r. March 09
Student Responsibility & Registration Process
Students are responsible for maintaining an accurate registration record with the Registrar’s Office. Students may view their schedules for accuracy at any time through the Voyager information system and should contact the Registrar’s Office if there are problems. Students are to arrange to meet with their academic advisors, to check and comply with course prerequisites, to review their schedules for time conflicts, and to obtain any required instructor approvals or other pertinent permissions.
Failure to maintain an accurate registration record can result in receiving no credit for a completed course; receiving an ‘F’ in a course not completed; not being certified as a full-time student for insurance, financial aid, sports eligibility, and other purposes; and being assessed a late registration fee.
Students register for classes using the Voyager information system for most courses. To access Voyager use the link from the short-cut box on the main Lawrence web page or the link from the Registrar's Office main page. From the Voyager Main Menu select Academic Information / Registration / REGISTER FOR CLASSES. Registration instructions (printer-friendly registration instructions) and a worksheet are available.
Registration Deadlines & Late Fees
Important Changes for 09-10Important term dates and deadlines are published on the Web by the Registrar's Office. Information about assigned registration times for individual students is available to students on the Check Registration Times & Status page within Voyager (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES). Registration times are assigned by term and indicate the days and times a student will be permitted to register and make class changes.
Students are expected to take a normal class load each term. Prior to the beginning of the term no student will be allowed to register for more than 23 units. Overload permission forms for the current term will be accepted in the Registrar's Office from the first through the eighth day of classes.
Class changes for the current term are allowed through the first ten class days. After the tenth day of classes, students must petition the Faculty Subcommittee on Administration to correct registration problems for the current term and may be assessed a late registration fee of $25 per class addition or cancellation approved from the third week of the term through the last day of classes. The fee increases to $50 per class addition or cancellation made after the last day of classes of the term. The Faculty Subcommittee on Administration may waive these fees when a class change was delayed due to exceptional circumstances such as illness, family emergencies, a curricular decision that could not be made by the registration deadline, etc.
NOTE: Petitions to correct registration problems must be submitted no later than the last day of classes of the academic term immediately following the term for which the registration change is being requested. Petitions received after this deadline will not be approved.
Registration Periods
There are nine registration periods in each academic year. See the Registration Schedule for a complete list. Important term dates and deadlines are published on the Web by the Registrar's Office and contain information on mid-term deadlines and exam periods as well as registration days. Registration dates for which a student is eligible can be viewed on the student's Check Registration Times & Status page in the Voyager information system (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES). New students entering in the fall term will receive information about summer academic advising and registration procedures from the Office of Student Academic Services and the Registrar by e-mail.
Term & Semester Sessions
Lawrence operates on a three-term calendar. Each term is eleven weeks long, ten weeks of instruction and a week of exams. These terms are identified in various drop-down lists within Voyager by the season and the calendar year. For example, the academic year 2009-10 would be represented by Fall Term 2009, Winter Term 2010, and Spring Term 2010.
Lawrence offers students the opportunity to participate in a variety of off-campus programs, most of which are held in semester sessions. Students in the teacher certification program are required to student teach before certification. The student-teaching courses are offered under a semester session as well. Students attending programs in a semester session are not eligible to register for overlapping terms.
Program registration for students attending off-campus programs is handled through the Registrar’s Office. When information is received that a student has committed to attending an off-campus program, the student will be dropped from any Appleton campus courses in the overlapping terms, and registered for a generic off-campus program course. Course detail is added to the student's record when a grade report is received at the conclusion of the program.
Assigned Registration Times
A student's assigned registration times for a particular term are displayed on the Check Registration Times & Status page within the Voyager information system (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES). Assigned registration times may be several hours or many days in duration. Most students will have multiple opportunites to register for each academic term.
During the spring of each year all continuing, degree-seeking students may advance register for classes for all terms in the next academic year. To control the load placed on the computer network for the first round of advance registration, all eligible students will be assigned to priority groups based on degree units earned by February 1. Each group will be assigned to a registration period that includes hours during a regular business day. The students with the most earned units will register first. Students with an identical number of earned units will be assigned to the same priority group. Students who attended off-campus programs in the fall will be awarded additional units equivalent to a minimum full-time course load if a grade report of their work has not been received by February 1. Students will be notified by e-mail when their time tickets for the next academic year have been assigned and are viewable in Voyager.
