
undertake during a college career a four-course load up to a maximum of three
times. Each qualifying student has until the end of the tenth day of classes of
any term within the maximum of three to add a fourth course or to drop a fourth
course elected after the start of the term. Note: It is not possible to elect
four courses until the term in question has begun. If a fourth course is
dropped later than the deadline specified, one of the three uses of this
provision is thereby lost. A fourth course may be dropped until the end of the
sixth week of classes. After that, the rules for withdrawal from courses
apply.
A student who has already exhausted the quota of three four-course loads may
undertake additional four-course loads only by permission of the Registrar; the
student is charged extra tuition in the amount of one third of the normal. Such
students should be sure to note that the decision to drop such a fourth course
after the tenth day of classes does not result in full exemption from the extra
tuition, but instead one reduced with time according to the tuition refund
policy.
2. Election of Courses: After approximately seven weeks of each term every
student scheduled to be enrolled as ‘R’ or ‘O’ elects courses for the following
term. In elections of winter and spring courses all students make use of the
newly issued Elective Circular, which updates this bulletin, and in the spring
(or summer) the corresponding Elective Circular and the Prospectus of Courses.
By fall the new edition of this bulletin in turn supersedes the Prospectus.
On occasion a student who has already taken and passed a course will elect
it again, sometimes with the intention of improving upon the earlier
performance. Such is not allowable unless the course is of the type in which a
project is carried farther (e.g., Biology 87) or in which the content is
different (e.g., French 10 in a different one of its listed forms). Violation
of this regulation results in loss of credit and grade points for the second
election. (Sometimes a student gains permission from the Registrar to elect
such a course as the two just mentioned as a no-credit, grade-only,
non-averaged third or fourth course. Such a course does not count in that
term’s course load.) Students may not elect a course that has been renumbered
but is wholly or effectively identical to one already passed; they should also
make sure that a repetition in course number is not also a repetition in
content that will lead to loss of credit.
Election of a course nearly equivalent to one for which course credit has
been granted on entry, will entail loss of credit.
A student who has failed a course may elect it again. In this situation both
of the grades are recorded and hence both are included in the cumulative
average; only one course credit is earned. The same general principle applies
to Credit/No Credit courses.
Full directions for electing courses are contained in the Elective Circular.
Numerous courses have enrollment limits set prior to release of the Elective
Circular; others are limited as enrollments grow. If the demand exceeds the
limit, students are enrolled according to priorities established by the
offering departments. Dartmouth College reserves the right to cancel the
offering of any listed course when the enrollment is fewer than five
students.
A student must secure the written permission of an instructor in a course
that requires permission. If unable to make contact with the instructor of such
a course, a student may either select a course in which permission can be
obtained (if needed) or may go ahead and elect the desired course without the
specified permission. In either case electives must be filed by the normal
deadline. Students who elect courses requiring permission and who have not
obtained such permission have approximately three weeks following the deadline
to submit the permission to the Registrar’s Office. After this three-week
period, a student who has not submitted a permission card is dropped from the
course roster of the course requiring the permission.
Many courses at the College have prerequisites, either in the form of prior
course work, permission of the instructor, or both. It is the responsibility of
each individual student to see that he or she has met the requirements for each
course elected. Failure to heed published prerequisites may place the student
in an untenable position in the course. Effective in the 2003 summer term, an
instructor may require a student to drop a course during the first eight class
days of the term if the student lacks the published prerequisite courses.
Effective Fall 2003, an undergraduate student may request to take a course
at the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration provided the course is
cross-listed by an Arts and Sciences department or program. The Committee on
Instruction will deny an undergraduate student petition to take a course at the
Tuck School of Business unless the course has been cross-listed.
Each term, students who have filed proper course elections for the following
term may make changes in them through the last day of classes in the current
term.
Note concerning electing a course for credit versus auditing the course: Any
student wishing to earn credit for a course offered at Dartmouth must elect the
course for a term in which he or she will be registered (having the enrollment
pattern letter R or O), paying tuition, and actually performing in that term
the full normal work of the course. Accordingly, it is not permissible for a
student to do the work of a course when not registered and then elect it for
credit in a later term when officially registered.
