Allegheny divides the academic year into two semesters of 15 weeks each. A month-long break, beginning in late December, separates the semesters. Vacations occur during October and in the third week of March.
During semesters, classes typically meet two or three times per week for periods of 75 or 50 minutes. Associated laboratories are usually scheduled separately, although they may be scheduled at the regular class time if appropriate. A Registration Guide listing class times and examination periods for all courses to be offered is made available electronically to all students prior to Registration.
Most courses receive four semester credit hours, and they are designed to require no more than one-fourth of a student's time. Some courses may receive one, two, or three semester credit hours.
The usual academic load is 16-17 semester hours in each semester and 32-34 semester hours for the year. Students may take up to 21 semester hours per semester without special permission.
A student is considered to be a first-year student from the date of matriculation until the semester following completion of the 28th semester hour, when the student becomes a sophomore. A student becomes a junior in the semester following completion of the 60th semester hour, and a senior in the semester following completion of the 92nd semester hour.
The schedule of examinations is published with the schedule of courses on the Registration Web page. Students are expected to arrange their travel and vacation plans in accordance with the examination schedule. Requests for changes in examination times should only be made in the most extraordinary circumstances; approval must be received from the department concerned.
Student grades are reported on either a letter basis or Credit/No Credit basis.
A
4.00 grade points
Excellent
A -
3.70 grade points
B +
3.30 grade points
B
3.00 grade points
Good
B -
2.70 grade points
C +
2.30 grade points
C
2.00 grade points
Fair
C -
1.70 grade points
D +
1.30 grade points
D
1.00 grade points
Passing
F
0.00 grade points
Failure
W
Withdrawal
Credit/No Credit
CR: Credit
NC: No Credit
The following notations are also used in reporting student work:
GP
Grade Pending
L
Leave of Absence granted during the semester
IN
Incomplete
WC
Withdrawal from the College during semester
Students may take up to four credit hours per semester on the Credit/No Credit basis, but may not present for graduation more than 16 credit hours of their coursework on this basis. APL courses are excluded from these totals.
If students wish to take a course on the Credit/No Credit basis, they must inform the Registrar by the end of the second week of classes for 14-week courses or, for seven-week courses only, by the end of the second week of the module. Cards for this purpose are available from the Registrar. Students are cautioned that some courses may not be taken using this option. Courses not eligible for the Credit/No Credit system are so indicated in their course descriptions in the section entitled "Courses of Instruction."
Credit, "CR," will be awarded for course performance equivalent to, or higher than, a passing letter grade, "D." No credit, "NC," will be awarded for course performance equivalent to a failing letter grade, "F."
Faculty stipulate grades of Incomplete ("IN") when they believe that extenuating circumstances preclude completion of the work on time by the student. The student is responsible for providing evidence for the extenuating circumstances to the satisfaction of the faculty member, who has sole authority to grant the Incomplete. Incompletes are awarded with the expectation that the work will be completed by the student in a timely fashion. When instructors submit a grade of Incomplete, they also will submit the grade that will be awarded should no further work be submitted by the student. The instructor should formulate a plan for timely completion of the incomplete work, and this plan should be addressed in the Academic Performance Report the instructor submits explaining the Incomplete grade and specifying a tentative grade.
Examples of circumstances in which the Incomplete is appropriate include, but are not limited to, serious illnesses or injuries that preclude a student from finishing work for a course; cases where the course grade depends on the outcome of an honor code hearing; or death of an immediate family member. An Incomplete should not be assigned when a student simply fails to turn in a final exam or project, nor when there is little likelihood that the student will be able to make up a large quantity of incomplete work (due, for example, to prolonged illness); in the latter case a Withdrawal (see below) may be more appropriate.
After appropriate consultation with the student, the instructor will determine the date by which incomplete work must be completed. In all cases, the work must be completed no later than 30 days after the first day of classes of the semester or summer session in which the student is next registered. Students who have an "IN" but do not register in a subsequent semester or summer session must complete the work within 12 months. Extensions to these deadlines may only be granted by the Dean of the College or designee. If no information is provided by the instructor by the end of the 12 months, the grade that was originally submitted at the time the "IN" was assigned is posted to the transcript.
When the instructor submits the completed grade to the Registrar, this completed grade is posted to the transcript and calculated into the grade point average for the semester in which the student was registered for the course. If no completed grade or other communication is received by the Registrar from the faculty member, the grade that was originally submitted at the time the "IN" was assigned is posted to the transcript and calculated into the grade point average.
Students who have an "IN" but do not register in a subsequent semester or summer session must complete the work within 12 months. If no information is provided by the instructor by the end of the 12 months, the grade that was originally submitted at the time the "IN" was assigned is posted to the transcript.
By Faculty vote, changes in course grades are allowed only in the case of a demonstrable mathematical error in the compilation or recording of a grade; all such grade changes must be made by the Dean of the College.
If, as a result of extraordinary extenuating circumstances (for example, prolonged serious illness), a student wishes to withdraw from a course after the appropriate course registration change period has expired (see "The Change Period," below), the student may ask the instructor to grant a Withdrawal. In such a case, the student is responsible for providing evidence for the extenuating circumstances to the satisfaction of the faculty member, who has sole authority to grant the Withdrawal. When such a request is granted, the student's transcript will reflect a grade of "W," which is not reflected in the student's grade point average.
