Introduction
Course Registration takes place on the Web using the myBerea Web portal. For up-to-date Registration information, please see the Schedule of Classes for the registration term on myBerea. The course schedule also is available online at www.berea.edu/classes. Current students also should watch for important announcements in their myBerea e-mail account. (See “Communication Responsibilities on Campus” in the Student Rights and Responsibilities section of this Catalog & Student Handbook.)
Change of Course Schedule
The student's schedule on file at the end of each registration period will be considered official and final. The student is responsible for seeing that the tracking of his or her program is accurate at all times. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for deadlines and procedures concerning adding, dropping, or withdrawing from courses. Approval of the Director of Academic Services will be needed if the change involves an exception to academic regulations.
Overloads
To qualify for an overload, a student should:
- Have an overall GPA of 3.3 or higher. (This provision does not apply to students who are within two (2) regular terms of graduation.)
- Have completed at least four full course credits in the immediate preceding term and earned a minimum 3.3 GPA for all courses completed in that term.
- Have a consistent record of completing courses.
- Have a labor assignment of no more than 10 hours per week for first-year students, or 15 hours per week for sophomores, juniors, and seniors, during the term in which a course overload is requested.
- Request a total load of no more than five course credits.
- Have the approval signature of the Academic Advisor.
Requests for overloads are submitted to the Student Service Center using the Course Registration Form available in the Self-Serve Room (101 Lincoln Hall). Students seeking exceptions to the above criteria should attach a rationale statement explaining any special circumstances to be taken into consideration by the Director of Academic Services, who must approve any exception. The rationale statement should be signed by the Academic Advisor if she or he supports the student being granted an exception.
Credit by Examination
There are three options for receiving credit by examination—College Board Advanced Placement (AP) examinations, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), and Advanced Standing examinations. Students are encouraged to take advantage of any of these as applicable.
NOTE: No examination can be used to satisfy any of the five core classes within the General Education Program, including GSTR 110, GSTR 210, GSTR 310, GSTR 332, and GSTR 410.
Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
Students may earn credit by examination from Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) test scores. Students, including transfers, who have taken AP or CLEP examinations should have scores sent to Berea College (College Board Code 1060). Students will receive AP or CLEP credit, as follows or as approved by future College Faculty action.
NOTE: AP and CLEP credit is recorded as transfer credit and does not count in the GPA.
College Board AP Examinations
To receive AP credit, the student must have taken AP courses in high school and must sit for AP examinations at a high school or college, or at a college testing center location. Credit will be earned as follows:
- Automatic credit is given for a score of 3, 4, or 5 on the same basis as transfer credit from other colleges;
- No placement or credit is given for a score of 2 or below.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
By Faculty action, students will receive credit for CLEP scores at the level determined by the program. The action further provided that, if the program has not established a passing score, the student will receive credit if his or her score is at or above the mean for national private liberal-arts colleges.
- Credit is limited to introductory courses; exceptions must be approved by the appropriate Program Coordinator and the Registrar.
- Credit is granted at or above a score that correlates to a final course grade of “B,” unless additional program requirements have been established.
- No credit is granted for a subject in which the student is required to take a basic (non-credit) course.
- No credit is granted after college work has been attempted in the same subject area.
Berea College Advanced Standing Examination
Students may receive credit for most courses at Berea by obtaining an Advanced Standing Examination application form in the Student Service Center’s Self-Serve Room (101 Lincoln Hall) and arranging for the examination with the Program Coordinator. Upon the student’s request and the Program Coordinator’s approval, an instructor would write an examination. Course credit may be granted by Advanced Standing Examinations administered by the program. If awarded, the credit will be recorded on the student’s transcript under “Advanced Standing Examination,” with the course name. Students wishing to receive Advanced Standing credit for Art courses may submit a portfolio to help show evidence of skills and accomplishments. A student may not receive credit by Advanced Standing Examination in language courses numbered below the fourth level if the course is in the student’s first language. In addition, Advanced Standing Examinations are not given for any GSTR courses.
Failure to Register
If a currently enrolled student fails to complete Registration for the next term and does not submit an appeal to the Registrar for reactivation, the college will assume that the student is withdrawing from College at the end of the current term. Any special circumstances for failing to register by the deadline should be brought to the attention of the Registrar for consideration by the Dean of Curriculum and Student Learning. (See “Withdrawals from the College” and “Reactivation of Currently Enrolled Students” in this publication.)
Course Withdrawal Policy and the Academic Record
Courses dropped during official Registration periods or the first week of class of a regular term will not be reflected on the permanent record. All courses for which the student is registered after the first week of classes in a regular term (and equivalent dates published in the Academic Calendar for Summer terms) will appear on the academic record and the grade reports for that term. The letter “W” (Withdrawn) will be used to indicate courses withdrawn from during the next two weeks of a regular term (and equivalent dates for Summer). Courses may be withdrawn from during the next five (5) weeks (and equivalent dates for Summer), however, instructors will be asked to indicate the quality of the student’s work to that point with a “WP” (Withdrawn Passing) or “WF” (Withdrawn Failing). No course may be withdrawn from during the final eight (8) weeks of a term (or the equivalent for Summer classes). Grades of “W,” “WP,” and “WF” are not used in computing the GPA. Final grades will be recorded for students who withdraw from the College after the last day of regular classes (and equivalent dates). The deadline dates for these actions for each term will be shown in the College’s Academic Calendar, which is published in the Schedule of Classes and online at http://www.berea.edu/. In exceptional cases, e.g. serious illness of a student, permission to withdraw from one or more courses after the tenth (10th) week of a regular term (or equivalent in Summer terms) may be given by the Student Admissions and Academic Standing (SAAS) Committee.
Reactivation of Currently Enrolled Students
Currently enrolled students who fail to register for the next term must notify the Registrar (located in Lincoln Hall) if they wish to be reactivated for the upcoming term. All materials relative to requests for reactivation of current students, including internal processing, must be received for Summer classes or Fall Term by May 1 or by December 1 for Spring Term. Any student failing to confirm by the deadline established by the College must apply to the Dean of Curriculum and Student Learning for reactivation. Notification must be received no later than the end of the first class day. Please be aware that reactivated students are responsible for acquiring their own labor positions. Students who register for the Spring Term and who are not enrolled in Summer classes do not need to be reactivated for the subsequent Fall Term.
Final Examinations
The final examination time for each course is listed in the course syllabus, in the print version of the Schedule of Classes, and under the Advising tab on the student myBerea module (and the Teaching & Advising tab on the faculty module). Any student with more than three (3) examinations scheduled on one day shall be entitled to have an examination rescheduled. The student must submit, in writing, a petition for rescheduling addressed to the Director of Academic Services and turned in at the Student Service Center no later than one week prior to the last class meeting. Faculty may not reschedule a student’s final examination without the approval of the Director of Academic Services.