Policy

Term Check-In

Although most students have selected their courses prior to the beginning of the fall and spring terms, all students (new, continuing, transfers and readmits) must officially check-in at the beginning of each term — Blocks 1 and 5.  This process validates the student’s arrival on campus, intent to participate in courses for the semester and to fulfill all financial obligations. Failure to do so may result in courses being dropped. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the registrar’s office if they will not attend for the term.

Preregistration

Preregistration is a formal process for registering for courses in advance. Preregistration at Colorado College is unique in that the Points System (a 40- point per semester, sealed bid-system) will determine who is enrolled and who is placed on a waiting list for a course based on the student’s point bid. Colorado College’s academic year is broken up into 8 blocks; blocks 1 – 4 take place in the Fall and blocks 5 – 8 take place in the Spring. Students are required to register in a course for each block per semester. The majority of block courses take place over a one-block period (1-unit), however, there are also block course offerings that take place over a two-block period (2-units). Students can sign up for any combination of the two to total a minimum of 4 units each semester. To submit their Preregistration for processing, each student is assigned a Preregistration Passcode (a 6-letter combination code) for each Preregistration term. All students must meet with their Advisors to receive their passcode for the term; passcodes will not be accessible at the Registrar’s Office.

FALL PREREGISTRATION

In the spring (block 7), students will participate in Fall Preregistration to plan out their next full academic year. Students will be allowed 40-points to distribute between their blocks 1 – 4 courses and 40-points to distribute between their saved course choices for blocks 5 – 8. Fall Preregistration will formally process course registrations and points for the following fall semester and enroll students in courses or place them on a waiting list based on the student’s point bid. Students’ spring selections and points will be saved as a draft to be revisited and processed during Spring Preregistration in the fall.

SPRING PREREGISTRATION

All students, returning and new first-years, will participate in Spring Preregistration in block 3. If a student has already created a saved draft of their spring course selections and points, they will be able to either revise or formally submit for processing. Like Fall Preregistration, students will be allowed 40-points to distribute between their blocks 5 – 8 choices. Spring Preregistration will formally process course registrations and points for the spring semester and enroll students in courses or place them on a waiting list based on the student’s point bid.

FIRST-YEAR STUDENT PREREGISTRATION

Separate from Fall and Spring Preregistration, new first-year students participate in First-Year Student Preregistration in block 2. New first-year students are mandatorily enrolled in blocks 1 and 2 with their First-Year Experience courses. First-Year Student Preregistration is the formal process for new first-year students to register for blocks 3 and 4 and to select their spring courses to be saved as a draft to return to during Spring Preregistration. In First-Year Student Preregistration, students are allowed 20-points to distribute between their choices for blocks 3 & 4 and will be enrolled in courses or placed on waiting lists based on the student’s point bid. Students will also have 40-points to distribute for their saved spring course selections. *Note for Transfer Students: New transfer students are not required to take an FYE, First Year Experience course. Transfer students admitted in the Fall or Winter send their course registrations to the Registrar’s Office before classes begin and can choose from the complete course listings; typically courses that have availability. Transfer students do not bid points for courses offered in their first semester at CC because Preregistration for returning students has already been processed.

Extended Format and Adjunct Courses

Extended format and Adjunct courses are partial-credit (0.25 or 0.5) courses taken over the course of a semester at the same time the student is enrolled in full-credit block long courses.  

In extended-format courses, students may take no more than one extended-format course per semester (one-half unit) and one extended-format course spanning the year (one unit) unless the dean’s office grants permission for an overload.

In each adjunct course, students may earn one-quarter unit toward their degree requirement for each semester of work. Students may take no more than three adjunct courses per semester unless the Registrar’s Office grants permission for an overload. In no case may students count more than two total units of adjunct credit towards the general education degree requirements.

Course Changes

Students are permitted to add a course in progress during the first two days of a block with the consent of the instructor. They may drop a course through 5 p.m. Tuesday of the second week. The half-block may be dropped by Thursday at 5 p.m. Students should be aware, however, that adding a course after the first two days of the block will be difficult or impossible, so that credit for the block will be lost if the course is dropped after the first two days. Students may add or drop courses to be taken in future blocks at any time prior to the beginning of those courses without the instructors’ consent. Exceptions to the procedure must be authorized by the dean’s office and affected professors. Students may not drop a course if involved in an Honor Council investigation.

One of the primary goals of the Block Plan is to provide a framework within which students may devote all of their formal academic efforts to one course. Thus, it is not possible to register for more than one principal course during a block. However, students may also enroll in a maximum of three adjunct courses and a maximum of .5 unit of extended-format courses per semester. Students may also take a maximum of .5 units during the January half-block. Unapproved overloads result in a loss of credit.

Waiting Lists

A student is permitted to be on one waiting list for each block. When an opening is available in a course, the student first on the waiting list is automatically added when a space becomes available. Notification will be sent to the student’s Colorado College e-mail address. If a student is enrolled in another course the same block, this course is automatically dropped. Students who are allowed into class from the waiting list by the professor on the first day of class must officially add the course through the drop/add application with the consent of the instructor. Students who fail to officially add the course lose the option of taking the course on the Pass/Fail option and must take the course for a letter grade.

Procedures

None

Definitions

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