Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.
Definition of a St. Olaf Course and Course Load
COURSE
For numerical purposes, the term “course” means a full (1.00) course credit, as distinguished from fractional course credits.
St. Olaf courses are not denominated in semester or quarter credits. Each St. Olaf course is equivalent to 4.00 semester credits or 5.50 quarter credits.
Thirty-five full course credits are required for the baccalaureate degree. Unless reduced as the result of transfer credits, 24 of the 35 courses must be taken on a graded basis.
Course descriptions are printed in this catalog.
The fully updated class and lab schedule is posted and maintained on the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising Web page. The schedule lists the titles, credit value, general education attributes, instructor, and meeting place and time of all courses offered during the next academic term. Should a schedule be found in error with regard to course credit, the registrar maintains a master course file for reference and inspection.
“1” designates a first-half semester course and “2” a second-half course.
COURSE CREDITS
Often credit earned from specific courses varies with different baccalaureate degrees, core requirements, and majors. Rely on the class and lab schedules for information about which courses fulfill general education requirements.
- Performance studies courses are always level I when counted toward the Bachelor of Arts degree. Credit for performance studies courses is counted as upper-level (numbered 200 and above) in the principal performing medium for Bachelor of Music degree students only during the junior and senior years.
- Dance activity courses count toward the Studies in Physical Movement (SPM) requirement..
- Information on repeating a course is found under Academic Regulations.
- After students have graduated with a degree, the college will not accept additional courses transferred from other colleges except two courses to complete an additional major.
- A student may not substitute an independent study for a course regularly offered in a department of the college. Independent study or research may count toward a major, but may not fulfill a general education requirement (except, when approved, as a course with writing [WRI).
- Twenty-four of the 35 full courses required for graduation must be taken on a graded basis unless that number has been reduced by transfer or off-campus course work.
- A student must complete at least six courses with grades of C or higher in a major in order to complete the major requirement. A grade of C- or S does not count in fulfilling this requirement.
St. Olaf courses have levels designated by course numbers in this catalog and in the class and lab schedules as level I, II, and III.
Level I courses, numbered 100 through 199, are for the most part introductory to a field or discipline. They exert a demand for only such depth of study, student responsibility, and independence commensurate with initial work at the college level.
Level II courses, numbered 200 through 299, require student independence in the acquisition of material and mastery of techniques and methods above that demanded in level I courses.
Level III courses, numbered 300 through 399, are usually confined to the major and demand control of methods as well as command of basic factual and theoretical knowledge appropriate to the discipline. A student should have at least two level III courses in the major; depending on the department, two level III courses may be required.
Courses numbered at level II and level III are referred to as upper-level courses.
Eighteen of the 35 full-course credits required for graduation must be at level II or III.
A course can earn only one level and one credit value. It cannot be raised in level or credit value as the result of extra studies, assignments, or performance. A course with a lower number or credit value cannot, as the result of extra work, become another course of a higher number or credit value because of scheduling conflicts or closed course status.
To be considered full-time, a student, including students receiving veterans' benefits, must be registered for at least 3.00 course credits. Four (4.00) full-semester credits are required to maintain certain forms of State of Minnesota financial aid.
4.5 credits is the typical, maximum course load allowed from all sources during a semester, and only one course may be taken during Interim. Note that a course must be dropped first if an added course would put the student's course load over the allowed 4.5 credits maximum.
A student taking a full load of 4.50 credits with the .50 being a first-half-semester course cannot register for a second-half-semester course unless the student meets the criteria for an overload, below.
Overload
With the permission of the registrar, a student may exceed 4.5 credits during a semester if:
- The student is a senior, for whom the maximum load is 5.00 credits. The senior year is defined as the two semesters prior to commencement either as a “participator” (see PARTICIPATION IN COMMENCEMENT) or as a diploma candidate.
- The student is a junior or a sophomore and, normally, has a 3.60 grade point average over the two previous semesters. The student may then take up to the maximum of 5.00 credits.
- First-year students are not eligible for course overloads.
Note that all students receive an extra tuition charge of 50% of the same academic year's quarter-credit tuition charge for each quarter credit overload for course overloads beyond 4.5 credits. The refund policy also applies for course overload. See ADDITIONAL FEES AND COSTS. There is no refund of tuition after five weeks.
Drop/add and satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) deadlines for half-semester courses are different from those of full-semester courses. Consult the registrar’s calendar on the Registrar’s Office Web site. A student taking a full load of 4.50 courses with the .50 being a first-half semester course cannot register for a second-half semester course unless the student meets the criteria for an overload stated under “Course Loads” in this catalog.
Note that “1” designates a first-half semester course and “2” a second-half course in the class and lab schedule.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts Music major and the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Music are defined only in this catalog. Students should also consult the Music Handbook. Bachelor of Arts music and music education majors should be careful to complete 21 credits outside of the major.
PERFORMANCE STUDIES COURSES and music organization participation
Performance studies courses (music lessons) are always Level I courses for Bachelor of Arts students.
Performance studies courses (music lessons) are upper level courses for Bachelor of Music students only in their principal performing medium and only during the junior and senior years.
Generally, performance studies courses are fractional (.25) courses, not full-credit courses. Registration for performance studies courses must be approved by the Music Department. Registration instructions are published in the class and lab schedule. Lessons may be added to or dropped from a student’s registration only with a music lesson drop/add slip available from the Music Office. This drop/add slip must be processed by the Music Department academic administrative assistant before it will be accepted in the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising.
Registration for performance studies lessons may result in an additional fee; see the Music Office for details. If a student drops a performance studies course (lessons) after the sixth day of class, no refund of music lesson fees is made. For information on fees for the combination of performance studies and overload, consult Additional Fees and Costs.
Student participation in campus musical organizations (choirs, orchestras, bands, ensembles, etc.) is not awarded course credit.