Information found in this online edition of the 2008-09 catalog is unofficial and for informational purposes only. By authority of the dean of the College, some factual corrections to the printed version may appear here. The official document of record is the printed edition of the 2008-09 Catalog. For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
Course Registration
Course Load Policies
Students must complete a minimum of 128 semester credits for graduation. The normal full-time course load is 16 semester credits. To be considered full-time, a student must take at least 12 semester credits. Students who wish to underload (register for fewer than 12 credits) shall notify the registrar by submitting an underload card. Students who wish to overload (register for more than 19 semester credits) must have a 3.000 cumulative grade point average and obtain written approval from their academic advisor on a card provided by the registrar. Faculty policy recommends that a request to overload be carefully reviewed, taking into account the student's overall academic performance, as well as his or her current schedule. The maximum for which a student may enroll in one semester is 21 semester credits.
Summer semester consists of two six-week sessions. To be considered full-time, a student must take 12 credits during the semester. A student may take up to 9 credits per session and a maximum of 18 credits for the semester. The overload policy for summer semester is the same as that for fall and spring semesters.
Course Numbering
Courses numbered at the 100 level are considered introductory; at the 200 level, intermediate; and at the 300 and 400 levels, advanced. Class standing should generally be used as a guide to enrollment in courses at each level. (For example, first-year and sophomore students generally take 100- and 200-level courses.) Exceptions may be made, taking into account an individual student's academic experience.
Cross-Registration
Graduate School of Education and Counseling An undergraduate student may be eligible to register for courses in Lewis & Clark's Graduate School of Education and Counseling during fall or spring if he or she
- Has completed 93 undergraduate semester credits.
- Has obtained the consent of the graduate course instructor and graduate registrar.
- Is enrolled full-time (is taking no fewer than 12 credits) at the College of Arts and Sciences during the semester of cross-registration.
During the summer term, students need not be registered full-time at the College of Arts and Sciences, but regular Graduate School of Education and Counseling tuition rates will apply.
In order to apply credit earned in a Graduate School of Education and Counseling course to an undergraduate major, the student also needs approval in advance from the major department chair in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Other Private Colleges and Universities Lewis & Clark participates in a cross-registration program with other members of the Oregon Independent Colleges Association (OICA). Under this program, fulltime Lewis & Clark students may enroll in one undergraduate course per semester at another OICA campus without paying additional tuition. However, the host campus may charge special course fees (such as laboratory fees) that apply to all students enrolled in the course. Not all courses at host institutions are covered by the program.
Cross-registration through the OICA program requires approval of both the Lewis & Clark registrar and the host campus registrar. (Approval of both registrars is also required to drop a cross-registered course.) Students should ask their advisor or department chair for information on cross-registered courses that meet program or major requirements.
Students may not cross-register for a course already offered at Lewis & Clark unless there is a legitimate scheduling conflict. Further details on the cross-registration program and a complete list of participating institutions are available from the Office of the Registrar.
Practica, Internships, Directed Study, And Independent Study
Students are encouraged to pursue educational opportunities that occur outside the regular curriculum. These may include student and faculty research collaborations, directed or independent study of topics not covered in existing courses, on-campus activities and practicum experiences, and internships, including both noncredit and for-credit activities. Such learning experiences are a valued part of a Lewis & Clark education. Students should consult with their academic department and the Center for Career and Community Engagement regarding the range of opportunities available to them.
Students must work with faculty to receive academic credit for learning experiences that occur outside the regular curriculum.
244/444 Practica and Internships Courses numbered 244 and 444 enable students to earn credit for a practicum or internship. (Some departments also offer internships that include regular class meetings and therefore bear course numbers other than 244 or 444.) Practica and internships allow students to gain academic credit for field experiences. Faculty supervision ensures a rigorous academic component. Practica typically take place on campus. Internships often occur off campus and entail collaboration with an onsite supervisor who provides direction to the student and reports to the faculty member about the student's onsite performance. Departments determine whether 244 or 444 credit is more appropriate for a particular field experience; likewise, departments determine whether to title an experience as practicum or internship. These activities are usually graded on a credit-no credit basis.
299/499 Directed and Independent Studies Courses numbered 299 and 499 are available for directed and independent pursuit of faculty-supervised study. Topics are limited to those not addressed by the existing curriculum. Such experiences range from studies in which an instructor provides considerable supervision (e.g., convenes small classes or meets regularly with research teams) to independent studies in which students consult with faculty to develop a more autonomous project. Departments determine whether 299 or 499 credit is more appropriate and whether to title a particular experience directed or independent study. Letter grades are the default, but these activities can also be graded on a credit-no credit basis (following the normal procedures for credit-no credit grading).
