Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.

Changes in Registration, Petitions for Late Changes

Changes in Registration

The registrar posts deadlines pertaining to courses and academic procedures and final exam dates on the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising Web site. The policy governing these dates and deadlines is set by the St. Olaf faculty upon recommendation of the Curriculum Committee.

Students may drop, add, or make changes to the grading option of their courses until the deadline published on the registrar’s calendar posted on the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising Web page. Registration changes are processed with drop/add slips available from, and returnable to, the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising. The date the signed slip is returned to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising, not the date it was signed, determines whether the change meets the deadline. An unreported drop or withdrawal results in an F in the course. Being on a closed-course waiting list does not negate the deadline for adding a course.

Performance studies (music lessons) must be added and dropped through the Music Department office. This drop/add slip must be processed by the Music Department academic administrative assistant before it will be accepted at the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising. If a student drops a performance studies course after the sixth day of the semester, no refund of music lesson fees is made.

Changes to registration after the posted deadline are allowed only by petition.The form may be picked up from and returned to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising. Such petitions, including assigning handling fees, are acted on by the registrar. The student may appeal a decision on a petition to the Curriculum Committee, whose decisions are final. Students are notified of the decision by email, usually the day the decision is made.

A petition to add or drop a course or to make a change in the grading option is not entertained beyond one year following the end of the relevant term. This practice is consistent with the statute of limitations on notification of a grade error; see GRADE CHANGES. A course taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory (S/U) basis may not be assigned another type of grade at a later date.

ADDING COURSES

A student may add a course until the deadline specified on the registrar’s calendar by submitting to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising an appropriately signed drop/add slip. No course addition that creates an overload for the term is permitted.

A student who has been placed on an instructor’s waiting list, and who subsequently gains entry into a previously closed course, must officially add the course at the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising by the posted add deadline. If a student wishes to add a course that creates a course overload, s/he must drop a course to make room for the addition by the add deadline posted on the college calendar.

Note that first-half and second-half semester courses have posted deadlines different from those for semester-length courses. Consult the registrar’s calendar.

DROPPING COURSES

With the exception of cases involving possible honor code violations (see below), a student may drop (withdraw from) any course for which he/she is registered until the deadline for dropping a course posted on the registrar’s calendar.

A drop/add slip, which is available from and must be returned to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising window, must be properly signed by the instructor whose course is being dropped. An unreported drop results in an F in the course.

Note that first-half and second-half semester courses have deadlines different from those deadlines for courses that last the entire semester.

If a student drops a performance studies course after the sixth day of the semester, no refund of music lesson fees is made.

A student must be registered for at least three (3.00) credits in order to retain full-time status, and to receive veteran’s benefits. Four (4.00) full courses are required to maintain certain forms of State of Minnesota financial aid. Degree candidate students dropping below the three-full-course minimum during a semester may lose housing (residence hall) privileges and financial aid. In this situation, students who are considering dropping a course should consult with the Dean of Students Office before taking final action.

Students dropping a Carleton College course for which they are registered should consult CARLETON INTER-REGISTRATION in this catalog.

Honor Code/Plagiarism Exceptions
A student under review for an honor code violation may not drop the course in question unless a withdrawal is authorized by the student honor council. A student who is assessed a penalty of failure in a course as a result of an honor system violation or a plagiarism offense is not permitted to drop the course in question.

For more information about the St. Olaf honor system and its procedures and about academic integrity, see The Book. Questions about the honor system should be directed to the Office of the Dean of Students.

LATE ADD (COURSES)

Deadlines for adding a course are designated on the registrar's calendar. A course may be added after the posted deadline via a petition form available from and to be returned in person to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising window. The petition form must be signed by the instructor of the added course, the advisor, and the student. The date the add slip or a subsequent petition is submitted to the registrar, rather than the date it was signed, determines if the request meets the deadline.

A student who mistakenly attends a different section of a course from the section registered must petition for a change in registration. The instructor for both sections must verify the error.

Note that petitioning to add a course late without previous attendance may make taking the course more difficult; the instructor, therefore, must verify that the student has sufficient time to make up the work missed. A student may not subsequently request an incomplete grade for a course added late because of insufficient time to complete the assigned work.