With the permission of the instructor, a student may choose to audit a
course instead of electing it for credit. The student should not expect to
participate in class discussion or laboratory work, or expect the instructor to
read or grade any work the student undertakes. No formal record is kept
concerning courses audited; the student may not call on the instructor to write
letters concerning his or her accomplishment or suggesting the quality of
performance.
3. Registration and Course Changes: At the beginning of each term on the day
before classes begin, students must electronically check-in on Bannerstudent
for the term on the third day of class for the term. This process requires the
on-line verification/update of the student’s local address and an enrollment
commitment (check-in) for the term. The check-in process indicates any holds
that may have been placed on registration due to failure to settle the tuition
bill or Dartmouth Card account, file a major when due, or meet certain other
College requirements. If holds exist, information is provided to indicate where
and how to remove the holds. (Note: In-person processes to remove holds must be
recorded during regular office hours, M-F, 8am-4pm, and may require completion
earlier than the published deadline date. Generally all online transactions
must be completed by midnight of the published deadline date.)
A fifty-dollar charge will be made for check-in after the deadline. Students
may petition the Registrar for a fee waiver if supporting documentation from
the office who initiated the hold is provided. Any student scheduled to be in
residence who has not completed the check-in procedure ten calendar days after
the term begins is subject to administrative withdrawal from college
immediately thereafter. Any student whose enrollment pattern calls for a
residence term (R), but whose plans change, should be sure to change the
pattern by the end of the ten days; otherwise he or she will be charged two
hundred dollars instead of the previously indicated one hundred dollars (see
the first Note in section 2 above).
Beginning with the first day of classes, students are eligible to change
courses at the Office of the Registrar. Each term a five-day period is
available for the adding, dropping, or exchanging of courses or sections. In
sectioned courses students have normally been placed, in accordance with
Faculty wishes, in a section that will lead to as even balancing of section
sizes as possible; the same practice must be followed when a student shifts
into a sectioned course. As a consequence, no permission is normally needed if
a student wishes to move from a larger to a smaller section; a shift in the
opposite direction (including that involving initially equal sections) requires
the permission in writing of the designated director of the course.
During the second five class days of a term a student may add or exchange
courses by securing the written approval of the instructor of the intended new
course. Students should note that the last day of this period is the tenth
class day of the term, i.e., the final day to settle on a load of three or, if
desired and allowable, two or four courses. Be sure to study carefully Section
1. Any student not officially enrolled, at the end of the tenth day of classes
in any term, in at least two courses becomes liable for administrative
withdrawal.
After this second five-day period a student may exchange courses only by
obtaining the written approval of the instructor of the intended new course,
the written certification of the instructor of the course the student wishes to
drop that he or she is not failing the course, and the written agreement of the
Registrar to the overall change.
On May 29, 1995, the Faculty approved changes in procedures for dropping or
withdrawing from courses. These procedures took effect with the 1995 Summer
term.
Each term is divided into three parts with regard to the rules and
procedures governing course drops and withdrawals. The specific dates involved
appear in the Calendar beginning on page 5 of this Bulletin. As the various
deadlines are regulated by faculty policy and are consistently administered,
students should be careful to be aware of them each term.
During the first ten class days of a term, as indicated above, students may
drop courses as they please. Courses dropped in this period will not appear on
the transcript. For students taking four courses, as indicated in Section 1,
this period extends to the end of the sixth week; however, any student
remaining enrolled in a fourth course after the end of the second week has used
up one of his or her three allowed four-course terms without extra tuition,
even if the fourth course is later dropped.
After this period, and until ten class days before the last class day of the
term, students may withdraw from a course at their own discretion. They must,
as a courtesy, notify their instructor of their intention, and obtain the
instructor’s signature on a course withdrawal card. This card must be filed in
the Office of the Registrar on or before the withdrawal deadline. The course
remains on the student’s transcript with the notation W for Withdrew.
First-year students must also obtain the signature of one of the deans in the
First-Year Office. Neither the instructor nor dean has the authority to forbid
the withdrawal (excepting the case of first-year Writing and first-year seminar
courses).