At this time Lawrence does not use priority groups during other registration periods (10-day class change period at the beginning of each term, continuing advance registration period at the end of each term). All students eligible to register at these times will have the same time registration days and times.
Non-degree students in the Lawrence Academy, General Non-Degree, Teacher Certification, and Audit-Only programs may not advance register for classes. These students will be assigned time tickets for the 10-day class change periods at the beginning of each term only.
Lawrence offers a limited number of programs at the graduate level for high school teachers during the summer. These students are registered through the program application procedures.
Students who have questions about their registration time assignments should contact the Registrar’s Office (webreg@lawrence.edu, x6578, first floor of Brokaw Hall).
Registration Holds
A ‘hold’ on a student’s record prevents some type of action from taking place (release of a transcript, registration, etc.). If a student has a hold that prevents registration, it will be displayed on the Check Registration Times & Status page in the Voyager information system (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES). Until the hold is released, the student will be prevented from adding and dropping classes even if the student's assigned registration time is current.
Advising registration holds will be set before each registration period begins. Students are required to meet with their academic advisors before they may make registration changes. See Academic Advising for more information.
Students who have other types of registration holds should contact the appropriate administrative office (Student Accounts, Financial Aid, Health Center, Student Academic Services, Registrar’s Office) about releasing the hold.
Note: All administrative holds (registration, transcript, as well as other holds) can be seen on the 'View Administrative Holds' page (Student Services Menu).
Academic Advising
At Lawrence academic advising is done by regular members of the teaching faculty. Students are required to meet with their academic advisors at regular intervals to discuss their academic program plans. While each student is responsible for planning and pursuing a course of study to meet program requirements, academic advisors can provide assistance with setting goals, developing an understanding of the student's strengths and weaknesses, determining how to best utilize Lawrence resources, and complying with university academic procedures and regulations.
New students are assigned academic advisors on entry. Junior and senior students are required to have advisors in their majors. Students in the five-year double-degree program must have an advisor for each degree (one from the college and one from the conservatory). Students may change advisors as needed by submitting a completed form at the Registrar's Office, and may consult any member of the faculty as appropriate for advice with a particular issue or concern.
Students are required to meet with their academic advisors prior to making changes in their class schedules. Advising registration holds will be set before each registration period begins for all students who are eligible to register for the current or a future term. Advising holds are created for each advisor; students with more than one advisor will have more than one advisor hold. In order to make any registration changes during a registration period all advising holds must be removed.
Academic advisors release advising holds through the Voyager information system and can review advising hold history for their students by using the Advisor Menu. Students can see the presence or absence of an advising hold by using their 'Check Registration Times & Status' page in Voyager. When an advisor is ill or absent, students should contact the appropriate department chair regarding advising meetings and release of advising holds. Students may also contact the Office of Student Academic Services for assistance with course selection questions.
The Class Schedule
The definitive edition of the Lawrence University class schedule is published on the Web by the Registrar's Office. A class schedule search function is also available. The class schedule includes access to course descriptions, enrollment, and waiting list information.
Each active class section is identified by a CRN (course reference number). Submission of a CRN is required to register for a class. Students may also need to obtain the permission of the instructor, the department chair, or dean as noted in the schedule listing. CRNs are created when a particular course is scheduled in a particular term; they are not reused for the same course term after term.
Registration for laboratory courses is by lab section. Each lab section is assigned a different CRN. In the middle of the term in which it is offered a master class list is created by combining the class lists for each laboratory session. Students who change lab sections after the term begins at the request of the instructor do not need to switch sections in Voyager.
Cross-listed courses are identified in the class schedule. Students must register for the parent class (the only one listed with a CRN), and may request that the course be shown under the alternate listing on their record by submitting a completed cross-list request form to the Registrar's Office. Requests to cross-list a class are processed in the middle of the term in which the class is offered.
Students are responsible for checking and complying with prerequisites, obtaining any required instructor approvals, and checking for time conflicts.
