Course Changes - Colorado College

Students are permitted to add a course in progress during the first two days of a block with the signature of the professor. 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’ signatures. Exceptions to the procedure must be authorized by a dean and affected professors. Students may not drop a course if involved in an Honor Council investigation.

Dropping a course without authorization automatically results in a grade of No Credit.

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 unit during the January half-block. Unapproved overloads result in a loss of credit.

During the first or sophomore year, students are urged to consult with the department in which they wish to major to determine an appropriate schedule. To allow students ample time to pursue a sound course of study in their major, they must declare the major before registration for their junior year. However, they may change their major at any time.

Waiting Lists

Students are permitted to be on one waiting list for each block. When an opening is available in a course, students first on the waiting list are automatically added into the course after a 48-hour notification period. Notification will be sent to the student’s Worner mailbox. If a student is enrolled in another course the same block, this course is automatically dropped. Students who do not wish to be added to the course may come to the registrar’s office to be removed from the first position on the waiting list within the 48-hour notification period. Students who are allowed into class from the waiting list by the professor on the first day of class must officially add the course by turning in an add slip to the registrar’s office. 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 grade.

Independent Study

A student may initiate independent study to pursue in-depth certain aspects of a subject previously studied or to investigate an area of academic interest not covered in a regular course. The following guidelines should be observed:

• Courses should have specific prior expectations established, clear to both the faculty supervisor and student.
• Courses should have as a prerequisite sufficient prior course work in the area of the project to give the student a good basis for working independently, i.e., they should involve advanced, not introductory work.
• Independent study should normally be for juniors or seniors who are likely to have sufficient academic maturity to succeed in it.
• Courses should require the equivalent student workload of a regular course carrying the same credit.
• Courses should be planned well ahead of time.
• Courses should have the approval of the department or interdisciplinary program chair.
• Consent of instructor is required.

Retaking Courses

Students may repeat a course in which they did not receive a passing grade. Such repetition may be required if a student received a “D” or lower grade in a course in the major field, or a prerequisite requirement. Students may retake a course in which they received a passing grade. However, credit will be awarded only once, and both grades will be calculated into the appropriate GPAs.