Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.
Special Registrations
AUDITING COURSES/SUCCESSFUL AUDITS
All persons attending, auditing or participating
in a program of instruction must officially register with the college.
Permission of the instructor is required to audit a course. An auditor
is a visitor in a class and participates in its activities only
at the invitation of the instructor. Students are discouraged from
auditing courses that involve performance, lab work or extensive
use of equipment such as studios, gymnasia and computers. Auditors
take exams or hand in written work only at the direction of the
instructor.
Students may:
- Audit a course after taking the course once for
credit;
- Audit a course more than one time;
- Audit a maximum of one full credit beyond a full
4.50 course load;
- Audit an Interim course if not registered for
a different Interim course, provided they meet the graduation
requirement of 3 Interim courses in addition to the audited course.
Students may not:
- Subsequently earn credit for a course by special
examination after auditing the same course;
- Register for credit through petition for courses
where tests and evaluations are used to establish an early grade
pattern after the add deadline has passed;
- Audit an Interim course if concurrently registered
for a different Interim course;
- Audit an IS/IR or Internship;
- Audit summer school courses.
Successful Audits: A person attempting a successful
audit must have the permission of the instructor at the time of
entering the course and should negotiate the conditions necessary
for completion of a successful audit with the instructor at that
time. A successful audit form, available from the Registrar’s
Office, is to be completed by the student and the instructor together
and returned by the student to the Registrar’s Office no later
than the last day to add drop
a class for the semester in which the course is being offered. A
properly documented successful audit will be entered on the auditor's
transcript. Successful audits are not awarded course or grade credit
nor do audits fulfill graduation requirements in whole or in part.
Auditors other than registered full-time St. Olaf and Carleton students
or staff will be required to pay 20% of the current tuition charge
per course.
CARLETON INTER-REGISTRATION
Full-time, degree-seeking St. Olaf and Carleton College
students may enroll in courses on either campus. Inter-registration
is limited to one course per term. A course taken at Carleton must
receive prior approval of the Carleton instructor and registrar
and be worth at least six variable Carleton credits. A Carleton
course must be properly registered in order for credit to be awarded
(see procedure below). As a general rule Carleton will not inter-register
St. Olaf students for Carleton courses which are routinely taught
at St. Olaf. Carleton courses are computed in the St. Olaf grade
point average.
Registration for a Carleton Winter Term course is
considered a full St. Olaf load. A St. Olaf student may not simultaneously
register for a St. Olaf Interim. A Carleton Winter Term course counts
as one St. Olaf Interim (January Term).
Physical Activity courses must be inter-registered.
A PHA course taken at Carleton will count toward the General Education
requirement (PHA) at St. Olaf, but no credit will be given toward
the total number of courses required for graduation. A student wishing
to apply a Carleton course to his/her major should consult with
the appropriate department chair or program director before completing
the inter-registration procedure. Consult the Registrar’s
Office for the procedure to secure General Education credit approval
before completing the inter-registration process.
To enroll in a Carleton College course, students
must:
- Obtain an application from the St. Olaf registrar.
- Obtain the signature of the Carleton instructor
and the Carleton registrar.
- Complete an application each term that they take
a Carleton course. Example: A student must register for two Carleton
terms if s/he wishes to take the Hebrew 101-102 sequence.
- Return the completed application to the St. Olaf
registrar’s window for approval. A copy of the application
will then be sent to Carleton and a copy returned to the student.
- Drop a Carleton course by obtaining a change of
registration form from the St. Olaf registrar’s window;
have it signed by the Carleton instructor; return it to the St.
Olaf registrar by the posted Carleton drop deadline.
Note that St. Olaf students cannot register for an
independent study or independent research with a Carleton faculty
member.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
St. Olaf College permits enrollment on a part-time
basis in most regular college classes at a reduced rate of tuition.
Prospective continuing education students must comply with the following:
- Continuing Education students must be 25 years
of age or older and non-degree seeking or be a
St. Olaf graduate;
- Register on a space available basis;
- Register no earlier than the first day of classes
with signatures from faculty.
Continuing education students who later decide to
become degree seeking may count only 7 (seven) courses taken under
the continuing education guidelines toward a degree.
Persons wishing to take courses as continuing education
students must obtain and complete the appropriate paperwork in the
Registrar’s Office prior to attending class. Any questions
should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.
Regular degree-seeking students registered full-
or part-time in the traditional college program are not permitted
to take courses at the reduced rate as continuing education students.
