Enrollment in courses can be accomplished only by the submission of an approved course schedule or, in amendment of the course schedule, by the submission of an approved course change notice. Attendance at a class does not constitute enrollment. The course schedule is an important document. A student is responsible for the timely submission of the course schedule and for the accuracy of all the information that the student enters upon it. The course elections that a student indicates on a course schedule or course change notice shall appear on the student’s transcript unless a student formally withdraws from a course before midterm. See section F, “Withdrawal from Courses.”
The following rules govern students’ enrollment in courses during the fall and spring terms of the academic year:
1. Deadline for submitting schedules Every student must submit a course schedule for each term at the office of the residential college dean by 5 p.m. on the deadline indicated on the student’s course schedule and listed in the calendar at the beginning of this bul-letin. Students whose registration has been withheld by the Office of Student Financial Services or any other administrative office of the University must nonetheless submit their course schedules by these same deadlines.
It is the student’s responsibility to obtain all necessary signatures, except that of the residential college dean, before the schedule is due. In the rare instance that the stu-dent’s adviser is unavailable before the deadline, the student should nonetheless submit the schedule on time, and take a copy to be signed by the adviser and submitted to the dean as soon as possible. If the student does not submit a copy of the schedule signed by the adviser within one week of the deadline, the student will be subject to the fines and restrictions described under paragraphs 3 and 4 below.
2. Addition of a new course after the deadline The election of a new course after the deadline for submitting a course schedule will not be permitted save by exceptional action of the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing. Students who seek such an exception should consult immediately with the residential college dean. Permission to elect a new course must be requested by a petition that is accompanied by the writ-ten approval of the course instructor and the submission of a course change notice at the office of the residential college dean. The petition should explain in detail why the course is necessary to the student’s schedule and why the student was unable to elect the course during the course selection period. Timeliness is an essential feature of any request to add a course to the course schedule; a delay in consulting with the dean or in submitting a complete petition will normally be grounds for denial. A fee of $20 will be charged for the processing of an approved course change notice on which the elec-tion of a new course is requested. A student may not elect a new course after midterm (October 21, 2011, in the fall term; March 2, 2012, in the spring term), unless such election
is made to correct a clerical error on the course schedule. A change of level in courses in which the subject is taught in an ordered progression, as for example in languages or in mathematics, is not considered the addition of a new course. Such a change may be made with the approval of the instructors involved (and, if necessary, with the added permission of the director of undergraduate studies in the subject). Similarly, a change of section in the same course is not considered the addition of a new course.
3. Fines for late schedules Students who submit their schedules after the deadlines will be fined at least $50. Additional fines, increased $5 daily according to lateness, will be imposed for schedules submitted more than one week after the deadlines. A schedule received more than two weeks after it is due will be accepted only by exceptional action of the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing and will be subject to an increased fine or other penalty.
4. Credit/D/Fail option A student who submits a course schedule after the date on which it is due may not employ the Credit/D/Fail option in any course during that term. (See
“Credit/D/Fail Option” in section B, paragraph 9.)
5. Fines for clerical errors A student who submits a course schedule or course change notice with clerical errors or omissions of data is liable to a fine of $50.
6. Overlapping meeting times A student may not elect courses with meeting times that overlap. If, for good cause, a student is obliged to elect two courses with a small and insignificant overlap in meeting times, the student must supply the residential college dean with the written permission of both instructors at the beginning of the term and must petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing, explaining why the student must enroll in both courses in the current term and how the student will meet all the requirements for both courses. Failure to file a complete and timely petition may result in the loss of credit for both courses.
7. Starred courses Election of a starred course requires that a student secure the per-mission of the instructor and, where appropriate, the director of undergraduate studies. If a student enters a starred course on the course schedule without the appropriate permission, the instructor may direct the registrar to drop the student from the class.
8. Prerequisites Students are expected to have met the prerequisites published in course descriptions in this bulletin. If a student wishes to elect a course for which prerequi-sites are indicated but has not met those prerequiprerequi-sites, it is the student’s responsibil-ity to secure the permission of the instructor and, where appropriate, the director of undergraduate studies before enrolling. The registrar may drop the student from the class if the student has not met the prerequisites for enrollment.
9. Teaching evaluations For the advancement of teaching in Yale College, anonymous teaching evaluations are made available through the Yale University Student Informa-tion Systems. Students are expected to participate in this evaluaInforma-tion process for any Yale College course in which they are enrolled. Students who withdraw from a course after midterm are invited but not required to participate.