During the last ten days of classes in the term and subsequently, students
must petition to withdraw from a course. Such petitions must be accompanied by
a written response from the instructor in the course, and confirmation that the
student has discussed the matter with his or her class Dean. It will be
expected that almost none of these petitions will be approved except in the
most extreme medical or other circumstances, arising after the deadline.
Petitions are reviewed and approved or denied by a committee that meets weekly
during this period. Students whose petitions are denied may appeal to the COS
Subcommittee. Once the final examination period has begun, it will be assumed
that students intend to complete their courses, and no course withdrawal
requests will be accepted.
It is important to note that no student may have more than three terms in
which he or she is enrolled in only two courses (courses from which the student
has withdrawn do not count toward the course load). A student may never be
enrolled in just one course.
At any time during a term, students may see on the Student Information
System Web site at http://www.dartmouth.edu/bannerstudent/
the courses in which they are officially enrolled, as well as classrooms and
instructors. Checking this source in the first two weeks of the term is advised
in order to ensure that course elections officially on file match the student’s
intentions.
4. Administration of Courses; Scheduling of Final Examinations;
Pre-Examination Break; Final Grades: Not later than two weeks after the start
of each academic term, every course instructor should provide students with a
list of the papers, reports, examinations, and other requirements that are the
components for a grade in the course, and the approximate dates on which the
work is due.
By vote of the Faculty, effective the spring term of 1981-1982, during the
last five days of classes of each term, no major tests or examinations may be
given. Routine quizzes and drills may, however, be administered. Also by vote
of the Faculty, in every term there shall be a mandatory two-day break
(Pre-Examination Break) between the last day of classes and the first final
examination, during which no classes or tests may be scheduled. The academic
calendar beginning on page 5 lists the various dates term by term. Because of
the adoption of Memorial Day as a College holiday in 1998, the two days of the
Pre-Examination Break in spring term will normally fall on Monday (Memorial
Day) and the following Thursday, with final class days on Tuesday and Wednesday
and examinations beginning on Friday.
Since problems sometimes arise in the reconciling of classroom and
extracurricular schedules, the Executive Committee of the Faculty has
established the regulations of the following three paragraphs:
‘Regular class attendance is expected of all students. Though academic
schedules may sometimes conflict with College-sponsored or College-recognized
extracurricular events, there are no excused absences for participants in such
activities. Students who participate in athletics, debates, concerts, or other
activities should check their calendars to see that these events do not
conflict with their academic schedules. Should such conflicts occur or be
anticipated, each student is responsible for discussing the matter with his or
her instructor at the beginning of the appropriate term. Instructors may be
accommodating if approached well in advance of the critical date.
‘Such accommodations can be made only when the conflict occurs because of a
scheduled College-sponsored or College-recognized event. No participant should
expect to be excused in order to attend a team meeting or orientation session,
practice session, meal, or other such activity.
‘No College-sponsored or College-recognized regular-season event may be
scheduled during a Pre-Examination Break or a Final Examination Period.’
Effective fall term 2002, the Registrar announces the annual schedule of
final examinations at the beginning of the academic year. The schedule is
arranged so that any instructor can allow up to three hours for the final exam.
If a student is scheduled to have two examinations in actual conflict or three
examinations on a single calendar day, the student may seek relief from one of
the instructors to take that examination at another mutually convenient time
during the final examination period. Therefore, students should be prepared to
be available for examinations through the last day of the examination period.
It is not uncommon for a student to have two examinations on a single calendar
day or three examinations in two days. In these circumstances, no adjustment
should be expected.
All regularly scheduled final examinations occur during the announced
examination period; no undergraduate may be either allowed or required to take
any final examination prior to the start of the examination period. Take home
examinations, papers, or assignments due after the last day of class cannot be
due earlier than the end of the second day of the examination period or the
time of the regularly scheduled exam, whichever comes later. (By vote of the
faculty on May 23, 2005.) A student who is not able to take a final examination
or otherwise complete a course on time due to illness or other compelling cause
must work with the instructor and the Dean of the College Office to make
arrangements for an Incomplete well in advance of the examination or other
deadline. Be sure to consult the section on standings of ‘Incomplete’ under
Degree Requirements.