Note that a handling fee will be assigned for accepted petitions.

The registrar will deny any petition to add a course after the scheduled final exam period for that course. The student may appeal to the Curriculum Committee by resubmitting the original petition to the registrar. Decisions of the committee are final.

A petition to add a course is not entertained beyond one year following the end of the relevant term. (This practice is consistent with the statute of limitations on notification of a grade error; see GRADE CHANGES.)

LATE DROP (COURSES)

Deadlines for dropping a course are designated on the registrar’s calendar. A course may be dropped after the posted deadline via a petition form available from and to be returned in person to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising window. The petition form must be signed by the instructor of the dropped course, the advisor, and the student.. The date the drop slip or a subsequent petition is submitted to the registrar, rather than the date it was signed, determines if the request meets the deadline.

If a student is dropping a course he/she never attended, the instructor must verify the absence from the class.

An unreported withdrawal results in an F in the course. A course from which a student successfully petitions to withdraw following the last day to drop is not removed from the student's record; rather, a notation of withdraw passing (WP) or withdraw failing (WF) will be made on the student's transcript to indicate whether the student was doing passing or failing work at the time that the student withdrew.

Note that a handling fee will be assigned for accepted petitions.

The registrar will deny any petition to drop a course after the scheduled final exam period for that course. The student may appeal to the Curriculum Committee by resubmitting the original petition to the registrar.  Decisions of the committee are final.

A petition to drop a course is not entertained beyond one year following the end of the relevant term. (This practice is consistent with the statute of limitations on notification of a grade error; see GRADE CHANGES.)

CHANGES IN GRADING OPTION (Graded to S/U, S/u to Graded)

Deadlines for changing courses from Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory to graded or from graded to S/U are designated on the registrar’s calendar. A course may be changed from S/U to graded or from graded to S/U after the posted deadline via a petition form available from and to be returned in person to the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising window. The petition form must be signed by the student and the student’s advisor, but not by the course instructor. The date the S/U slip or a subsequent petition is submitted to the registrar, rather than the date it was signed, determines if the request meets the deadline.

Note that a handling fee will be assigned for accepted petitions.

A course completed on an S/U basis may not be assigned another type of grade at a later date.

The registrar will deny any petition to change a course's grading option from graded to S/U after the scheduled final exam period for that course. The student may appeal to the Curriculum Committee by resubmitting the original petition to the registrar. Decisions of the committee are final.

A petition to make a graded to S/U change is not entertained beyond one year following the end of the term in which a course was taken. (This practice is consistent with the statute of limitations on notification of a grade error; see GRADE CHANGES.)

petitions, ACADEMIC HANDLING FEES

Students may petition for waivers to academic regulations, fees, and college deadlines at any time during the regular academic year, but see LATE ADD, LATE DROP, S/U CHANGES, THE ST. OLAF CURRICULUM, GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS, AND DEGREE are not subject to petition or waiver. Petition forms are available from, and are to be returned to, the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising. A student will be notified by e-mail when a petition has been acted on. The petition remains in the student’s file in the Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising.

Petition forms must be completed in full with appropriate faculty signatures where applicable. The petition form must be accompanied by a written explanation setting forth the circumstances of the student’s case under petition/appeal.

The Office of the Registrar and Academic Advising assigns a handling fee for special services such as late course adds or drops and other changes in registration or appeals completed by petition.

In cases where a petition is denied, or a fee charged by the registrar, the student may appeal to the Curriculum Committee by resubmitting the original petition to the registrar.

Decisions of the committee are final. If the student submits an appeal after the committee has finished business for the semester or year, a decision may be delayed until after a vacation or summer break.

appeals to CURRICULUM COMMITTEE

The Curriculum Committee is a standing faculty committee. In addition to its curricular policy responsibilities, the Curriculum Committee:

  1. Establishes academic regulations, recommends procedures, and sets policy for the academic calendar.
  2. Hears and acts upon student petitions for exceptions and adjustments to academic regulations, deadlines, and fees. Students have the right to appeal petitions denied or fees assigned by the registrar to the committee by re-submitting the petition to the registrar. If the committee has completed business for the semester or year, decisions may be delayed over a vacation break or summer. Decisions made by the committee are final.