Course Registration

Prior to each course registration period, students are expected to interview faculty for desired classes. Students review the curriculum and semester offerings and discuss course selections with their dons. The interview period allows students to learn more about course content and expectations; to explore possible conference ideas; and, if relevant, to discuss prior experience with the subject.

Course registration takes place immediately prior to the beginning of each semester. Courses are self-selected by students in Online Course Selection (OCS). Dons review and either approve or suggest alternate course selections for their donnees; final don approval is required. Immediately following the OCS period, placements are made available to students on MySLC; students are then registered for courses. Course selection and registration usually has two rounds. Students participate in the second round if they are not initially placed in a full course load; students placed into all first-round selections are not eligible to participate in the second round. Only students who participated in the first round are eligible for second-round selections; second-round participation alone is not permitted. See the Registration pages in MySLC for more information.

Students are expected to register for an appropriate course load (depending on enrollment status) during the OCS period prior to the beginning of the semester. Students who are not actively enrolled by the first day of the fall or spring semester are withdrawn for failure to return. A two-week Add/Drop period follows the initial course registration period for minor schedule changes only. Students should not expect to register for an entire course load during the Add/Drop period. Students with active holds on their records, including balance owed to the College or outstanding required health forms, are not permitted to register for courses. Attendance in classes is permitted only with official course registration.

Students are responsible for regularly reviewing My Courses on MySLC to view their class schedule, Credits by Distribution Area for registered classes and credits, and Unofficial Transcripts for completed credits and grades.

The College’s tuition and fee information per academic year is available on the Undergraduate Tuition and Costs web page. Semester tuition and fees are due before each course registration period, including summer and intersession courses/directed studies. Students with outstanding balances are placed on financial hold, preventing course registration for the upcoming semester. Registered credits exceeding 18 are charged at the regular per-credit rate.

Summer: A 100% refund is issued if the student drops the summer course before the first class meeting. Students may withdraw without a refund during the first week of the course or before the second class meeting. Tuition is charged at the regular tuition rate of the previous academic year for independent study and at 50% of the rate for fieldwork. Tuition is refunded at 100% for directed studies dropped before June 1; no refunds are issued for directed studies dropped on or after June 1.

Intersession: A 100% refund is issued if the student drops a course before the first class meeting or withdraws from the course before the second class meeting; otherwise, the student is responsible for the full tuition. Independent-study courses are charged at the per-credit tuition rate, and fieldwork courses are charged at 50% of the per-credit tuition rate. Tuition is refunded at 100% for directed studies dropped within one week of the end of the fall semester; subsequently, no refunds are issued.

Students must be registered for classes by the first day of the semester. The two-week Add/Drop period begins on the first day of classes and is intended for minor schedule changes only. To participate in Add/Drop, students must submit the appropriate form located on MySLC and approved by the relevant faculty. Students are expected to discuss schedule changes with their don and confer directly with the instructor of the interested class. In exceptional circumstances, students may request permission for late registration from the Office of the Dean of Studies, subject to a $50 fee. Courses dropped during the Add/Drop period do not appear on the official transcript. Courses dropped after Add/Drop are considered a withdrawal; see the Course Withdrawal policy in this handbook.

Summer or intersession courses dropped before the class begins do not appear on the official transcript. A course dropped once summer and/or intersession directed studies are approved is considered a course withdrawal.

Full-time student schedules must include a minimum of two five-credit courses.

First-year students may not take more than one course in the same discipline and may not take two creative/performing arts courses concurrently (which includes First-Year Studies classes). First-year students cannot register for more than 16 credits per semester.

Students may not enroll in two writing courses of the same genre per semester. Only one filmmaking production course and one screenwriting course are permitted in the same semester.

Full-time students generally enroll in 12 to 18 credits in a given semester; however, first-year students and students on academic probation are not permitted to exceed 16 credits of coursework. Students are encouraged to consult with their dons when considering extra coursework (beyond 15 credits) during an academic semester. Registration for more than 18 credits takes place only in the second week of Add/Drop. A student wishing to enroll in more than 18 credits must consult with their don and submit the appropriate form available on MySLC. Credits more than 18 for a single semester are charged at the regular per-credit tuition rate.

In addition to fall and spring semester courses, the College offers a number of yearlong courses. Evaluations for yearlong courses are submitted for both fall and spring, and students receive a grade for the entire course at the end of the spring semester. Students who remain enrolled for the entire yearlong course are assessed and graded according to the expectations of a 10-credit course.

Students enrolled in yearlong courses may elect to drop the course at the end of the fall semester—with the exception of the required First-Year Studies course, which may not be dropped. Students must discuss the request with their don and the instructor, then submit a Yearlong Course Drop form during the Yearlong Drop period. If a student does not continue in the spring portion, the fall portion of the course receives a grade from the instructor. If students do not participate in the Yearlong Drop period in fall, drops may occur only during the Add/Drop period in the spring semester.

Faculty are required to indicate whether a student has completed passing work at the end of the fall semester. Students who have not completed passing work are assigned a grade of “F” for the fall portion, notified by the Registrar’s Office, and dropped from the spring portion. Students who complete passing work in the fall, continue in the course for the second semester but submit a Course Withdrawal Request by the deadline, receive five credits for the fall portion. Students may not submit additional work in the second semester to increase a fall semester grade.

Any student who has a disability and requires accommodations related to course registration at any point in the registration process should contact the assistant dean of access and disability services at disabilityservices@sarahlawrence.edu or 914.395.2235. Examples of registration-related accommodation support include:

• For students with mobility impairments requiring accessible classrooms, help choosing their classes without regard to location
• Assistance with online interviews
• Support in navigating the course registration process

The registrar works with the assistant dean of access and disability services to arrange a location for the class in an accessible classroom space.

Interviewing faculty before course registration is an integral part of the Sarah Lawrence course-selection process. Any student who has a disability and requires accommodations to participate in the interview process should contact the assistant dean of access and disability services who will determine the appropriate accommodations to ensure that the student meets with the faculty for interviews in a manner equivalent to other students. The assistant dean of access and disability services will assist the student in contacting the faculty and setting up the interview.

Students may audit one course each semester, with the permission of the instructor, for zero credits. Audited courses do not include conferences with the instructor or evaluation of written work, but consistent attendance throughout the semester is required. Standard course-registration procedures apply; students may not audit a course without being officially registered. Audit registration occurs only in the second week of Add/Drop, and requests are reviewed and approved by the Office of the Dean of Studies on behalf of the Committee on Student Work. View the Audit Request form available on MySLC.

If approved and properly registered, and the student attended the class throughout the semester, the audit appears on the student’s official transcript. There is no charge for auditing by matriculated Sarah Lawrence students. Students may not convert an audited course into a course for credit, or vice versa, after the Add/Drop period has ended.

Students may take one course each semester on a pass/fail basis by submission of the Pass/Fail Request available on MySLC. Courses taken as pass/fail are subject to instructor approval. The form must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office during the Add/Drop period.

Pass/fail decisions cannot be made retroactively. Students may not convert a pass/fail into a letter grade, or vice versa. A passing grade indicates that the student has done C work or better in the class. Practicum and fieldwork courses are graded only on a pass/fail basis.

Students studying elsewhere are subject to the policies of the host institution and may not request to take a course pass/fail if not permitted by the host institution. If permitted, the limit is a maximum of one course taken as pass/fail. In the event the host college permits pass/fail, a pass (P) must equate to a final grade of C or higher.