IV. Academic Information

1. Numbering of Courses Courses are numbered according to plan, with the first digit indicating the level of the course. The 100-level courses are primarily for first-year students and the 200-level courses for sophomores. However, first-year students may in many instances elect 200-level courses and sophomores 300-level courses; they may even elect courses above these levels with permission of the instructor. Although 300-level courses are primarily for juniors and 400-level courses for seniors, they are open to graduate students with faculty permission.

With regard to language courses, the first digit indicates language level: courses designated 100 are first-year level, courses designated 200 are second-year level, and so on. Students from any class who possess the appropriate background may take language courses at any level, except that students who have not had third-year level courses at Colgate need faculty permission to take advanced-level courses.

The numbering of independent study courses should reflect the appropriate level of the course and be listed in the following series: 291, 391, or 491. If an independent study course is given which is identical to a regular course, it should be numbered and titled the same as that course, except that the letter Z is added to the course number to indicate that the course is being offered independently.

2. Scheduling of Courses The primary responsibility for scheduling of courses rests with the department chair, who, after consulting with the faculty, submits a list of scheduled courses, instructors, meeting times, and rooms to the division director and Dean's Advisory Council for approval. Tentative scheduling is done two years in advance, with the final schedules being submitted for approval before Early Course Registration for a term (in February for the fall term, and in October for the spring term). Any change in this final schedule requires the approval of the division director and the Dean of the Faculty. When a change is approved, it is the responsibility of the department chair to report it to the Registrar.

3. Early Course Registration Students are expected to participate in Early Course Registration (known at other institutions as "pre-registration") at the time announced by the Registrar, usually in November for the spring term and April for the fall term. In advance of these dates the Registrar distributes Early Course Registration booklets containing a list of scheduled courses, instructors, meeting times, and room assignments. Students select their primary and alternate course choices on the form provided by the departments. In order to complete their Early Course Registration, students must secure the signature of their faculty adviser (as well as any required permission for particular courses) before submitting the form to the Registrar for processing in the Banner computerized registration program.

Processing is done by class, with seniors first and first-year students last, and within each class, by alphabetic groups which are rotated each term in order to give all students a fair and equal opportunity in course selections.

4. Registration and Drop/Add Procedures Students will receive their official course schedules in their mail boxes toward the end of the semester preceding the term of registration. The Drop/Add period for courses not at capacity and not requiring faculty permission begins at this time and continues through the end of the semester. On the day before classes begin, faculty representatives from each department are present at the registration arena in order to advise students and record additional dropping and adding of courses in the Banner program. After classes begin, students may add a fifth course.

Students may drop and/or add courses at no charge up to the end of the regular drop/add period, which is usually ten days after the beginning of a term. All registrations, including drop/add and satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade options, must be approved, completed, and submitted to the Registrar by the announced deadline of the drop/add period for a term. After the end of the drop/add period, students are not permitted to register at Colgate or to add any course, although they may withdraw from courses until the end of the ninth week of the term. Students withdrawing from a course receive a W on their transcript.

Additional information about registration and drop/add procedures is contained in the section on "Academic Regulations" in the University Catalogue.

5. Meeting Times of Courses A new daily class schedule was approved by the Faculty in the Spring of 1996. Standard class meeting times vary by days of the week. Morning and afternoon classes may meet three or four times a week, or for double periods, often on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Seminars and laboratories usually run for three class periods on a given afternoon or meet twice a week for double periods. Seminars may also be scheduled during the evening. Faculty should note, however, that classes scheduled after 3:30 and through the dinner and evening hours may conflict with clubs, music, theater, and also official team practices, and are therefore discouraged.

6. Free Periods The daily class schedule also includes free periods to accommodate department and student meetings, colloquia, and examinations in multi-section courses. Classes may not be scheduled or conducted during the free period. The free period may be used, although infrequently, for an extra class in a course. On occasion, the University may schedule campus-wide meetings during the free period.

7. Size of Courses and Prerequisites University policy requires that classes with an enrollment of ten or fewer students must have the permission of the division director and that classes with an enrollment of five or fewer students require the permission of the Associate Dean of the Faculty. Courses with low enrollments will be reviewed by the department chair, division director, and Dean of the Faculty in order to determine future frequency of scheduling (it may be necessary, for example, to schedule low enrollment courses in alternate years).

Placing upper limits on the size of courses should be done with care and only for good cause. All such limits should conform reasonably to the overall needs of the University and must have the approval of the department chair and division director.

Prerequisites for admission to a course should be clearly designated by the instructor, approved by the department chair, and listed for the information of students in the course description in the Colgate University Catalogue and in the Early Course Registration booklet issued by the Registrar. Only in exceptional cases (such as independent study courses) should written permission of the instructor be required for admission to a course.

8. New Courses All new courses, i.e., those not listed in the University Catalogue, must be approved by the Dean's Advisory Council before being offered. A faculty member who wishes to have a new course approved should complete the appropriate form (available from the Office of the Dean of the Faculty) and secure the approval of the department chair and division director, who will forward the request to the Dean's Advisory Council for action. This should be completed by early February for inclusion in the next Catalogue.

9. Independent Study Courses The rules for independent study courses are contained in the section on "Academic Regulations" in the Colgate University Catalogue. A faculty member should not normally supervise more than three to five independent study projects in any one term. Faculty members are not expected to supervise independent study and/or honors projects during a term in which they are not teaching.

In order to enroll for independent study courses, students must complete an Independent Study Application Form which is available in departmental offices. The completed form must be approved by the supervising faculty member and submitted to the department chair for approval no later than the end of the drop/add period. The department chair then forwards copies of the approved projects to the Registrar who officially enrolls students in them.