Mar 28, 2024  
College Handbook 
    
College Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Scheduling, Registration and Course Information



Scheduling

General

Each semester academic departments are asked by the division deans to submit their schedule of classes for the subsequent semester. The schedule is due approximately the third week of the semester. Each department enters the courses into the College database using the Banner software. Once the schedule is complete, the Registrar’s Office produces a number of reports that the deans use when reviewing the course offerings. These reports include: the schedule, a list of courses sorted by faculty member and an accounting of time pattern usage. These reports are also sent to the department chairs for review.

Faculty members are responsible for communicating any special classroom needs such as an enhanced classroom, computer lab, extra space, etc., to their department secretary who compiles the list for the entire department and forwards it to the Registrar’s Office. This list is used by the Registrar’s Office when making decisions during the room assignment process.

Once the room assignment process is complete, a copy of the department schedule is sent to the chair and the secretary for review. Among the items they must review are meeting times, grade mode, part of term, special notes, instructor assignment and room assignment. Changes to any items should be made prior to the schedule being finalized.

Changes to the schedule (enrollment, days, times, instructor) after the deadline require approval of the department chair and division dean before submission to the Registrar’s Office.

Final Exams

Instructors must follow the final exam schedule as posted in the Keydates and Deadlines (www.oneonta.edu/registrar). The final exam week is part of the 15 class weeks required by the State Education Department. If an instructor does not hold a final examination, the final examination period must be used as the final class day. Exceptions to this may be made only in an emergency and only with prior approval of the department chair and the division dean. Under no condition shall a study day be used to administer a final exam.

Students are held responsible for selecting a course schedule with the final exam schedule in mind. There is no policy preventing a student from having more than two final exams in one day.

Registration

Undergraduate Students

Each semester all matriculated undergraduate students are assigned a time period to pre-enroll in courses for the following semester. Prior to this time students should consult with an academic advisor and check their progress toward degree or program completion. Students pre-enroll in order of the number of hours completed toward their degree, beginning with students with senior class standing.

Students may pre-enroll for all courses in their schedule, including minis and half semester courses at the same time.

Students may only pre-enroll for 17 semester hours of academic course work. PHED activity and MUSC performance course work are excluded from this restriction.

Graduate Students

Matriculated graduate students may enroll in person, by mail, or via the web throughout the pre-enrollment period.

Non-Matriculated (Non-Degree) Students

Non-degree students, those who have not been formally admitted to a degree program, whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, register at the Office of Graduate Studies, Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, Netzer 135. Admission as a non-degree student is required prior to enrollment.

To avoid a late registration fee, all students must enroll prior to the first day of the semester.

Students With Holds

Students who have outstanding financial obligations to the College are prevented from registering for a new term (SUNY Regulations). However, the hold will not prevent adding and dropping courses within a current term if registration already exists.

Students who have not provided proof of immunization for measles, mumps and rubella, those who have not provided transcripts to the Admissions Office as part of the admissions process, and students who have holds placed by the Student Development Office also will be prohibited from registering for a new semester.

Deregistration for Non-Payment

Registration may be canceled for students who have not made appropriate payment arrangements with the Student Accounts Office by the payment deadline. A list of students who have not complied will be submitted to the Registrar’s Office for cancellation of all semester course registration. Students who subsequently pay may re-register for their courses, if seats are still available.

Full-Time/Part-Time Students – Defined

Undergraduate Students

Full-Time. An undergraduate student enrolled in 12 semester hours or more during the fall or spring semester is considered full-time. An undergraduate student enrolled in 6 semester hours or more in the summer is considered full-time. The semester hour load for a full time student is between 12 and 18 semester hours.

A student who wishes to register for more than 18 semester hours* may do so under the following conditions:

  • Students whose cumulative grade point average is 3.00 or above need to obtain advisor’s approval on an add/drop form.
  • Students whose cumulative grade point average is less than 3.00 need to obtain approval of both advisor and appropriate division dean on an add/drop form.

*Note: credits for PHED activity, theatre practicum, and music performance are not counted in the semester hour total when calculating the 18 semester hours.

Part-Time. An undergraduate student who registers for less than 12 hours is not considered a full time student. Fees will be based on academic load and the student will not be eligible for most scholarship and incentive awards.

Graduate Students

Full-Time. A graduate student enrolled in 12 semester hours or more in the fall or spring semester is considered to be a full-time student. A graduate assistant enrolled in 9 semester hours or more in the fall or spring semester is considered to be a full-time student.

Adding Courses

Student Initiated

Students must initiate course adds. Refer to the semester Keydates and Deadlines available on the Registrar’s web page at www.oneonta.edu/registrar. Students may add courses during the first five class days without penalty. Instructor signatures are not required at this time unless the course is closed, has a restriction, or requires special authorization.

After the add/drop period, but before the last day to add a course, students must obtain the instructor’s permission and signature on an add/drop form and process it at the appropriate registration site. A late fee is assessed. The last day to add a full semester course is the 10th class day; for half or mini courses the last day to add is the day following the third class meeting.

Students may not add classes after established deadlines, even if they have attended the entire class. Exceptions may be made if very unusual circumstances exist beyond the student’s control. In such cases, the student should file a petition for exception with the dean of the academic department in which the course is offered.

Instructor Initiated

Instructors may not register students in classes, nor may they request that students be added to class rosters. Registration is the responsibility of the student. Instructors may not add names and assign grades to final grade sheets.

Dropping Courses

Student Initiated

Students may drop a course during the add/drop period without penalty (no fee, no “W” grade). Refer to the semester Keydates and Deadlines available on the Registrar’s web page: www.oneonta.edu/registrar. After the add/drop period, but prior to the last day to withdraw from an individual course, students must complete an add/drop form and process it at the appropriate registration site. Students will receive a “W” and be assessed a late drop fee. Instructor signatures are not required to drop a course.