Regulations The following rules govern students and faculty members participating in practicum, internship, directed study, or independent study opportunities:
- Students may earn 1 to 4 semester credits from any single course numbered 244/444 or 299/499, and up to 4 credits from such courses in a single semester. Students may not apply more than 16 credits total of practicum, internship, directed, or independent study credit toward graduation requirements, and no more than 8 of those 16 semester credits may be from courses numbered 244 or 444. Credit earned for practicum and internship experiences under other course numbers is included in the 16-credit limitation.
- Practicum, internship, directed study, and independent study courses may not be used to fulfill General Education requirements.
- A written agreement between the faculty member and the student is to be finalized before the activity commences. This agreement acts in lieu of a syllabus and specifies the activity to be done, the amount of time to be spent on the activity, the amount of credit to be granted, the nature and length of the product of the activity, and the expectations for both the student and the faculty member. Registration and this written agreement between the student and the faculty member must be submitted to the registrar's office before the activity commences.
- The amount of credit awarded should be based on the academic component of the activity as well as the amount of time spent on the activity. A suggested metric is 2.5 to 3 hours per week per credit over a 14-week term.
- The student must submit a product of the activity to the faculty member by an agreed date. The nature of the product, to be determined by the faculty member and the student before activity commences, should be appropriate for the activity. It is recommended that for a written product, the required length be commensurate with the amount of credit being granted.
- The faculty member will submit a grade (whether letter or credit-no credit) to the registrar at the appropriate time.
- A paid position may qualify for academic credit if the student, faculty member, department (and, in some instances, an off-campus organization or institution) determine it is appropriate and that there is an academic component to the experience that warrants credit.
Procedures To register for a course numbered 244/444 or 299/499, students must follow these steps:
- Obtain the appropriate online form from the Office of the Registrar.
- Meet with the faculty member to complete the form and develop the written agreement.
- Obtain the signature of the faculty member and the department chair. Students pursuing internships must also obtain the signature of the on-site supervisor.
- Submit the form and the written agreement to the Office of the Registrar before beginning the practicum, internship, directed study, or independent study.
Students pursuing an internship are strongly encouraged to contact the Center for Career and Community Engagement to learn about regularly scheduled orientation sessions and support resources.
Repeated Courses
Certain courses may be taken more than once for credit toward the degree (see individual course descriptions). Otherwise, courses that are repeated may not be counted for credit toward the degree. For example, if a student repeats a particular course in order to improve the grade, Lewis & Clark counts the course credits only once toward graduation requirements. Both the original grade and the repeated grade are used in calculating the student's grade point average and will appear on the transcript.
Registration Changes
To add courses after the first day of classes, students must obtain the instructor's signature on the Add/Drop/Withdraw Form, and file the completed form in the Office of the Registrar during the first two weeks of the semester.* Students are not normally permitted to add courses after the second week.*
To drop courses, students must either file a completed Add/Drop/ Withdraw Form or drop the course online by the end of the second week of the semester.* For Exploration and Discovery, the required first-year course, students normally will not be permitted to withdraw.
First-year students must obtain signatures from their academic advisors to add or drop courses, and thus may not make changes online.
Courses from which a student withdraws after the second week appear on the transcript with the grade recorded as W (withdrawal).* Students are permitted to withdraw from a course (except Exploration and Discovery) until the end of the 10th week of the semester by filing an Add/Drop/Withdraw Form. Withdrawal after the 10th week of the semester requires consent of the course instructor.*
Students who need to drop all of their courses after the semester has started will be considered as completely withdrawn for that semester. All courses will appear on the transcript with a grade of W (withdrawal).
In this case, the student must submit either a Leave of Absence form or a Withdrawal form to the Office of the Registrar, depending on whether the student plans to return to Lewis & Clark College in a future semester. Lewis & Clark's policies allow for charges to be prorated based on the date the registrar's office receives notification of the withdrawal. For details, please refer to Policy of Charge Adjustment. Complete withdrawals after the 10th week of the semester require consent from each instructor.11 Failure to officially withdraw may result in failing grades and may jeopardize the student's eligibility to reenroll or to transfer to another institution. In case of illness or emergency, the student can contact the Student Development Center so that the office can initiate formal withdrawal procedures on behalf of the student.
* Dates are compressed for the summer semester. See the academic calendar.