Administration

Chapter 5:  Academic Policies and Related Information

• W & L Catalogue

• University Registrar

• Grades, P/F Policy

• Add/Dropping Courses

• Office Hours

• Academic Advising

• Writing Center

• Assisting Troubled Students

• Learning Disability Accommodations

W & L Catalog

 
You can obtain a paper or CD copy of the Washington and Lee Catalogue from the University Registrar’s office and it is also available online at http://registrar.wlu.edu/catalogs/. All academic policies are contained within the Catalogue. All faculty members should familiarize themselves with the University’s academic policies, since these form the basis of our professional relationship with our students.

Questions about academic policies can be directed to the Dean of the College (Hank Dobin, x8746), or the Associate Dean of the College (Janet Ikeda, x8746). The University Registrar or Associate Registrar (x8455) are also helpful resources on policy issues.
 

University Registrar


The University Registrar’s Office is located in the Early-Fielding University Center, facing Lee Avenue.  Information regarding policies and procedures, as well as course registration may be found on the University Registrar’s webpage: http://registrar.wlu.edu
 

Grades, P/F Policy

Check the academic calendar maintained by the University Registrar for the dates that grades are due throughout the academic year.

The Catalogue contains a description of W&L’s grading conventions (e.g. the use of plus and minus with a letter grade). Questions about grading conventions or policies may be directed to either the Dean or Associate Dean of the College (x8746) or the University Registrar or Associate Registrar (x8455).

Non-freshmen students may choose to take courses on a pass/fail basis, with the individual professor’s permission, in accordance with the policy detailed in the Catalog. Note that courses intended to satisfy a requirement in the student’s major may not be taken pass/fail.

Each semester, a copy of grades for each undergraduate student are kept in the Dean of Student’s office (second floor of Elrod Commons).  These are updated in the summer and the first of the calendar year.  These materials may be used by faculty as needed but must not be taken out of the dean’s office.
 

Adding/Dropping Courses

 
Students are expected to be enrolled in a full course load (minimum 12.0 credits in the 12-week terms, 3 credits in the spring term), except in extremely rare circumstances (usually due to documented health concerns). Students may enroll in 12.0 to 14.0 credits of course work, and still be considered to be carrying a normal load. With a credit load of 15.0 credits or more, a student is carrying an overload, which must be approved by an academic dean (17.0 credits or more require committee review – ask an academic dean for details).

Alterations to a student’s schedule may be made without penalty during the drop/add period at the beginning of each academic term. Once classes begin, students must make adjustments to their schedule with a white drop/add form available from the University Registrar’s office or on their web page under Forms. Professors must sign the student’s form to acknowledge that the student has been added to a course roster. During the drop/add period, students do not need signatures for courses they wish to drop; after the first week, signatures are required from all faculty of sections being either dropped or added. Updated course rosters are provided to faculty members after the conclusion of the drop/add period (visit the University Registrar’s web site for details: http://registrar.wlu.edu ).

After the third week of a term, students who wish to alter their course registration must seek the approval of the Faculty Executive Committee, chaired by Dean Larry Peppers.

Note: If international students wish to drop their course load below 12.0 credits, the Office of International Education must first approve the change.

Office Hours
 

All faculty members who are teaching in a given term are expected to maintain office hours, and to make those times known to their students. Office hours should be posted prominently outside the faculty member’s office door.
 

Academic Advising


Most tenure-track faculty members begin advising in their second year, although new tenure-track and multi-year appointees will be invited to the advising meetings held during each semester. At the beginning of the academic year, the Dean of Freshmen (Dave Leonard, x8752) assigns each member of the incoming class to a faculty adviser.  Students generally change faculty advisers some time during the sophomore year when they decide on a major (although they can change advisers prior to declaring a major if they wish).  They are free to ask any tenure-track faculty member in their area of study to advise them.

Direct questions about academic advising to the Associate Dean of the College (x8746) or the Dean of Freshmen (x8752).
 