Students still enrolled in a course after the last date to withdraw from an individual course will be committed to the course and will receive a final grade (not a “W”, incomplete or pending grade), even if the student never attended or stopped attending the course.

Students should not assume that all faculty will use the “WI” option. It is possible for a student to have never attended or stopped attending and receive a failing grade in a course.

Students who withdraw after the first day of classes incur tuition liability. The Tuition Liability Schedule is available by contacting the Office of Student Accounts or at www.oneonta.edu/admin/stacct

Instructor Initiated

Instructors may request removal of a student for reasons of poor attendance up until the last day to drop an individual course. Please see the chapter on Class Attendance.

Repeating Courses

The College is not obligated to provide an opportunity for students to repeat a course that is no longer offered.

Undergraduate Students

For a course initially taken prior to fall 1994 and subsequently repeated, the transcript will reflect both courses and grades; both grades will be calculated in the grade point average.

For a course initially taken in the fall of 1994 or thereafter and subsequently repeated, the transcript will reflect both courses and grades; only the higher grade will be calculated in the grade point average.

In both cases, credit will be granted only once. In courses that are allowed to be repeated (e.g., COMP 100 to a maximum of 6 semester hours), the repeat rule will be applied after the maximum credits are achieved. Exceptions to this (e.g., student fails COMP 100 the first time and wishes to improve GPA via the repeat rule) may be directed to the Committee on Student Progress and Status via the College Registrar (128 Netzer).

Students may not repeat a course using the Pass/Fail grading option, course challenge, or with an independent study registration. Students may not take equivalent courses at this campus or at another institution to replace grades earned at Oneonta. Once students have graduated, they may not repeat a course in order to improve their grade point average.

Graduate Students

Students must repeat required courses for which they earn a grade of “C-” or below unless otherwise stated in the requirements of the individual graduate programs. Required courses may be repeated only once. Elective courses may not be repeated.

Seniors Taking Graduate Level Courses for Graduate Credit

Senior students in their last semester of resident work at Oneonta who have a minimum GPA of 3.00 may take one graduate course for graduate credit. If the GPA is 3.50 or above, they may take a maximum of two graduate courses. In either case, undertaking graduate level work must not delay completion of undergraduate degree requirements. Graduate credits cannot be applied toward a bachelor’s degree. Students choosing this option should understand that this does not admit them to graduate study in a master’s program. Some graduate level courses may not be open to undergraduate students under any circumstance. Students must file a “Senior Enrollment in Graduate Course” form, signed by the course instructor, with their Registration form at the time of registration. The form is available in the Graduate Office. The ratio of seniors to graduate students in a graduate course should normally not exceed 10 percent, but in classes with enrollments of less than ten students, one or two seniors may be permitted.

Course Substitutions

Course Substitution Forms must not be given to students under any circumstances. An updated advisement document (arrow sheet) will be sent to the student when the substitution has been made.

Undergraduate Students

If a student wishes to substitute a course for one of the courses required in the major, in its entirety as registered with the State Education Department, including courses within Related Work or Concentration, the substitution requires approval by the student’s academic advisor in the major; the department chair in the student’s major; and for education majors, the chair of the department that offers the course being replaced or waived.

Forms are available from the Academic Advisement Center.

Graduate Students

Prior to registration, degree students who wish to substitute courses must request their faculty advisor to file a Prior Approval For Course Substitution form. Forms are available from the Graduate Office.

Auditing a Course

The auditing of a course is considered most appropriate when used to expand the educational experience of enrolled students, faculty, members of the College and members of the community. Auditors must complete a Course Audit Request form, available at www.oneonta.edu/academics/conted/auditform.htm or in the Office of Continuing Education, Netzer 135. All course audits require permission of the instructor and approval of the department chair.

Priority of auditors shall be as follows:

  • SUNY Oneonta Students
  • SUNY Oneonta Employees
  • Others

SUNY Oneonta students:

  • May not audit a course in order to prepare for subsequent enrollment in that course.
  • May not audit a course in order to make up work as a result of an “Incomplete” grade.
  • A $50 course audit fee will be charged if not enrolled in SUNY Oneonta courses during the semester in which s/he wishes to audit a course.

Course auditors:

  • Will not be required to meet the requirements of the course
  • Will not be officially enrolled in the course
  • Will not be listed on course rosters
  • Will not earn any credit for the course
  • Will not receive any formal recognition for the course
  • Will not be charged tuition for the course (see Fees below)
  • Will not ordinarily be permitted to audit studio courses or the laboratory or field work portion of courses, or other course experiences which require individual attention or special arrangement
  • May not register until regular registration is completed
  • May not use space or equipment needed by regularly enrolled students

Restrictions:

  • High school students may not audit courses without specific written permission from high school authorities, and then must obtain permission of the SUNY Oneonta instructor and department chair
  • Course auditors not affiliated with the College will have only the privileges of library visitors; they may qualify for community borrower status.

Fees:

  • A $50 course audit fee will be charged for each course audited.
  • Fee payment is due at the time the Course Audit Request form is processed.
  • Course audit fees are non-refundable.
  • Those exempted from the course audit fee are SUNY Oneonta employees, currently enrolled SUNY Oneonta students, and individuals aged 55 and older.

Parking:

  • Auditors not affiliated with SUNY Oneonta (non-students, non-employees) must purchase a parking decal if they park on campus before 4:30 p.m.
  • Upon payment of the audit fee, the Continuing Education Office will issue auditors a letter verifying their audit status. This letter is to be presented to the Traffic Office in Alumni Hall when applying for a parking decal.