INDEPENDENT STUDY/INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
Independent work is a privilege to be extended only
if those involved agree the student is prepared to benefit, that
the proposal is well planned and that there is previous course work
in the area to give credence to independent study. The following
regulations apply:
- Total work to be done shall approximate that expected
for a regular semester course. No proposal worth less than or
more than a full (1.00) course will be considered.
- Independent study/independent research may fulfill
an elective credit or a credit in the major, but it may not fulfill
a General Education requirement (except for a Writing in Context
course [WRI]).
- Independent study/independent research is not
a substitute for a regularly offered course, but a special type
of educational experience with purposes different from those for
which regular courses are designed. Ordinarily, prerequisite course
work will have been completed in the area of the independent study.
- A student may take up to a total of three independent
study courses. A student may also take two independent research
courses in each field in which he/she has completed five courses.
Independent study is registered by department or program as 298,
Level II. Independent research is registered as 398, Level III.
First-year students may not take an independent study course.
- Applications for independent study/independent
research are available at the registrar’s window. Several
signatures are required. Students need to complete the form before
they register for the independent study/independent research.
Once it is approved by the registrar the student is notified by
e-mail that the course has been added.
- Independent study/independent research courses
are considered as residential-supervised, not off-campus correspondence
experiences. With the exception of already established independent
courses on study/service programs, a St. Olaf independent study/research
credit cannot be registered during a term in which the student
is on a St. Olaf or non-St. Olaf off-campus program, and independent
work cannot receive credit during that off-campus term.
Questions about independent study/independent research
should be directed to the registrar.
INDIVIDUAL MAJORS
Students have the option of proposing a self-designed,
integrative major through the Center
for Integrative Studies (CIS), at any time during the sophomore
year or at the beginning of the junior year. A student may propose
any sequence of courses, seminars, independent studies or experiential
learning as the means of pursuing an individual major.
The proposal must have the support of a faculty academic
adviser. The coherence, depth and feasibility of each proposal is
evaluated by a faculty review committee convened by the CIS. Students
pursuing individual majors also keep a web portfolio of their work
in the major as a means of demonstrating the connections among its
various components, to the work of other students or to other sites
of public discussion.
INTERIM (JANUARY TERM)
Three successful Interim courses are required for
graduation. The January Interim is a four-week period of intensive
study in one area. Students may take only one course or program
of instruction during Interim. For example, St. Olaf students enrolled
in a Winter Term course at Carleton are not permitted to enroll
in the St. Olaf Interim. The Carleton course equals a full Interim
load. Students enrolled in an Interim course or program cannot audit
another course for the purpose of having a second transcript entry,
e.g. "successful audit."
Upperclass students may choose an off-campus Interim
at one of approximately 25 other 4-1-4 colleges on an Interim Exchange
basis under the terms stated in "Interim Exchange" below.
The Registrar's Office has a list of participating colleges and
the application form.
Departments and interdisciplinary programs have varying
requirements concerning the use of Interim courses in the major,
or to fulfill graduation requirements. Students should consult the
department or program, this catalog and the Interim Class and Lab
Schedule.
Students who enroll at St. Olaf for the year, but
who elect to omit the Interim course are not entitled to a refund
of Interim tuition or room. A student must apply for a board credit
through the Business Office before leaving campus. No credit will
be given once interim begins.
Specific regulations as they apply to Interim include:
- First-year students must register for an Interim
course unless they have prior approval from their class dean.
- For students who originally matriculated at St.
Olaf, three successful Interims are required for graduation. Transfer
students admitted with sophomore or junior standing must successfully
complete two Interims as is the case of transient students who
spend the sophomore and junior years at another institution.
- For senior “participators” (see “Participation
in Commencement”) who have successfully completed two
Interims, a St. Olaf summer school course taken after Commencement
may count as the third Interim. The student must pay the appropriate
St. Olaf summer school tuition and meet the residency
requirement for graduation.
INTERIM EXCHANGE
St. Olaf will accept Interim Exchange only from 4-1-4
colleges with which it has an exchange agreement and only if the
Interim is at least 3.5 weeks in length. Interim Exchange courses
earn elective credit and may qualify for certain majors. Applications,
available at the registrar’s window, must be approved by the
registrar. The Registrar’s Office has some Interim Exchange
college catalogs for use; otherwise the student/applicant may check
the college’s website for information about courses.
First-year students may not participate in Interim
Exchange.