Writing Center


The University’s Writing Center is staffed by trained tutors throughout the Fall and Winter Terms, as described below. Tutors are drawn from all majors in the curriculum, and they are accustomed to working with students at all levels and from all disciplines.

The Writing Center is open Sunday through Thursday evenings, 8-10pm, beginning the third week of the term, during Fall and Winter Terms. The Writing Center is not open for regular hours during Spring Term. A list of tutors available by appointment is posted outside the Writing Center at that time.

For more information, contact Professor Kary Smout (smoutk@wlu.edu , x8979) in Payne 31.  Additional information about the Writing Center, and the University’s Writing Program is available online: http://writing.wlu.edu/ .
 

Assisting Troubled Students

 
Academic difficulties – Students who are struggling academically have a range of resources available to them:

·        The professor’s office hours

·        Peer tutors (coordinated by the Dean of Freshmen, but available, free of charge
to all students – see the Freshman Program site, http://campuslife.wlu.edu/freshmen/Freshmansuccess.htm#Tutoring%20Services)

·        Writing Center

·        Study Skills training and information (also on the Freshman Program web site)

·        The academic adviser

·        The Associate Dean of the College (Janet Ikeda, x8746)

An email to the Associate Dean regarding a struggling student is always appreciated. The Associate Dean may be working with other professors who have expressed concern about the same student, and a professor’s alert may prevent a deeply troubled student from falling through the cracks of our support system.

Behavioral/health concerns – Students will often confide in their professors regarding their personal concerns. Professors can refer students to a range of University resources (obviously you are not expected or advised to counsel students yourself):

·        The Dean of Students (Dawn Watkins, x8751)

·        The Dean of Freshmen (Dave Leonard, x8752)

·        University Health Center (24-hour service, managed by Dr. Jane Horton, x8401)

·        University Security (x8999 – if a troubled student calls you after business hours, you may need to request that an officer check on or transport a troubled student – feel free to call the Security office, even if the student is off campus.)

For issues related to policy violations, or concerns about a specific member of the University community (e.g. another student, or a faculty or staff member):

·        Designated Officers (DOs) – all of the academic deans, the provost, dean of students, director of personnel

·        CAIR Resources

DOs and CAIRs are the people trained to handle serious claims of interpersonal misconduct (e.g. discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct). You can approach any of them to find out how to proceed with a claim, or to gather information about the function of relevant University policies.

Minor requests – Students often make seemingly simple requests of their professors without realizing that University policies may deny the professor the authority to agree. As one example, professors may not accept extra credit, or a re-written draft of a paper after a grade for a course has been submitted, and use those late submissions as the basis for altering the course grade. WHENEVER a student makes a unique request of you, AND you wish to consider granting the request, FEEL FREE to call the Dean or Associate Dean to review the situation.
 

Learning Disability Accommodations

Students who have a documented cognitive learning disability, and who have qualified for in-class accommodations according to the terms of the University’s Disability policy, will present their professors with a Dean’s Letter to convey their specific needs. The Dean’s Letter is a one- or two-page document prepared for the individual student that summarizes the student’s responsibilities under our policy. It also shows the types of course-related accommodations for which the student has qualified. It must be on original letterhead, and signed by the student and the Associate Dean of the College. Never provide accommodations without first seeing the Dean’s Letter, or speaking with Dean Ikeda.

Students must communicate their needs to their professors as far in advance as possible. All students holding Dean’s Letters have been told that last minute requests for extra time on exams (or for other accommodations) can not always be granted.

All reasonable requests for accommodations accompanied by a Dean’s Letter must be made. Questions about specific requests or recommended accommodations must be addressed to the Associate Dean of the College.

Physical disabilities requiring accommodations are usually handled through the Dean of Students office and follow the same documented process as learning disabilities.

The fact that a student qualifies for accommodations is CONFIDENTIAL, personal information. Professors may share such information only with those who have a need to know (usually deans have a need to know, other professors might, other students do not).

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