Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.
Academic Status
CLASSIFICATIONS
Classification is based on the number of St. Olaf
total credits completed by and only on October 1, as follows:
Sophomore: 6-14 credits
Junior: 15-22 credits
Senior: 23- credits
Because reclassification is completed only once each
year, it is important that all work completed at another institution
be transferred to St. Olaf before the reclassification process begins.
A student’s classification may affect “room draw,”
choice of residence hall, registration time, or other benefits.
Students who graduated from high school six or fewer
months prior to entering St. Olaf as “new students”
are first year students and may
not, as the result of six or more Advanced Placement, high school,
post-secondary and/or college summer courses, claim sophomore status
for any purpose. purposes
of room-draw or waiver of some requirements afforded “college
transfer” students who have a high school graduation date
of 11 months or more prior to entrance into St. Olaf.
DEAN’S LIST
Each semester, the Registrar’s Office compiles
for the Office of the Dean of the College a Dean’s List, which
includes the names of all students with a GPA of 3.75 or above for
that semester. In order to be named to the Dean’s List, students
must have successfully completed three or more graded full credits
in the semester.
Distinction
Each department and interdisciplinary program may
award distinction to selected graduating senior majors or concentrators.
Distinction is awarded upon completion of all graduation requirements.
The faculty members of the department or program
determine the criteria for distinction in accordance with guidelines
established by the special studies sub-committee of the curriculum
and educational policies committee and administered by the registrar;
interested students should contact the appropriate department or
program for more information. Not every candidate automatically
receives distinction.
A student may receive distinction in more than one
major or concentration if the student completes separate projects,
one for each major or concentration. A single project may suffice
if the project or thesis conforms to all relevant departments’
or programs’ guidelines and constraints described for distinction.
A project or thesis being proposed for distinction in more than
one department or program must be approved in advance by all relevant
departments or programs.
Each department or program submits to the registrar
the titles of all distinction projects or theses and the names of
all students who have been awarded distinction. Indication of distinction
appears in the commencement program and on the academic transcript.
It does not appear on the diploma.
HONORS
Honors are determined by the cumulative grade point
average. They are recognized at Honors Day, conferred at Commencement
and recorded on the final transcript and the diploma as:
3.30 — cum laude
3.60 — magna cum laude
3.85 — summa cum laude
In determining honors, a grade point average is never
rounded up or down. Honor designations are not recorded on student
transcripts prior to graduation from the college.
HONORS DAY
On Honors Day each May, students are recognized in
three categories: Seniors elected to Phi Beta Kappa, special honors
and general honors by class. General honors includes all full-time
students who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher.
The names of the honorees are posted on the World Wide Web at least
three weeks prior to Honors Day.
HONOR SOCIETIES
Standards for election to Phi Beta Kappa and other
honor societies are the prerogative of the honor societies, not
the college.
CLASS RANK
Each graduated senior is ranked in his/her class
according to cumulative grade point averages (G.P.A.). Class rank
is recorded on the permanent transcript for those students whose
names appear in the Commencement program in May of a given year.
Participators in Commencement are ranked according
to their cumulative G.P.A. after Spring Semester of the senior year.
Rank is not changed even if further St. Olaf course work is used
to complete degree requirements or used by diploma graduates for
additional credits.
Class rank is also computed for non-seniors at the
end of each academic year, but is not recorded on the transcript.
Class rank is available upon request at the Registrar’s Office.
Picture identification is required.
ACADEMIC PROBATION
This policy is effective for all students entering
St. Olaf on or after August 15, 2004.
A student may be placed on academic probation, or
be continued on probation, with:
- A cumulative grade point average of 1.80 or below
in the first year, 1.90 or below in the sophomore year and 2.00
in the junior and senior year, or
- Two or more grades of D, F, N, or U in any semester,
or
- Fewer than two and one-half courses of C- or better
during a semester, or fewer than five and one-half courses of
C- or better during an academic year.
Parents of financially dependent or consenting students
are notified when students are placed on academic probation.
A student on probation may not participate in an
Interim Exchange program. Students may apply to a St. Olaf-sponsored
off-campus program while they are on probation, but ordinarily a
student who remains on academic probation may not participate in
an off-campus program. Approval by the director of International
and Off-Campus Studies is required for a student on academic probation
to participate in an off-campus program. Students on academic probation
may not serve in an executive role in a student organization, and
students continuing on probation may be asked further to curtail
extra-curricular activities. Institutionally controlled gift assistance
or financial aid may be reduced if a student is placed on academic
probation.
College decisions involving probation are not subject to appeal.
ACADEMIC DISMISSAL
This policy is effective for all students entering
St. Olaf on or after August 15, 2004.
A student may be dismissed if he/she is on probationary
status and fails to achieve minimal academic progress. Minimal academic
progress is defined as that combination of course completions and
grade points that suggest the probable completion of graduation
requirements in four years with at least a 2.00 cumulative grade
point average. Such progress is expected to approximate the following
scale:
Cumulative G.P.A. of 2.00 after the completion
of 23 credits.
Cumulative G.P.A. of 1.90 after the completion of 15 credits.
Cumulative G.P.A. of 1.80 after the completion of 6 credits.
Normally a student will not be considered for dismissal
unless s/he has been on probation for at least one semester. The
college reserves the right, under extraordinary circumstances, however,
to dismiss a student who has not been on probation.
There is usually a waiting period of one year prior
to consideration of an application for readmission following dismissal.
Decisions resulting in academic dismissal or the
placement of a student on academic probation are made by the Academic
Standing Committee, which includes the faculty member serving as
associate dean of students (chair), the other two class deans, the
associate registrar, the coordinator of the Academic Advising Center,
the coordinator of Student Disability Services, the director of
Student Support Services, rhe director of the Academic Support Center,
the director of Multicultural Affairs and Community Outreach and
one member of the faculty, appointed by the faculty member serving
as associate dean of students.
Parents of financially dependent or consenting students
are notified when academic dismissal occurs.
Students placed in dismissal status may appeal the dismissal decision
to an appeals board composed of the dean of the college, the dean
of students and the registrar. The appeal must be made in writing
and sent to the registrar within seven days of the date of receipt
of the dismissal letter. The decision of the appeals board is final.
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