An Interim Exchange course must be taken for a letter
grade, but grades earned at other colleges through Interim Exchange
are not computed in the St. Olaf grade point average.
Students who participate in an Interim Exchange are
not entitled to a refund of Interim tuition or room. A student must
apply for a board credit through the Business Office before leaving
campus. No credit will be given once interim begins.
Questions regarding a specific exchange and about
course credit from an exchange should be directed to the registrar.
INTERNSHIPS
Academic internships are viewed as an integral part
of a student’s academic life at St. Olaf College. An academic
internship is a planned, supervised, experiential learning project
integrating study and practical work. As a credit-bearing experience
it allows students to acquire and apply knowledge through direct
experience in a field related to their academic program. The academic
internship is intended to integrate on-site learning with the knowledge
base of a related discipline. Academic integrity is assured through
established department/program criteria, faculty supervision, an
Academic Internship Learning Plan and guidance from the Office for
Internships.
The following regulations govern academic internships:
- To assure that a proposed academic internship
is credit-worthy, a student must complete a Learning Plan in advance
of the internship. A form for a Learning Plan is available from
the Office for Internships or
online at the CEL (Center for Experiential Learning) website.
- Credit for an academic internship will be granted
only when the academic internship is completed in conjunction
with a St. Olaf academic program.
- Each academic internship must have a St. Olaf
faculty supervisor and an on-site supervisor. There must be ongoing
communication among the college, the student and the on-site supervisor
during the academic internship to assure fulfillment of the Learning
Plan.
- An academic internship as outlined in a Learning
Plan must be approved by the Office for Internships and by the
faculty supervisor. Approval by the department chair is needed
for the academic internship to be counted toward a major.
- Each academic internship must include both practical
work experience assigned by the on-site supervisor and complementary
academic work assigned by the St. Olaf faculty supervisor as outlined
by the Learning Plan.
- A student may enroll for an academic internship
as either a Level II (294) or Level III (394) course, using criteria
established by individual departments or programs. At the discretion
of an individual department, a student may take a second internship
with the same number in that department, provided it has a different
focus.
- A student may be paid for work done during the
academic internship.
- The academic internship experience must be evaluated
by the St. Olaf faculty supervisor, with input from the on-site
supervisor.
- Only proposals for internships bearing a full
(1.00) or one-half (0.5) course
credit will be considered.
- Academic internships are offered P/N only.
- Academic internships do not fulfill General Education
requirements.
- Consideration of transfer of academic internship
credit from another institution will follow the transfer credit
policy for matriculated students as outlined in the college catalog.
- No more than three academic internship credits
courses
may apply to a St. Olaf degree;
the maximum number of internship courses is four.
- A student may register for an academic internship
only after the Director of Office for Internships approves the
Learning Plan.
- A student must register for an academic internship
prior to or during the term for which the student receives credit.
Credit will not be awarded retroactively.
- The academic internship experience (on-site work
in addition to academic work) must total 160 hours, with a minimum
of 120 hours on site for a one-credit
intership and 100 hours, with a minimum of 80 hours on site for
the one-half credit internship.
- Each department
or program sets guidelines for approved experimental learning
activities and may therefore choose to offer either full-credit
or half-credit internships as part of its curriculum.
- A 0.5 credit academic
internship taken during Interim may not count towards the graduation
requirement that three full course credits must be earned during
three separate Interims.
OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS (ST. OLAF SPONSORED)
St. Olaf offers a rich variety of off-campus programs.
They are defined only in this catalog and in the
St. Olaf Off-Campus Studies Catalog. Specific questions should be
directed to the International and Off-Campus Studies Office or to
the faculty adviser of each off-campus program.
1. Participation
Off-campus study opportunities are available to students
who meet the requirements of the host institution and the St. Olaf
prerequisites. Certain programs have limitations based on class
in college; others are open to sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Students going on off-campus programs must register for the program
at the normal registration preceding the term off campus. Students
going on programs that include both the Interim and Spring Semester
must register in person at registrations held for both terms.
Students on St. Olaf-sponsored off-campus programs
may have a resident student proxy register for them for the next
St. Olaf term.
Students on academic probation may file an application
for participation but must be declared off probation by the end
of the semester prior to planned international participation.
All off-campus programs are closed to first-year
students with the exception of certain language Interims. However,
a first-year student may file application during the first year
for participation in the sophomore year.