Whether or not there is a final examination, the instructor submits grades
not later than four days after the end of the final examination period, subject
only to the following stipulation: in those courses in which there is the
requirement of a term paper or overall project, but no final examination,
instructors may defer the required date for students to submit this work as
late into the examination period as they may find convenient, provided that the
final grades are nonetheless reported to the Registrar not later than four days
after the close of the examination period. If, however, the paper or project is
to be submitted prior to the beginning of the examination period, the final
grades are to be reported not later than five days after the start of the
examination period.
Several days thereafter, the Office of the Registrar posts grade reports
(see pages 5-10). At that time, students may access their grades on the
Dartmouth Student Information System at
http://www.dartmouth.edu/bannerstudent/. The Sidecar/KClient authentication
system is required to ensure security. Should you wish to learn a grade prior
to this you must obtain it from your instructor. By vote of the Faculty every
instructor has the obligation to make grades available to the students; the
instructor may leave grades with a secretary, ask you to supply a
self-addressed postcard, or use any other convenient method that does not
violate confidentiality. The Office of the Registrar will not supply these
grades; such is done only in the case of standings of Incomplete for which
grades have since been assigned.
The assignment of final grades is the responsibility of the instructor. A
student who questions the appropriateness of a grade should confer with the
instructor. If the instructor agrees, he or she will make a written request,
with the approval and cosignature of the department/program chair, to the
Registrar; the request must indicate one or more specific ways in which the
student was done an injustice. A simple change of mind will not suffice. Should
the Registrar not approve this petition, the instructor may appeal to the Dean
of the Faculty. If the instructor declines to request a change in grade, the
student may seek aid in turn from the chair, the Associate Dean of the Faculty
for the appropriate division, and the Dean of the Faculty; it is unusual for
such appeal to go beyond the chair. All student appeals for change of grade
must be initiated by the last day of the term following that in which the
course was taken. The grade change request must be submitted by the instructor
to the Registrar by the last day of the second term following the term in which
the course was taken. No change in grade may be made on the grounds of course
work completed after the term in which the course was offered other than in the
case of an official incomplete.
5. Election of a Major: As indicated under the Requirements for the Degree
every student is entitled to file a choice of major after the end of the first
term of the first year and must do so by the end of his or her fifth term or,
in some cases, immediately thereafter.
Students in residence (R) during the winter term of their second year must
file their major by the second Thursday of spring term, whether or not they
will be in residence that term. As a practical matter, most students who will
not be enrolled in the spring term must file the major before leaving at the
end of the winter. Students not in residence in their second winter will be
required to file their major by the last day of class in their next term of
residence. Since no student is required to file a major before the end of the
fifth term of enrollment (R, O, and X all being included) in a few cases the
deadline for filing is delayed from that indicated above until the end of the
fifth term of enrollment is reached. Any student who does not meet the deadline
for filing the major will be ineligible to register for any subsequent
residence term until a valid major card is on file at the Office of the
Registrar.
Early in the appropriate term, every student required to file a major will
be mailed a set of three identical major cards, giving the student’s name and
established enrollment pattern, for indicating the type and field of major, the
specific courses chosen, and the approval (by signature) of the chair of the
department or program (or other authorized faculty member designated by the
chair). In filling out the card the student and faculty member must be careful
to list in the so labeled section the courses that are prerequisite to the
major, whether already taken or in part still to come. In the main section for
the actual major courses, list exactly eight for a standard major (or nine or
ten for one of the standard majors so requiring), or exactly ten for a modified
major. One card is to be turned in at the Office of the Registrar; the others
are for the student and the department.
Since most students will be filing a major early in the second spring term,
the Prospectus of Courses is published just as students register for that term.
This bulletin shows the courses that are planned over a two-year period, and
the terms and sequences in which they will be offered.
Important Note: In working out your major with the department or program
adviser you may find it necessary to modify the enrollment pattern shown on the
major card mailed to you (which is identical to that you have on file). If you
do modify the pattern, be sure to alter your official enrollment pattern card
at the Office of the Registrar when you turn in your major card or within the
next day or two. It is the official enrollment pattern card, not a major card
or any other document, that certifies your actual enrollment pattern.