10. Selection of a less advanced course in the same subject In certain subjects, such as mathematics, foreign languages, and the sciences, knowledge of the subject is acquired in an ordered progression. That is, the concepts and skills introduced in one course are necessary, or prerequisite, for mastery of the material in subsequent courses in that field. Occasionally a student, having completed an intermediate or advanced course in a subject, may take a less advanced one in that same subject. In such a case, although the student obviously cannot receive course credit for both courses, each course will appear on the student’s transcript with the grades earned; however, the student will receive course credit only for the more advanced course. A student may sometimes be permitted to complete an intermediate or advanced course without having first completed a less advanced course in a subject; in such a case, the student does not receive course credit for the less advanced course by virtue of having completed the more advanced course.
11. Repeated enrollment in the same course Courses may not be repeated for credit, except for courses marked “May be taken more than once” or “May be repeated for credit.” On some rare occasions, a student may take the same course over again, or may take a course with the same content as another course the student has already passed.
In such cases, the student receives credit for the course only once. Should a student take the same or an equivalent course twice, each course with its grade appears on the transcript. The student receives course credit for the higher grade if one is earned; in such an event, course credit is not given for the lower grade. Note, however, that both grades are included in the calculation of a student’s grade point average (GPA) and in the calculation for General Honors.
12. Placement in foreign language courses Students placed by a language program or by their score on the Advanced Placement examination into a particular level of a foreign language may not earn course credit for the completion of a course in that language at a level lower than the placement. For example, a student placed into the third term (L3) of a foreign language earns no course credit for the completion of an L1 or L2 course in that language. Should a student complete a foreign language course at a level lower than the placement, the lower-level course with its grade appears on the transcript but earns no credit toward graduation.
13. Use of vertebrate animals If the satisfactory completion of a course will require the use of vertebrate animals in experiments, the student must be notified of that requirement at the first meeting of the course. If a student objects on ethical grounds to participating in the animal usage in question, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss the mat-ter with the faculty member in charge and not to enroll in the course if no almat-ternative acceptable to the faculty member can be arranged.
14. Field trips If the satisfactory completion of a course will require participation in a field trip, students should understand that there are inherent risks, including the risks of travel, involved in such an activity. If a student objects to assuming these risks, it is the student’s responsibility to discuss the matter with the faculty member in charge and not to enroll in the course if no alternative acceptable to the faculty member can be arranged. Yale College’s policies regarding field trips can be found at yalecollege.yale.edu/
content/academic-field-trip-policies.
F. Withdrawal from Courses
Students are permitted to withdraw from courses for which they have enrolled in a term until 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period in that term. Withdrawal from a course can be accomplished only by the submission of a course change notice at the office of the residential college dean. A fee of $20 will be charged for the processing of an approved course change notice on which withdrawal from a course is requested. Formal withdrawal is important, because failure to receive credit for courses in which students are registered will be recorded as F on their transcripts and may open them to the penalties described under “Academic Warning” and “Dismissal for Academic Reasons” in section I.
1. Transcripts Each course listed on a student’s course schedule appears on the student’s transcript unless the student withdraws from the course by midterm. See paragraph 3 below.
2. Permission All course withdrawals require the permission of the residential college dean.
3. Withdrawal before midterm If a student formally withdraws from a course by midterm (October 21, 2011, in the fall term; March 2, 2012, in the spring term), then after the registrar has recorded the withdrawal, the transcript will contain no indication of that course.
4. Withdrawal after midterm If a student formally withdraws from a course after mid-term but before 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the course and show the neutral designation W (Withdrew) for the course.
The deadlines for such withdrawals are December 2, 2011, in the fall term, and April 23, 2012, in the spring term. The deadlines apply to all courses, whether or not a particular course observes the reading period.
A change of level in courses in which the subject is taught in an ordered progres-sion, as, for example, in foreign languages or in mathematics, is not considered a course withdrawal and does not result in the recording of a W.
5. Withdrawal after the deadlines After these deadlines, withdrawal from a course is not permitted. An exception will be made only for a student who withdraws from Yale College for medical reasons as certified by the Yale Health Center after the beginning of the reading period but by the last day of the final examination period; in such a case the student will be permitted to withdraw from a course with a mark of W.
6. Lack of formal withdrawal If, when grades are due, the instructor of a course notifies the registrar that a student has not successfully completed a course from which the stu-dent has not formally withdrawn, then a grade of F will be recorded for that course on the student’s transcript. See “General Regulations concerning Grades and Transcripts”
in section B. See also “Work Incomplete at the End of Term” and “Postponement of Final Examinations” in section H.
