2007-08 Academic Catalog	home FAQs request

Registration Information 

Once you have been accepted for admission to Concordia College, you will receive registration instructions. You will be assigned a faculty adviser who will assist you in planning your course of study and answer your questions or direct you to the proper source of help on campus.

First-year registration: Your first contact with a faculty member will be during summer registration, a program designed for first-year students. The Office of the Registrar annually schedules these sessions to enable new students to meet with faculty members and plan their schedules for courses in the fall. If you come to the Concordia campus for summer registration, you may also tour the buildings, classrooms and residence halls, and talk with professors and students attending summer school. Music interviews will be held for interested students. Summer registration is optional, but strongly recommended. Advisement and registration can also be completed before the first day of classes in the fall. Summer registration assures you of registration in consultation with a faculty member and gives you a chance to become acquainted with the campus before arriving in the fall.

Transfer-student registration: The registrar and advisers work individually with transfer students during the registration process. Early application is strongly urged; information on registration is mailed soon after acceptance. A transfer student is not permitted to register until he or she has furnished the college with an official transcript of credits certifying good standing at each of the accredited collegiate institutions previously attended. Transfer credit must be earned with a grade of C– or better, and must be from an accredited school to be transferable. Misrepresentation, omission of information or failure to provide information may cause delay or be grounds for dismissal.

Advance registration: Twice a year, currently enrolled students may register in advance for the next semester. Near the end of the first semester, registration is held for the second semester; near the end of the second semester, registration is held for summer sessions and the first semester of the following academic year.

Late registration: Students who are unable to register at the regularly scheduled times are accommodated individually by the registrar or assistant registrar. Registrations cannot be accepted after the 10th academic day.

Maximum registration: Normally, the maximum registration per semester is 4.25 course credits. Applications for exceptions to this rule may be made to the registrar and are considered on the basis of grade point average and anticipated date of graduation. A “normal load” is considered to be 4.0 course credits. Academic work taken off campus is considered part of a student’s load.

Changes in registration: During the first five academic days of each semester, students may revise their class schedules in the Registrar’s Office without the formal drop/add procedure. However, students wanting to add a course that is already at capacity enrollment must obtain the signature of the instructor on a permit card, then return the card to the Registrar’s Office by the end of the fifth day. After the initial five-day period, students must follow the standard procedure for dropping and adding courses.

Adding a course: To add a course, students must obtain a drop/add form from the Office of the Registrar. The effective date of change is the date the form is submitted to the Office of the Registrar. Signatures of instructors and the adviser must be obtained on the form. A full-semester course can be added through the 10th academic day of the semester, and “block” courses may be added through the sixth academic day of the block.

Dropping a course: To drop a course, students must obtain a drop/ add form from the Office of the Registrar. The effective date of change in registration is the date the form is submitted to the Office of the Registrar. Signatures of instructors and the adviser must be obtained on the form. A full-semester course may be dropped through the sixth academic day after midsemester break. A block course may be dropped through the 20th academic day of the block. After the final deadline, a full-semester course cannot be dropped.

Full-semester courses dropped after the 10th academic day and block or summer courses dropped after the fifth academic day will be noted on the student academic transcript as “DR” (dropped course). Students dropping ALL courses (withdrawing from college) after the aforementioned dates will have “W” noted on the transcript for each dropped course.

Students with serious and prolonged illness or other serious emergencies wishing to drop a course may appeal in writing to the Committee on Student Academic Performance and Procedures for consideration. Supporting documentation from medical personnel, instructors and/or advisers is beneficial. A student who drops a course without documented permission receives a failing grade in that course.

Withdrawal from college: The final date for withdrawal from college is the last day of classes during the 12th week of the semester. If it is necessary to withdraw from college during the semester, the student must file an application for withdrawal for consideration by the Student Affairs Office. If endorsed, the withdrawal becomes effective on the date it is approved and is reflected on the academic record. Failure to file an application for withdrawal or filing an application late will result in additional charges being assessed as indicated elsewhere in the catalog. Students who stop attending classes and who do not withdraw in the prescribed manner cannot be granted honorable dismissal and will be charged as if they had been attending class.

The college reserves the right to involuntarily withdraw students who discontinue class attendance.

The college also reserves the right to involuntarily withdraw students on academic probation who are not attending classes and who obviously are not going to meet their probation status requirements.

If students engage in behavior that suggests a danger to self or others, or if students’ behavior demonstrates that they are emotionally or psychologically incapable of functioning properly in the college setting, the college reserves the right to withdraw students involuntarily from school after consulting an appropriate family member or guardian and psychiatrist or psychologist.

Military withdrawal: The college will make every effort to accommodate the needs of a student called to active military duty during an academic term. Students who receive orders to report for active U.S. military duty are instructed to contact the Office of Student Affairs. Students in this situation must present their  Military Orders to initiate accommodations regarding coursework in progress. An approved plan regarding coursework must be established prior to a student’s departure.