Students with questions not addressed by information published in the schedule, should consult the course catalog, their academic advisor, or the appropriate department.
Class Overloads & Underloads
Important Changes for 09-10The normal class load for a term session is 18 units; the normal load for a semester session is 27 units. To be considered a full-time student (for insurance, visa status, scholarships, loans, sports eligibility, etc.) a minimum load of 15 units for the term and 21 units for the semester is required. The Veteran’s Administration and the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) do not count a class graded with a ‘WP’ towards course load.
Most students will be allowed to register for a maximum of 23 units per term session. Students in the Lawrence Academy (high school students) may take only 6 units per term session. The maximum units allowed for a given term can be viewed on the student's Check Registration Times & Status page in the Voyager information system (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES).
Students who wish to overload (24-30 units in a term session) must obtain the permission of their academic advisor. In general, a student must be in good academic standing, have attended Lawrence for at least three terms, and have earned a 'B' average for the preceding three terms to overload. Students not in good academic standing may not overload. No student will be approved for more than 30 units in a single term.
Permission to overload may be obtained at the beginning of each term for that term only. A completed overload form must be submitted at the Registrar's Office no later than the eighth day of classes of the term.
At times it may be appropriate for a student to underload (take less than 15 units in a term). Students who are considering this option should investigate the consequences VERY CAREFULLY. Less than full-time status can result in the loss of financial aid, scholarships, insurance, VA benefits, eligibility to play sports, student visas, and time to the completion of a degree.
Permission for underloads and overloads in semester-length off-campus programs are determined by the programs rules and procedures, and by the off-campus program coordinator. It is expected that students in such programs will complete a full-time course load.
Prerequisites
Students are responsible for checking and complying with course prerequisites. It is expected that students who register for a course will meet all prerequisites by the first day of classes. Students who will not meet the prerequisites of the course, but believe they have a compelling reason to take it, should contact the instructor for permission before registration.
Students may be asked to document their completion of a prerequisite. During the first week of classes instructors may, but are not required to, cancel the registration of any student who has not met the prerequisites of the course. Please see the Academic Procedures and Regulations section of the course catalog for more information.
Prerequisites for scheduled courses are published as part of the Lawrence University class schedule. Prerequisites for other courses can be found in the course catalog. Students who have specific questions about course prerequisites should contact the instructor of the course, or the appropriate department chair.
Repeating Courses
A course may not be repeated unless a grade of 'F' was received. (Students who earned a D-, D, or D+ and used the S/U option must remove the S/U option to receive credit for the course.) Both the original 'F' and the new grade will appear on the student's permanent record and transcript. The original grade of 'F' will be removed from the computation of a student's degree, major, and minor GPAs upon submission of a repeated course form.
In a number of special cases a subject-number combination may be re-used and appear on a student's record multiple times. Music ensembles, music lessons, tutorials, internships, independent study, and topics courses (if the topic is different) may be repeated as the content and requirements change from term to term, student to student, and section to section. A very few courses are designated as repeatable up to a credit limit.
Please refer to the course description to find out if a course is repeatable. Course descriptions are available through the class schedule and the course catalog.
Limited Enrollment Classes
Important Changes for 09-10Classes with limited enrollment are clearly marked in the class schedule. If a class is full, a student will be able to select the waiting list option in the Voyager registration system ('Add/Drop Classes') during the prior term only. Students who are registered or waitlisted for a limited enrollment class, but no longer wish to take it should drop the class using the regular add/drop procedures in Voyager ('Add/Drop Classes').
On the first day of classes for the term students on the waiting list must attend the first class meeting to obtain a seat. At that time the instructor may cancel the registration of students who do not attend (Note: They are not required to do so.) and offer admission to the class to students on the waiting list in order of their waiting list rank.
Instructors who offer admission to students on a waiting list or to other students who attend the first class meeting will record their approval for students to register in the Voyager information system (Instructor Menu). Such approvals are displayed on the 'Check Registration Times and Status' page in the student registration menu. Students must accept the 'approval' by using the regular add/drop procedures in Voyager to add the class to their schedules. Instructors cannot register students.