2. Credit
- Students considering an off-campus program must
consider major and General Education requirements to make sure
participation will not jeopardize normal progress toward graduation.
Off-campus program courses taken ungraded (S/U or P/N) will not
fulfill a General Education graduation requirement.
- Certain off-campus courses count toward St. Olaf
General Education requirements, as indicated and, at the option
of the department/program concerned, may count toward a student’s
major or concentration. No credit is granted where courses are
worth fewer than three semester credits at the host university.
General education credit is not awarded when the course is taken
ungraded.
- Qualified students must notify the registrar and
the Office of International and Off-Campus Studies in writing
to change a course credit from graded to S/U or S/U to graded
where these options exist. If this is done by mail, postmarks
must conform to deadlines posted on the registrar’s calendar.
- Students will not receive transfer credit if they
make their own arrangements to enroll in a foreign institution
with which St. Olaf has already developed a program relationship.
If a student is to receive academic credit, registration must
be through St. Olaf.
- Except for already established study/service programs,
a St. Olaf independent study/research or internship credit cannot
be a component in a St. Olaf off-campus program.
- Students may not earn more credit on an off-campus
program than would be earned on-campus in a given semester.
3. Grades
Grades from St. Olaf-sponsored off-campus programs
are recorded on the student’s official transcript, but do
not count in the St. Olaf grade point average or toward the 24-graded-course
requirement. There is an exception to each:
- A course taught by a St. Olaf professor
within a program is computed into the St. Olaf grade point average
and toward the 24-graded-course requirement.
- A full-year program (not a semester-length program)
gives a student partial graded course credit toward the 24-graded-course
requirement even though the letter grades from a full-year program
are not computed in the grade point average unless taught by a
St. Olaf instructor. Under these conditions, the 24-graded-course
requirement is reduced as follows:
Nine courses earned — four graded courses reduced
Eight courses earned — four graded courses reduced
Seven courses earned — three graded courses reduced
Six courses earned — three graded courses reduced
Graded course reduction is not permitted for less
than six off-campus, full course credits in a single program experience.
It follows that semester-length or a combination of different semester-length
programs do not reduce the 24-graded-course requirement.
OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS (NON-ST. OLAF SPONSORED)
St. Olaf students participating in non-St. Olaf programs
(foreign or domestic off-campus programs through another college,
institution, or consortium unaffiliated with St. Olaf) must secure
transfer credit approval in advance from the Registrar’s Office.
Students may earn elective credit, General
Education credit and credit toward a major
(if approved in advance by a department chair or interdisciplinary
director or the registrar).
Independent study, research, internship or practicum courses taken
on such programs will not transfer as St. Olaf credit.
Courses taught by a current St. Olaf College faculty
member but through another accredited institution,
organization or consortium become part of the college’s grade
history, and grades earned in these
courses are computed in the student’s St. Olaf GPA.
St. Olaf does not approve off-campus programs for
transfer credit where the program is essentially a “travel”
program, work experience, museums, or other programs that do not
have a solid liberal arts, student-instructor component. The student/applicant
is responsible for providing the registrar with detailed program
descriptions, outlines and course syllabi in advance.
Seniors going on non-St. Olaf programs risk violating
the senior residency requirement and should inform the registrar
of their plans.
SPECIAL STUDENTS
Special students are defined as short-term (one year
or less) students who do not plan to graduate from St. Olaf. High
school honor students are one category of special students; continuing
education students are also considered special students. Anyone
not in the categories mentioned above who wishes to register as
a special student must consult the Office of Admissions and submit
transcripts from any high school or college previously attended.
In most instances the registrar requires written authorization for
admission from the Office of Admissions.
Part-time students are those who intend to graduate
from St. Olaf and who register for fewer than three course credits.
Such students must follow the regular admissions procedure.
Both special and part-time students always register
at the registrar’s window on or after the first day of classes.
SUMMER SCHOOL AT ST. OLAF
The St. Olaf College summer school consists of two
five-and-one-half-week terms, during each of which a student may
take a maximum of 2.50 courses. Thus, one may take as many as 5.00
courses during the two terms of summer session. Course descriptions,
costs and other details are contained in the Summer School Catalog,
available online at http://www.stolaf.edu/offices/registrar/summer.html.
Questions about summer school programs, credits and registration
should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.
Summer school tuition must be paid before a student
will be permitted to register for summer courses.
Seniors anticipating completion of degree requirements
through St. Olaf summer school should be aware of limited course
offerings in a typical summer session.
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