Generally, there are three approaches that may be taken:

1. If orders are received late in the term, a student may be able to complete coursework prior to leaving.
2. In some situations, it will be feasible for a student to receive an Incomplete in a course or courses. If it is not feasible to receive an Incomplete, a student will be allowed to drop a course or courses with a full refund of tuition and fees associated with the dropped course(s). If a student receives an Incomplete but is unable to complete the work due to a
change in circumstances, the student may appeal to the Committee on Student Academic Performance and Procedures for a retroactive course drop under the same terms outlined above.
3. In many situations, it will be necessary for a student to withdraw from the college to fulfill military obligations. In this circumstance, a student will be withdrawn from all courses with a 100 percent refund of tuitions and fees and unused portion of room and meals.

Leave of absence: Students in good standing may apply for an academic leave of absence, allowing them to take leave from college without having to apply for readmission. Applications will be reviewed by the registrar and dean of students. Leaves may be granted for a period of up to one year. Leaves can be granted for reasons of work, health problems or other study. readmission: If you stop attending Concordia for one or more academic terms and want to return, you must contact the Office of Admissions. Before your application for readmission will be considered, you will be asked to address any pending issues related to your academic, disciplinary or financial status with the college at the time you stopped attending. In some instances, a “clearance meeting” with a college office may be required to resolve a pending issue. Once these issues are resolved, the Office of Admissions will process your application for readmission and inform you of
the resulting decision.

Auditing courses: Anyone wishing to audit (attend a course without seeking credit) must be admitted, register for the course and pay the appropriate fees (see the financial information pages; Concordia employees are not assessed audit fees). The following courses may not be audited: art laboratories, science courses with a lab, clinical experiences, speech, music lessons, physical education activities, pre-May seminars, off-campus programs, or summer school courses. Courses with space available may be audited by obtaining consent of the instructor on the audit registration form (available in the Office of the Registrar). May Seminars with space available may be audited but the total seminar fee is assessed.

The audit grade of AU reflects on an academic transcript that the course was attended. If lack of attendance for an audited course is reported by the instructor to the Office of the Registrar, the registration for the course will be voided as of that date. A maximum of 5.0 course credits total may be taken on an audit basis, with a maximum of 2.0 course credits per semester. Any change from audit to credit must be done by the last day to add a full-semester course (10th day of classes). Any change from credit to audit must be done by the last day to drop a full-semester course (eighth week of classes). Refunds for changes from credit to audit will be prorated on the same basis as refunds for withdrawals from courses taken for credit.

A course completed with the grade of AU may not be changed to credit. A student may enroll to take the course for credit at a later date. An audited course does not apply to graduation requirements or the course load needed for financial aid awards.

Pass-fail registration option: The purpose of the pass-fail option is to encourage students to try courses in fields other than their major or minor. For more information, see your adviser or the Office of the Registrar. Students may take a maximum of 2.0 course credits or their equivalent (including transfer credits) on a satisfactory-unsatisfactory (S-U) basis; no more than 1.0 course credit per department can be graded on an S-U basis, and a course taken for a grade of S-U cannot satisfy any of the 13.5 liberal arts Core course requirements.

The minimum letter grade for passing with a grade of S is a C-. The grade of U is awarded for D and F level work. EDUC 439 — Human Relations and Drug Education, music diction courses and other courses offered only on an S-U basis may be taken in addition to the two-course maximum. Nursing courses required for the major cannot be taken on a pass-fail basis.

Advanced Credit

See the Office of the Registrar for details and fees for the following options.

Advanced Placement: Students may obtain advanced placement and credit in courses at Concordia by scoring 3, 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Program Test of the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB). Credit must be recorded during the student’s first year at Concordia.

Placement of Transfer and Part-time Students: The academic level at which transfer students are placed at Concordia will depend on the work they have successfully completed. If a baccalaureate degree has been previously earned, Concordia will not award another degree.

Part-time student: Part-time study is defined as follows:

Fewer than 1.5 credits = less than half time 
1.5-2.0 credits = half time
More than 2.0 credits but fewer than 3 = three-quarter time

CLEP and Departmental Examinations: You may receive credit in some courses by successfully completing special examinations that test your knowledge of the subject matter.

Two types of credit-by-examination opportunities are available at Concordia. CLEP subject examinations measure achievement in specific college courses. Other subject examinations have been developed by a number of departments at Concordia for departmental use. No more than 5.0 course credits can be applied to the 31.5 course credits required for graduation. See the Office of the Registrar for details and fees for these options.

Veterans Affairs Eligibility: Concordia College is approved by the Minnesota State Approving Agency for Veteran’s Educational Benefits.

To obtain benefits, the veteran must apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. Application forms may be obtained from the Veterans Administration Regional Office. This should be done as soon as possible after acceptance so that the Certificate of Eligibility may be obtained before the veteran comes to the campus.

In granting credit to veterans who have pursued specialized training programs in the armed forces, the college follows the Guide to the Evaluation of Education Experiences in the Armed Services, prepared by the American Council of Education.