With the exception of the First-Year/Sophomore Seminars, students may repeat courses at Allegheny, provided the courses are offered again. Whenever a student repeats a course, the academic record and transcript will reflect all course enrollments and the grade earned for each enrollment. From the time of completion of a repeated course forward, only the credit and grade for the most recent attempt will be counted in computing grade point averages. If, however, a student withdraws from a repeated course, the academic record and transcript will include the withdrawal, and the grade previously earned will continue to be counted in computing grade point averages. Students may repeat a course initially taken on the graded basis for Credit/No Credit; however, Credit ("CR") must be earned or the grade previously awarded will continue to be counted in computing grade point averages. In the event a student receives a grade of Incomplete ("IN") for a repeated course, the grade previously earned will continue to be counted in computing grade point averages until such time as the student completes the coursework and a final grade has been submitted.
Transfer credits must be approved by the Office of the Dean of the College and, if they apply toward the student's major or minor, by the department concerned. To be acceptable for transfer credit, a 14 course must be taken in residence at a fully accredited institution and be of a liberal arts nature. It should not duplicate any course already taken or which the student plans to take at Allegheny, and a letter grade of "C" or higher must be earned. Correspondence courses are not acceptable for transfer credit. Transferred course credits count toward the graduation requirement of 131 semester hours, but the grades for such courses are not included in the student's academic average. The Allegheny transcript does not indicate the grades of transferred courses.
The number of credits that can be transferred toward the undergraduate degree is limited by the residency requirement applicable to the individual student. Residency requirements also place limitations on the way in which students may chronologically schedule transfer courses and courses taken in residence as they work to complete the undergraduate degree. For more complete information, see "The Residency Requirement."
Transcripts received from other accredited institutions are evaluated by the Office of the Dean of the College as promptly as possible. Students desiring to have work completed at other institutions considered for transfer credit should arrange to have official transcripts or other appropriate documents forwarded to Allegheny College as soon as possible. No transfer credit can be awarded until the appropriate documents have been received by the College.
Allegheny can accept a maximum of 32 credits from first-time freshmen for work completed prior to matriculation. This includes Credit by Examination (see below), credit obtained for college-level courses offered at high schools by accredited colleges and universities, which are treated as transfer credit, and transfer credit for work taken in residence at accredited colleges and universities. (See "Transfer of Courses" above.)
Students who wish to receive credit for college-level courses offered at high schools or who are now considering taking college or university courses elsewhere should contact the Office of the Registrar for advice about transfer credit and/or selection of courses.
Students may earn college credit at Allegheny by participating in the Advanced Placement Program (AP) of the Educational Testing Service, the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), and the International Baccalaureate (IB) testing programs. Students may receive credit by examination for a maximum of 20 semester credit hours (five courses). The 20-credit maximum also includes college-level courses offered at high schools. (See "College Credit for Prior Coursework" above.)
Students who receive scores of four or five on an AP examination will receive academic credit. Placement will be determined by the appropriate department. AP credit and course placement are considered only after receipt of official examination scores from the Educational Testing Service.
Individuals who perform well on certain CLEP tests may receive both credit and placement, usually at the first-year or sophomore levels. Departments, in consultation with the Office of the Dean of the College, periodically establish which credits may be earned by standardized testing. Students who score five or better on the higher examinations of the IB testing programs may be granted credit and placement by some departments.
All students seeking academic credit for an internship must obtain faculty approval and must register for the internship during the semester or summer session prior to beginning the internship experience. Approval for academic credit for internship experience will not be granted for internships in progress or following their completion. The student's transcript will reflect internship enrollment for the semester or summer session in which the student actually participates in the internship experience. Students may present a maximum of eight semester credit hours of internship credit within the first 131 semester credit hours needed for graduation.
Students interested in participating in an internship experience that is not listed as a departmentally sponsored internship should consult with their academic advisors and the Director of International Programs and Services. Information on possible internships is available in the Office of Career Services.
Internships offer to students several educational and practical benefits. In recognition of the role that internships play in a student's education, the Allegheny faculty voted to integrate an internship page into the student academic transcript. This page includes all non-credit internship experiences that meet the established guidelines. The internship page will be included with the reports of all credit-bearing courses when transcript requests are fulfilled by the Registrar's Office. In order for a non-credit internship to be officially documented, the student must complete a learning contract, which is signed by the student, an authorized representative of the sponsoring organization and the sponsoring faculty/administrator, prior to the start of the internship. The minimum time the student must serve in the internship is 80 hours. The internship should consist of pre-professional responsibilities and both the student and the sponsoring organization must complete an evaluation at the end of the internship. Standards for notation and the learning contracts are available from the Office of Career Services in Reis Hall.
Students must register for all courses for which they seek credit during the College registration days and course change periods by submitting the approved registration cards. First-year students register for fall semester courses during Orientation Week in August. Continuing students (rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors) register each semester for the subsequent semester during the published registration period. Students who are currently enrolled in an approved study abroad or visiting student program should consult with their advisor and the Registrar. Students granted a Leave of Absence who have notified the Office of the Registrar of their intent to register in person may also register during the registration period. Other re-entering and transfer students may register for fall semester during Orientation Week and register for spring semester with the rest of the student body.
The normal process of registration involves the use of the College's WebAdvisor Web page. Through WebAdvisor, advisors may grant approval for students to register. Once students have obtained their personal identification numbers, they may register for courses electronically. In special circumstances, a student may be required to obtain a signed registration card to register for a course.
Students may add 14-week courses through the first two weeks of the semester. Students may drop 14-week courses through the first five weeks of the semester. Students may add seven-week courses through the first two weeks of the module in which the course is offered; they may drop seven-week courses through the first three weeks the module is offered. To add or drop any class, students must submit a completed change of schedule card to the Registrar's Office by the deadlines published in the Registration Guide. Students intending to add a class must secure the written permission of the instructor and notify their advisor; those wishing to drop a class must notify both the instructor and advisor. Students should be aware that, after a class starts, instructors will become increasingly reluctant to admit additional students. Courses dropped will not appear on the official transcript but will appear, as appropriate, on the academic record.
