Registration

Course Schedule

The normal semester course schedule is 15 to 18 credits. Anyone taking more than this number requires the permission of the Chief Academic Officer or the Registrar. A student taking more than 18 credits will be charged per credit hour for all credits over 18.

Credit Hour Policy

Belmont Abbey College Credit Hour Policy

Traditional Lecture and Seminar Courses

Belmont Abbey College uses the Carnegie Unit as the minimum standard for assigning credit hours. One credit hour therefore requires at least 50 minutes of classroom instruction (recitation, lecture, discussion, testing or evaluation, seminar or colloquium) and two hours of student preparation outside the classroom each week for a fifteen-week semester.

Nontraditional Lecture and Seminar Courses

Lecture and seminar courses offered in nontraditional formats require the same competencies and learning outcomes as those offered in a traditional fifteen-week semester and an equivalent of forty-five hours of work for each unit of credit. Students enrolled in nontraditional courses should expect substantial amounts of work outside the classroom to meet the same competencies and learning outcomes as those required in a traditional course.

Online / hybrid courses

Courses offered in other modes (such as fully online or mixed hybrids of online and seated work) that do not maintain the same number of contact hours award equivalent credit so long as one of the following criteria is met:

a. the course covers the same material in the same depth as a seated version of the same course; or, 

b. the course has been evaluated by the department and by the Academic Affairs Committee (AAC) for content and rigor, and both the department and the AAC have approved the award of credit. Approval must be received and documented prior to the start of the term in which the course is offered.

Laboratory Courses

One laboratory credit is defined as a minimum of two hours of work a week in a laboratory under the supervision of a lab supervisor/instructor and an expectation of at least one hour of additional student work each week for a fifteen-week semester.

Student Teaching

Students obtaining a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education are required to complete nine credit hours of student teaching. This equates to 600 hours of supervised work in a classroom for a fifteen-week semester. Students are also required to complete a three-credit seminar in student teaching that meets two hours a week with a college instructor and one hour a week with a classroom supervisor.

Internship/Practicum

One internship/practicum credit is defined as a minimum of 40 hours of supervised work in a field placement for a fifteen-week semester. Some programs also require additional seminar attendance and/or a paper assignment as part of the internship or practicum experience.

Thesis/Independent Study

A minimum of three hours of student work per week for a fifteen-week semester is required for each credit hour of thesis or independent study credit awarded.

Credit for Prior Learning

Qualified students may obtain course credit for experiential learning as acquired through employment and military experience. See the "Credit for Prior Learning" policy posted elsewhere in the Academic Catalogue.

Permission To Take Courses Elsewhere

With the exception of an elective course, Belmont Abbey College does not ordinarily allow students to take courses elsewhere after matriculation. Degree-seeking students in good standing at Belmont Abbey College who wish to take courses at another institution for the purpose of transferring those credits toward their degree at Belmont Abbey must consult with the Registrar, and with their academic advisor before registering for such courses (credit hours, not grade points, are transferable).  The only courses that will be transferred post-matriculation are courses approved prior to taking them by the Registrar.  Forms to request approval may be found on Self-Service.

Dropping/Adding a class

At the beginning of each semester during the Drop/Add period students may drop a course without a grade on Self-Service or with the assistance of the Registrar’s Office by providing a request in writing via email or in person. Students may voluntarily withdraw from a course and receive a grade of “W” up to the date indicated on the College calendar for the academic session in progress. No student may withdraw from a course after that date.

Full-time and part-time residential students may add a class through the last day of the Drop/Add.

A student in the Abbey Distance Program may add a class up until the second night of each eight-week session. Students enrolled in a 16-week session (with class meeting one night per week) may add or drop classes according to the drop/add schedule outlined above.

All students who receive approval to drop or add classes should meet with their academic advisor. Students may drop or add a class on Self-Service, by emailing the Registrar’s office and copying their advisor, or by filling out a Drop/Add form and handing the form in at the Registrar’s Office.

The Registrar’s Office will then notify the Financial Aid and Business Offices of the changes. If the Drop/Add change creates an additional charge, that charge must be paid before the student is permitted to attend class. If the Drop/Add results in a change to a student’s financial aid, the Financial Aid Office will notify the student in writing. Students are responsible for tuition fees related to the portion of the class they attended, even if they later withdraw from the course. Because it is the responsibility of each student receiving aid to educate themselves on the balance they will owe for a course prior to withdrawing from a class, they are strongly encouraged to ask the Financial Aid Office how the Drop/Add will affect their financial aid before making the change.

Pass/Fail Credits

Among courses chosen as electives, the student may take one (1) course each semester on a Pass/Fail basis; i.e., although subject to all course requirements, the student’s grade will be either a Pass (P) or a Fail (F). The student’s academic advisor must give notice of the student’s intent to take a course on a Pass/Fail basis to the Registrar by the end of the Drop/Add period. No changes are permitted after this time.

Auditing Courses

Auditing courses will be permitted only upon the presentation of a written request that has been signed by the instructor and the student. The student will not be given a grade or receive credit for an audited course, but must follow the regular requirements for registration and class attendance.

Auditing fees are $270.00 for each undergraduate course; however, traditional students who are charged flat rate tuition are not charged for classes they audit. After the Drop/Add period, credit registrations may not be changed to audit, and audit registrations may not be changed to credit. The auditing fee becomes non-refundable after the beginning of the class session.