Clearly, it takes a great deal of time and effort to work out a desirable
major program, and the more individualized it is, the more thought,
consultation, and possible committee action will be required. Be sure to become
familiar with the descriptions in this bulletin. Highly structured standard
majors, such as Engineering Sciences, and worthwhile individualized ones,
although quite opposite in nature, are likely to require the earliest starts
and most careful planning. Bear in mind that most advanced and many elementary
courses are offered only once a year, and that quite a few are offered only
every other year. As indicated earlier, it is to allow the careful planning
especially needed for the Dartmouth Plan that this bulletin and the Prospectus
of Courses cover a two-year period.
Frequently students are reluctant to sign up for a major because they do not
feel sure enough that they are ready to make a suitable choice. They should not
worry unduly in this respect: what is necessary is to make a start. Many
students change to another major; there is no penalty of any sort for making a
change, but note that students may not change major (or type of major,
including the addition of a second major) later than the first week of their
last term in residence.
As indicated earlier in this bulletin in the section on Degree Requirements,
there are three main possibilities for majoring, namely, the Standard Major,
the Modified Major, and the Special Major. You should be sure to review these
descriptions. As suggested by the name, most students pursue a Standard Major
as offered by most departments and programs. At this point some comments are
offered concerning multiple majors.
Multiple Major: Many students major in two separate fields, often quite
dissimilar, for instance, Theater and Government. To do so, the student must
obtain agreement of the two departments (or programs, or one of each) and file
with the Registrar a form signed by both Chairs. The culminating experience
must be satisfied for both majors. In designing the dual major program, it is
not possible to use any individual course as part of both majors (although a
course may be part of one major and prerequisite to the other, or prerequisite
to both majors). A student may start with one major and later add, through
appropriate filing, a second. Either or both of the majors may be Standard,
Modified, or Special. The student may at any time decide to return to a single
major. Note that the regulation concerning the deadline for making a change of
major (or type of major) is not intended to keep a student who has been
carrying a dual major from dropping one major in the last days of the term
preceding graduation.
6. Preparation for Graduation: A Dartmouth student of the Class of 1988 or
later class is eligible for graduation at the end of any term in which he or
she has completed at least six terms in residence with course count of at least
thirty-five and the various other requirements listed in the section on Degree
Requirements, including the completion of the major as certified by the major
department or program.
Students whose enrollment patterns indicate that they plan to receive the
degree during the current academic year must apply for the degree. Students are
annually notified of deadlines and instructions for this process. The student
must indicate exact plans for completing the minimum 35 credits required, that
is, by what combination of R, O, X, and T study the total will be achieved.
Students who have studied elsewhere and failed to supply a suitable transcript
of credits eligible for transfer, and certain others, may not be approached
since they do not appear to be current degree candidates. It is up to them and
to any student who wishes to graduate at other than the usual time to inform
the Office of the Registrar and his or her major department of this intention.
No student who has failed to apply for the degree will be graduated.
Students are advised not to study off-campus or to plan to transfer credits
in their last term, particularly if it is the spring term: the only acceptable
evidence of work performed is a Dartmouth faculty grade report or an official
transcript in the case of transfer credits. Students who do hope to transfer
credits in time for graduation must, therefore, order a transcript at the
earliest possible date.
It is the duty of each student to keep track of progress in completing the
various requirements. The Office of the Registrar maintains a degree audit
report for each student that is available from the Bannerstudent home page. The
audit indicates the current standing of the student with respect to each degree
requirement (other than those pertaining to the major).
FINAL NOTES: No student may graduate who has any course recorded as
incomplete, ON, or AD, no matter how large the course count. The problem may be
resolved by normal completion of the course or conceivably by a drop without
penalty if authorized by the Registrar and if the final course count is still
at least thirty-five. Otherwise the course may be assigned the grade of E
without credit, provided again the final course count is still adequate. Note,
however, the following regulation:
A student not in good academic standing as a result of his or her
performance in the last term of enrollment preceding intended graduation, but
otherwise eligible for graduation, may graduate only with special approval of
the Committee on Standards.
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