7. Withdrawal from Yale College A student who has withdrawn from Yale College for any reason, including medical, is no longer enrolled. Consequently, as of the date of the withdrawal, such a student cannot continue to attend classes or complete work
that was assigned in the term in which the withdrawal occurred, even if the deadline for such assignments was previously extended by the instructor or by the residential college dean.
8. Transcripts of students withdrawn from Yale College It follows that if a student with-draws from Yale College by midterm, the transcript will not show that the student has been enrolled in any course during that term. If a student withdraws from Yale College after midterm, but before 5 p.m. on the last day of classes before the reading period, the transcript will record the student’s courses with the designation W (Withdrew).
If a student withdraws from Yale College after the beginning of the reading period, the transcript will show the student’s courses with grades of F unless an instructor reports a passing grade for the student in any of the courses. The only exception is for a student who withdraws from Yale College for medical reasons after the beginning of the reading period but before the end of the term; see paragraph 5 above.
G. Reading Period and Final Examination Period
1. Due dates for course work It is expected that instructors will require all course assign-ments, including term papers, to be submitted at the latest by the last day of reading period. (For the dates of the reading period and final examination period, consult the calendar at the beginning of this bulletin.) Instructors do not have the authority to give permission for this deadline to be extended beyond the end of the term; only the resi-dential college dean has this authority (see “Work Incomplete at the End of Term” in section H). Even if an extended deadline should be announced by the instructor, a grade reflecting work submitted after the end of the term cannot be accepted unless a Tem-porary Incomplete was authorized by the student’s residential college dean.
2. Reading period The Yale College Faculty established the reading period between the end of classes and the beginning of final examinations in order to provide a period of about a week during which students might conclude their course work and prepare for final examinations. The instructor of each course determines whether or not that course observes the reading period. A course that does not observe the reading period is identified in chapter III by the abbreviation “RP” at the end of the course description.
The assumption underlying the faculty’s institution of the reading period was that no additional assignments would be required during the reading period in a course observing it, but that students would use the reading period in their own way to con-solidate and augment the work of the course. Such being the case, no final examina-tion may be administered during the reading period. A final examinaexamina-tion in a course, whether or not the course observes the reading period, must be administered during the final examination period. No take-home final examination may be due during the reading period.
3. Final examinations Yale College expects every course to conclude with a regular final examination or with a substitute for such an examination. The substitute should be in the nature of a final examination in that it requires the student to demonstrate profi-ciency in the discipline and subject matter of the course. Substitutes may include, for
example, an oral presentation or examination, a term essay due at the latest before the beginning of the final examination period, or the last of a series of hour tests admin-istered during the last week of classes. Final examinations normally last either two or three hours but, in either case, students are permitted to take an additional half-hour before being required to turn in their answers. This additional time is given for improv-ing what has already been written, rather than for breakimprov-ing new ground.
4. Scheduling of final examinations The Registrar’s Office has assigned a specific time and date for the administration of final examinations in most courses in Yale College.
The time of the final examination is determined by the meeting time of a course during the term. If the meeting time of a course is changed from that originally published, the time of the examination is defined by the new meeting time. If a course is published with no scheduled examination but the instructor subsequently decides to offer a final examination, it must be administered at the time defined by the meeting time of the course. A schedule of final examinations may be found on the page “Final Examination Schedules” at the front of this bulletin.
5. Date of administering final examinations Since the final examination schedule has been carefully designed to make efficient use of the entire final examination period and to minimize overcrowding of students’ schedules, a final examination must be administered on the date and at the time specified. On occasion instructors have admin-istered final examinations at times different from those assigned. Such an arrangement is allowed under the following conditions: (a) that two different and distinct final examinations be administered; (b) that one of these examinations be administered at the regularly specified time within the final examination period; (c) that the alterna-tive examination be administered during the final examination period; and (d) that no student be required to obtain permission to take the alternative examination.
6. Take-home final examinations Take-home final examinations are sometimes substituted for regular final examinations. If a course has been assigned a final examination date, a take-home examination for that course is due on the scheduled examination day. If a course has not been assigned a final examination date, a take-home examination for the course is due on the day specified in the final examination schedule by the meeting time of the course. (See “Final Examination Schedules” at the front of this bulletin.) If a course does not meet at a time covered by the final examination schedule, a take-home examination may not be due during the first three days of the final examination period. No take-home examination may be due during the reading period.
7. Due dates for term grades An instructor is required to submit term grades promptly after the completion of a course. Fall-term grades are due by 5 p.m. on January 3, 2012;
spring-term grades are due within one week of the end of the final examination period;
spring-term grades are due within one week of the end of the final examination period;