Registration is the formal enrollment in the College. In registering, the student subscribes to all the regulations, terms, and conditions, academic and financial, as set forth in this Catalog. A student must, therefore, confirm registration during the scheduled registration period each semester.

Normal Registration as a Full-Time Student  

Successful completion of 126 credit hours is required to obtain a Denison degree. A normal semester credit-load is 16 semester hours of credit per semester, enabling a student to meet degree requirements within eight semesters. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours of credit per semester.

Partial Registration

Without special permission from the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, 12 hours shall be the minimum registration for any regular student. With special permission a regular student may register for fewer than 12 credit hours.  Reduced registration could have ramifications for financial aid eligibility. Contact the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs for further information  

Tuition charges for students approved to enroll under 12 credit hours:

• Enrollment between 8 and 12 hours: Full tuition.

• Enrollment under 8 hours: Tuition based on individual credit hour fee.

Excess Registration

The payment of tuition for fall or spring semesters of any given academic year entitles a full-time regular Denison student to 18 credit hours in that semester. See the Annual Cost section of the catalog for the fee, billing, and payment arrangements if taking more than 18 hours in any semester. With extenuating circumstances and evidence of careful planning, a student may request twice during their Denison career to take up to 20 hours and waive the excess hours fee. Any such request should be submitted to the Registrar's Office in writing prior to the beginning of the semester in question.

Auditing

A student who pays regular tuition charges is permitted to audit, with the approval of the faculty instructor and without additional cost, one course a semester for which no credit may be claimed. Audits may not be allowed by the various departments until after credit seeking students have been accommodated.

Special Registration

Special registration is open to certain students who want to take for credit, or to audit, certain courses of special interest but who are not degree candidates, and certain graduates who want to take post-graduate work. A special student may not register for more than 8 credit-hours of academic work except by permission from the Academic Standing Board. A special student desiring credit must submit appropriate credentials to the Office of Admission. If, after one semester, a special student has failed to maintain a 2.0 average, the special standing can be terminated.

Additional Credit

With the consent of the instructor, a student may request to take a course for an additional hour of credit. The nature of the additional work that the student must do in order to receive the additional credit, and how that work will be evaluated, must be clearly outlined in the petition. Usually instructors award one grade, but may choose to assign different grades to the regular course and the additional project.

A student whose petition for additional credit is granted may not drop that credit after the deadline for dropping courses has passed.

Special academic projects including Directed Study and Senior Research are not eligible for additional credit over 4 credit-hours; additional credit over 4-credit hours for Independent Study requires a proposal to be considered by the Academic Affairs Council.

Changes in Registration: Adding of Courses

Students may add courses or credits to their registration during the first two weeks (10 class days) of a semester. The student should consult with the advisor and must have the consent of the instructor and the academic advisor. The appropriate documentation must be filed promptly.

Changes in Registration Dropping of Courses

A drop of a course or credit may be permitted through the end of the ninth week of classes by submitting to the Office of the Registrar a properly completed change of registration form. 

Change of registration after the stated deadlines requires action of the Academic Standing Board. Normally, approved petitions requesting a withdrawal from a course or courses after week nine will result in a "W" [withdraw] grade transcript notation. In extenuating circumstances the Academic Standing Board may approve to have the "W" grade removed. The decision of the Academic Standing Board is final.

Students need not justify or seek approval for the drop through week nine of the semester. The instructor’s signature is required in order to make sure the instructor is notified of the student’s intentions. The advisor’s signature is required to confirm that the student contacted the advisor to discuss the decision to drop the class and learn more about the impact this may have on the student’s progress toward graduation before the class is dropped.

Exceptions to Nine-Week Drop Deadline:

• Private Music Lessons/Ensembles have an add/drop date at the end of the second week of classes. Note that excess hour fees and applied music lesson or other course fees are not refunded after the fourth week in the case of a student withdrawing for any reason from a course or from the University.

• Denison Seminars and other courses including a significant faculty-led travel component have customized deadlines. Drop deadlines for these courses will be set on a case by case basis, normally a minimum of four weeks before the beginning of the semester in which the course is offered. Specific add/drop information for these courses will be indicated in the course registration database. Students who seek to drop after the stated deadline may be charged a fee up to the cost of the individual travel component.

Late Registration

Students failing to register by the deadline date prescribed in University publications and/or failing to respond properly to University official's notices regarding registration shall be withdrawn from all pre-registered courses. Such withdrawal carries with it financial forfeitures of 50 percent of all fees due. Appeal of this action shall be to the Academic Standing Board and, with a resulting decision of reinstatement, normally carries a minimum penalty of $50 and other disciplinary sanctions as deemed appropriate.