Darton State College 2016-2017 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 six to eleven hours are considered
“part-time.” The maximum normal academic load 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. Institutional credit courses 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 three-
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 two to
three 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 - 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:
During the one-week period immediately following the first day of class, each faculty
member notifies the Office of Registrar of those students on the class roster who have
never attended class or actively participated in their online course. The students will be dropped and
the course will not appear on the students’ permanent academic records.
Up until midterm or “last day to drop without academic penalty,” the faculty member may withdraw