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Enrollment and academic status policies

Enrollment

Students are responsible for registering at the scheduled time for all courses and for being properly enrolled in each course. Courses are selected in consultation with the student’s academic advisor, and the student is responsible for seeking the advisor’s approval prior to enrolling.

Normal course load

Although 3.0 course credits in a semester is considered full-time, students will
normally enroll in 4.0 course credits each semester. Students who are receiving funding through the Illinois State MAP grant should enroll in a minimum of 3.75 course credits. Students should complete a minimum of 8.0 course credits each year in order to make normal progress towards the degree. Activity and participation courses are not included in this total.

Overload

A student who enrolls for more than 4.0 academic course credits needs approval of their advisor. A student who enrolls in more than 4.5 academic course credits needs approval of their academic advisor and must receive permission from the Admission and Academic Status Committee. Students in their first semester at Monmouth or who are on probation must also request and receive permission from the Admission and Academic Status Committee (AASC) for anything beyond the normal course load defined above.

Students may take the equivalent of 1.0 participation course credit per semester, up to a total of 5.0 course credits without advisor or AASC permission. Anything above this amount will require approval of AASC. Students in exceptional majors* and programs are only allowed to go above this limit, up to 5.25 course credit, with advisor approval. Any course load above 5.25 course credits will require AASC approval. Music majors are allowed to go to 5.50 course credits including all participation credit.

Definition of exceptional major for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

The College established that majors require no more than 12 courses within a department and no more than 14 courses total (including any prerequisite course work) for each major offered by the college. However, in the case of “Exceptional Majors and Programs,” these maximums can be exceeded. Exceptional majors or programs require more courses either because of the need to meet the requirements of an external body such as an accrediting body, a licensure board, or the requirements of graduate programs.

The specific requirements of Exceptional Majors or Programs will be specifically approved by the Curriculum Committee and any changes to these brought to the Faculty either as an information item or if the Committee thinks appropriate, for vote.

As of the 2019–2020 year, the College has the following Exceptional Majors/Programs:

  • Music
  • Pre-professional Health Programs (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Veterinary Medicine)
  • 3-2 programs (Atmospheric Science and Engineering)
  • Teacher Licensure Programs

Adding or withdrawing from courses

During the first week of the semester, a student may add or withdraw from a course via the online registration system. After the first week of class, students may not add full semester courses. Students should refer to the academic calendar for dates. A student may withdraw from a course up to the ninth week of the semester with the advisor’s signature. The registrar notifies the course instructor of the change. A fee is charged to the student’s account for any schedule change made after the first week of classes in a semester.

The Introduction to Liberal Arts (INTG 101) and Quantitative Reasoning (QRAC 110 and QRAC 120) have been designed to prepare students for future college-level course work. Consequently, a student may withdraw from these courses only when extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control impair his/ her ability to participate in these courses. The student must have written approval from his/her advisor and from the associate dean for academic affairs.

A student may not withdraw from a course after the ninth week of the semester, except for illness or other circumstances beyond his/her control. The student must have written approval from his/her advisor and from the associate dean for academic affairs. Ordinarily, the associate dean will consult with the instructor as well.

Academic status

Classification

A full-time student is any student officially enrolled for 3 or more course credits per semester. Three-quarter time is any student enrolled for 2.25 to 2.99 course credit and a half-time student is any student enrolled for 1.5 to 2.25 course credit. A student who is less than half-time is one officially enrolled for fewer than 1.5 course credits per semester. Official enrollment is defined as the course credits for which a student is registered at the end of the period for adding a course.

Class level

The number of course credits completed at the start of a semester determine the student’s class level for that semester:

Freshman Less than 7 course credits
Sophomore 7 to less than 15 course credits
Junior 15 to less than 24 course credits
Senior 24 or more course credits

Exchange students and other students not pursuing a Monmouth College degree are not assigned a class level.

Audits

Students are permitted to audit courses for enrichment and/or exploration of different fields of study if there is space available at the conclusion of the enrollment period. Auditing a course means attending lecture sessions but not writing papers, participating in laboratory work, or taking exams. The student receives no academic credit for an audited course, but if attendance has been satisfactory, an AU will be recorded on the student’s transcript. If attendance has not been satisfactory, an NAU (Audited Course Requirements Not Fulfilled) will be assigned.

Full-time students may audit a course without charge. Part-time students will be charged an audit fee. Students may change from audit to academic credit during the first six weeks of classes with the permission
of the instructor. Academic credit may be changed to audit prior to the last six weeks of the semester, and the change is noted on the transcript. Students may later repeat an audited course for academic credit. Courses completed as an audit will not count toward any degree requirement.

Independent study

Students may enroll in an Independent Study for credit with the approval of the
chair-person of the academic department to which the course belongs. Independent Study courses may not be used to replace courses that the student previously dropped or for courses in which the student earned a failing grade. Independent Study forms are available in the Registrar’s Office or online. Students must submit the completed form with the required supporting materials to the Registrar’s Office by the end of the last day to add a course for the semester. If the course is to be taken during the summer, the completed application must be turned in to the Registrar’s Office prior to the last day of class for the spring semester.

Repeating a course

Repeating a course is permitted and replaces both the grade and any credit previously earned for the course. The grades for the earlier and later attempt are listed on the transcript, but only the most recent grade is used in calculating the grade point average. Because repeating a course may or may not improve a student’s academic standing and may affect financial aid, students are advised to consult their advisor, the registrar, and the director of financial aid before doing so.

Course by arrangement

Students needing a course already taught at Monmouth College but not offered in a term they need it can apply to take this course by arrangement (CBA). CBA forms are available in the Registrar’s Office. Students must submit the completed form with the required supporting materials to the
Registrar’s Office by the end of the last day to add a course for the semester.

Course policies

Syllabi

Instructors provide a syllabus to students at the first class meeting. Students are expected to be familiar with the syllabus, which includes course learning objectives, assignments and deadlines, and expectations for attendance and performance in the course. Faculty contact information, such as office location and office hours, will also be included in the syllabi.

Attendance

Students are expected to attend class and are responsible for all work assigned by the instructor. Faculty members may establish an attendance policy for any course, which must be stated in the syllabus. Students should refer to the Class Attendance Policy outlined in the Scots Guide for approved, excused and unexcused absences.

When a student’s absences become excessive in the judgment of an instructor, the instructor may require that the student explain or receive permission for any further absences. This requirement is called “no-cut status.” The instructor notifies the student, the student’s advisor and the associate dean of academic affairs of the decision. Students who miss further classes without valid explanation or permission may be dismissed from the course with an F.

A student will be withdrawn from a course if he or she misses the first two meetings of a class with limited enrollment and the instructor has requested that the student be withdrawn. The student will not be withdrawn if he or she has notified the Office of Student Life in advance of the absences and the absences occur for a legitimate reason.

Academic honesty

A breach of the Monmouth College Academic Honesty Policy may result not
only in failure of the course, but in dismissal or expulsion from the college. If a student receives a course grade of F anytime during a semester due to a violation of the academic honesty policy, the student will not be allowed to subsequently withdraw (seek a W or WF as the grade of record) from that course. Please refer to the Scots Guide for a detailed description of the academic honesty policy
and appeal procedure. The F stands as the grade of record.

Final examinations

The final examination period is considered to be a regular part of the semester. The schedule is announced after the semester begins. All courses are expected to include a final exam or culminating experience.

Administrative Withdrawal 

Students are expected to be properly registered for courses and observe and follow the add/drop dates, deadlines and registration policies as noted in the Monmouth College course catalog and academic calendar. Students are expected to attend all courses in which they are enrolled and understand the attendance policies as stated on syllabi.

At the end of the add/drop period (5th day of the start of the semester), all instructors are required to verify course rosters. If a student has been verified by an instructor for non-attendance, the student may be administratively withdrawn from the course.

Throughout the semester, in certain circumstances, Monmouth College has the ability to administratively withdraw a student from a course or all enrolled courses. The College reserves the right based on each individual circumstance, to determine when an administrative withdraw is deemed appropriate and necessary.

Normally, this process may be initiated when the following has occurred:

  • The student is not attending courses for which they are registered, or attendance and work for the course has been unreliable.
  • The student has not responded appropriately or at all to communication received from faculty, advisors, the Registrar, the Dean for Student Success, the Dean of Students, the Dean of Academic Affairs, or other representatives of the College for an explanation of non-attendance.

The process of an administrative withdrawal from courses usually proceeds as follows:

  • The Dean for Student Success, the Dean of Students, or the Dean of Academic Affairs, may identify a student considered for administrative withdrawal. If the student is considered a dependent on parent tax returns or if student has authorized disclosure of educational records to parent or guardian under FERPA, the College reserves the right to also notify the parent/guardian.
  • Once the student is identified and all three Deans notified, the Dean for Student Success attempts to make written contact with the student to warn the student of the impending administrative withdrawal, including the reasons, consequences, and timeline.
  • If the student responds to the warning within 48 hours of the issued written warning, the Dean for Student Success will meet with the student to determine whether the student desires to withdraw from the institution voluntarily, and if not, to identify any conditions for potential continued enrollment with the College, if applicable.
  • If the student does not respond to the warning within 48 hours of issue, after coordinating with the Deans of Students and Academic Affairs, the Dean for Student Success and the Registrar will meet to determine the conditions of the administrative withdrawal and the actions that the student must take to seek readmission to the College in the future. These conditions will be clearly stated in a letter sent to the student, and, if deemed authorized under FERPA, the letter may also be sent to the parent/guardian. It will also be sent to all Deans, and the President of the College.

If the student is administratively withdrawn from course work, the policies regarding the application of a W/WF will apply.

A letter regarding the withdrawal will be placed in the student’s file in the Office of Student Affairs and the Center for Academic and Career Excellence.