Instructor Approvals
An instructor’s approval to register is required
- for any class marked ‘approval required’ (APR) in the class schedule
- for any limited enrollment class in the current term (applies both to students
offered admission from a waiting list and to any other students seeking to
enroll
in the
class). Instructor approval is required starting on the first day of
the term regardless of whether the class meets on that day.
- for any class to be added after the first week
of classes (first five class days) the term in which
it is offered
- for any student in the Lawrence Academy, Teacher Certification, General Non-Degree, or Audit Only programs
Students requesting approval to register should provide the instructor with their complete name and Lawrence ID number, and identify the class by term, subject, number, and CRN. The instructor may ask the student to provide additional information to determine if the student is eligible to take the class. Instructors will record approvals in the Voyager information system (Instructor Menu) and will be able to review all approvals given for any of their courses. Students may view recorded approvals on the Check Registration Times & Status page in Voyager (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES).
It is expected that instructors will record approvals for their own classes only. In the case of instructor illness or other special circumstance, students may be directed to contact the department chair for approval.
Changing Class Options (S/U, variable credit, audit)
Under certain circumstances students may elect to change class options. These are indicated within the registration pages in the Voyager information system (Academic Information/Registration/REGISTER FOR CLASSES). The selection of some options will require the submission of the appropriate form in the Registrar’s Office.
Students who wish to take a class on an S/U (satisfactory/unsatisfactory) basis should refer to the course catalog to determine if they qualify for this option. The S/U option form must be completed and submitted in the Registrar’s Office before the end of the class change period at the beginning of the term in which it is offered.
Variable unit classes (for example, music lessons at 3 or 6 units) are identified in the class schedule. The Web registration system will automatically use the smallest number of units allowed during the registration transactions. To change this number students will need to select the ‘Set Variable Units’ option from the REGISTER FOR CLASSES menu and edit the highlighted data.
The option to audit a class is not available to degree-seeking students, Waseda (CESA) students, or Lawrence Academy (high school) students. Classes taken on an audit basis do not count towards course load. Students must submit an audit form to the Registrar's Office no later than the end of the term's registration and class change period.
Directed Study, Tutorials, IS, Internships, & Supervised Accompanying
Class sections for directed study, tutorials, independent study, internships, and supervised accompanying cannot be created in advance and, thus, made available through the Voyager registration system. These classes are unique to each student-instructor combination. To register for these classes the student must complete the appropriate form (directed study, tutorial, IS, and internship title form or the supervised accompanying form) and submit it in the Registrar’s Office within the regular registration period.
Music Ensembles
Registration for music ensembles occurs through the ensemble directors. Students who have completed required auditions and been admitted to the ensemble need to sign the sheet circulated by the director. The ensemble director is to submit the registration sheet to the Registrar’s Office within the class change period at the beginning of the term.
If a chamber music group forms, but cannot continue to meet after the second week of classes concludes, the instructor is to cancel the class by contacting the dean of the conservatory and the registrar.
Off-Campus Programs
Registration for affiliated off-campus programs occurs through the Registrar’s Office after a student has been admitted and has committed to the program. Students who have committed to the program will be registered for a generic off-campus program course. This listing will be replaced by specific course titles, grades, and earned units when the Registrar's Office receives a final grade report from the program. Registration for specific classes is handled at the particular program site.
Registration for Lawrence off-campus programs (London Centre, Francophone Seminar, and Kurgan Exchange) is done through Voyager using the regular add/drop procedures once the student is approved to attend the program.
Non-Degree Students
Students in the Waseda (CESA) and Visiting/Exchange programs are provided advance registration materials in the summer. These students may make registration changes during all regular term registration periods. Waseda (CESA) students may not audit classes. Visiting/Exchange students may audit, but the audited course will not be counted toward their course load for visa and other purposes.
Students in the Teacher Certification, Lawrence Academy, General Non-Degree, and Audit Only Programs may not register in advance of the term. Lawrence Academy students are restricted to one standard course per term and may not audit. Students in these programs must obtain the signature of the instructor to register for any class and may not be given a class seat until degree-seeking students have been accommodated.
