Darton State College 2015-2016 Catalog

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ACADEMIC Section Eight
REGULATIONS
A. CLASS LOAD AND ATTENDANCE
Although a normal class load is 15 semester hours, students carrying a class load of 12
hours of academic work are considered “full-time” and those carrying 6 - 11 hours are
considered “part-time.” The maximum normal academic load that students may carry is 19
semester hours including physical education and music courses. Enrollment in courses taken
for audit is included in the computation of student class load. In such cases, the credit in
semester hours provides the basis for computing that portion of the student class load.
Faculty advisors will help students in planning their class load each semester.
Semester Credit Hours - Darton State College calculates semester credit hours for both
college degree credit courses and institutional credit courses. In general, college degree
courses are numbered 1000 or higher, and institutional credit courses are numbered less
than 1000, are developmental in purpose. A semester credit hour is the unit of measure of
academic work. In general one semester credit hour is assigned for each class period the
course meets per week. For example, a 3-semester hour class would meet three 50-minute
class periods per week for the semester. Some exceptions to this rule are laboratory, clinic,
studio, activity, and music courses which meet 2 to 3 hours per week to equal one semester
credit hour.
Students Taking an Overload - Students who desire to take more than the maximum
normal load, 19 semester hours, and who have demonstrated exceptional academic
achievement, such as minimum GPA 3.0 or the Dean's List for the preceding semester, may
appeal to the dean of their plan of study for approval of an “overload.”
Students in Academic Difficulty - The College reserves the right to limit the class load
of students doing poor academic work.
Students Employed - Students who work are advised to reduce their class load in
proportion to their work load. Full-time students should not plan to be employed on a regular
basis but should devote their time to academic endeavors. The following work/class load
ratio is suggested:
WORK LOAD CLASS LOAD
45 hours 6 semester hours
30 hours 12 semester hours
15 hours 15-17 semester hours
Student Class Attendance - It is the policy of this college that students are expected to
attend all of their scheduled classes, laboratories, or clinic sessions when reasonably
possible. Some justified and unavoidable absences are expected. Absences in excess of
10% of the sessions scheduled may reduce the grade for the course. A student is expected
to account for absences, preferably in advance, to the instructor of the course and, at the
discretion of the instructor, to promptly make up the work missed.
Darton State College has implemented a No Show/Faculty Withdrawal Policy. The policy
states the following: