Policies

Academic Policies

Transfer of Credits

A student entering Northland College after having attended any post-secondary institution for any length of time must provide Northland College with all official transcripts for all prior coursework. The Registrar will complete a course-by-course evaluation for all submitted transcripts. Failure to provide official transcripts from all institutions attended will result in an administrative hold being placed on a student’s registration.

Courses completed at an institution outside of the United States require special evaluation by an international evaluation agency. The cost of this evaluation will be incurred by the student and payment will be arranged in advance of the evaluation. The student has the option of having an official international course-by-course evaluation done prior to submitting the transcript to Northland, as long as the evaluating agency is acceptable to the Registrar’s Office. Contact the Registrar’s Office for details.

Only college-level courses from colleges accredited by a regional accrediting agency will be evaluated. A grade of C- or better must have been earned in a course for it to be accepted. The transcripts must come directly from the college of origin and must be accredited at the time the coursework was completed.

A maximum of 65 credits will be accepted from all junior or two-year colleges or any combination of junior or two-year colleges. There is no limit on the number of credits that will be accepted from an accredited four-year college or university.

All courses are evaluated on a course-by-course basis. Courses that are technical in nature are generally not accepted for transfer. Courses that are considered developmental, remedial, or do not count towards graduation at the institution where they are taken are generally not accepted. Internships taken at other colleges may transfer in as elective credit within a department but do not transfer in as internship credit at Northland.

Completed courses that do not have an exact equivalent at Northland may be transferred in as general elective credits or may not be accepted. Some credits more than ten-years-old may require approval from the appropriate Program Coordinator.

In addition to a course-by-course evaluation, previously completed courses will be evaluated for possible equivalency to our Natural Connections core curriculum block requirements. These equivalencies will be listed on the transfer evaluation that all transfer students receive after they have applied for admission and submitted transcripts of work completed at prior colleges.

Students who have received an Associate of Arts or Sciences degree from an institution that required at least 32 general education credits, and who completed their general education courses with grades of C- or better will have fulfilled a large portion of the required Connections curriculum upon entry to Northland. However, transfer students who have not yet earned a bachelor’s degree may be required to complete some portion of the Connections curriculum. The experiential course requirement is also required of all transfer students, but it is possible that this requirement will be fulfilled by prior college course work. Students who enter Northland after earning a bachelor’s degree from another regionally accredited institution will have all requirements of the Connections program waived as well as the Co-Curricular Wellness requirements.

Courses that are repeated are counted only once in total credits earned. If a student is awarded transfer credit for a course and then repeats the course at Northland, the transferred credits will be removed from the student’s record. In addition, a minimum of 30 credits must be earned at Northland College, including at least 20 credits in a student’s major field of study and six credits in a student’s minor field of study to earn a Northland College degree.

Transfer students planning to pursue teacher licensure will be required to meet certain state-mandated general education course requirements before they are eligible for student teaching. A personal interview with the Teacher Education Department Chair is strongly recommended for all transfer students planning to pursue teacher licensure.

Transfer of Credits for Students with Military Training

Transfer students with military training may receive college credit for this training as well as credit for studies completed at service schools, international institutions, and the U.S. Armed Forces Institute. For more information, contact the Registrar’s Office.

Test-Out Possibilities

Students may jump-start or accelerate earning college credit through test-out programs. These programs offer the option of earning credit in areas in which the student already has sufficient knowledge.

The testing programs accepted at Northland are:

• Advanced Placement (AP) examination taken at the high school level (minimum score of 3 required for credit);
• International Baccalaureate (IB) program; and
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP) available through the University of Wisconsin Superior or 800 other designated testing centers throughout the United States. A student must earn a score of 50 or better to receive credit.

To earn credits for AP, IB, or CLEP an official score report must be sent directly to Northland College from the appropriate agency. A maximum of 30 credits from the test-out option may be applied toward your degree. For more information on test-out programs, contact the Registrar’s Office. Credits are not awarded for passing competency exams provided by other colleges.

Student Classification and Course Load

Students are classified at Northland as either full-time or part-time students. A full-time student is a student whose course load totals 12 or more credits in each of the fall and winter sessions and at least 3 credits in the May session. A part-time student is a student whose course load totals fewer than 12 credits in each of the fall and winter sessions and less than 3 credits in spring session.

Normal course loads are 12 to 17 credits for fall and winter sessions and 3 to 5 credits in the May session. Overload charges apply for students taking more than 17 credits in each of the fall and winter sessions and more than 5 credits in the spring session. Students taking 20 credits or more in a single term must obtain approval from the Academic Dean prior to the beginning of the term.

Class Standing

Students are classified as:

• freshmen until they have earned 26 credits;
• sophomores when they have earned 27 to 57 credits;
• juniors when they have earned 58 to 89 credits; and
• seniors when they have earned 90 or more credits.

Grading system

Academic Standings

Northland College expects students to maintain satisfactory academic standing. At the end of the fall and winter terms, grade point averages are calculated and academic standings are determined. Students are informed by email in the event their academic standing falls below the level of Good Standing as defined below. Incomplete grades may prevent the Registrar’s Office from determining an accurate academic standing. Academic standing takes into account the grade point average (GPA) for the term as well as the cumulative GPA.

Good Standing: Term and cumulative GPA is 2.0 or better. A student at the level of Good Standing is considered to be in satisfactory academic standing.

Academic Warning: A student with a term GPA below 2.0, but with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. The student will receive an email from the Registrar’s Office warning of the possibility of Academic Probation and suggesting possible interventions to help improve academic performance.

Academic Probation: A student with a cumulative GPA below 2.0 but who has earned a 1.0 or better for the term. A student on probation must show satisfactory academic standing in the next subsequent term of attendance in order to avoid restricted probation or suspension. The student must earn a GPA greater than 2.0 to bring up the cumulative total. The student will remain on probation until the cumulative GPA is 2.0 or better.

Restricted Academic Probation: A student who was previously on academic probation and has a cumulative GPA below 2.0 but has earned a 1.0 or better for the term; who has earned a term GPA of less than 2.0 for two consecutive terms; or who has successfully petitioned his or her Academic Suspension. A student on Restricted Academic Probation has conditions or restrictions placed on his or her continued enrollment before each term. The student must meet with his or her advisor to work out a plan of action to insure improvement in his or her academic performance. A student who does not meet these conditions will be suspended. A full-time student on Restricted Probation must earn 12 credits and a 2.0 grade point average during the subsequent fall or winter term as well as meet any other conditions to be eligible for full-time status.

Grade Appeals

When a student requests reconsideration of a grade for a completed course, the instructor must make the change, if deemed appropriate, and the Registrar or Academic Dean must approve it within 60 days from the beginning of the following session. A grade change is permitted for a reassessment of work previously evaluated or for correction of a calculating or reporting error. Instructors must state which reason applies and complete a Grade Change Form available from the Registrar’s Office. Grade changes are not permitted for work submitted late. In addition, a student may not do extra work to raise his or her grade after the final grade has been reported.

Grading is the prerogative of the instructor and s/he is the only person who can change a grade. It is incumbent on the instructor to establish the criteria for grading in the syllabus that is distributed at the beginning of the session. All grades are to be based on established grading criteria and not on personal conduct or opinions unrelated to academic standards. After grades have been reported, if a student feels that a grade has been calculated incorrectly or has been assigned in a prejudiced or capricious manner, the student must attempt to discuss the matter with the instructor. If discussion between the instructor and student cannot resolve the issue, the student may appeal to the appropriate Department Chair. In the unusual circumstance that resolution does not occur at the instructor or department level, the student may appeal to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs who will attempt to reconcile the matter.

Incomplete Grades

A grade of “I” (Incomplete) may be given to a student who has nearly completed a course satisfactorily and then, because of an illness or unusual and substantiated cause beyond the student’s control, has been unable to take or complete the final examination or to complete some limited amount of work. An Incomplete is not given for unsatisfactory work nor is it given if a student misses a final examination without sufficient cause. Incompletes will remain on a student’s transcript unless the work is completed within six months.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Grades Students classified as sophomores, juniors, or seniors and who have a grade point average of 2.5 or better may take up to four courses on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) basis under the following conditions:

• only one course may be taken S/U per session (courses graded S/U for all students are excluded from this count);
• no course required for the Connections curricula, for teacher licensure, or for a student’s major or minor field of study (except internships and field experiences) can be taken S/U;
• a student must satisfy all prerequisites to take a course S/U;
• a student must inform the Registrar’s Office of his or her intention to take a course S/U within the first two weeks of fall or winter session or within the first four days of the May session;
• when grades are reported, the Registrar’s Office will record an S if a student earns a letter grade of C or better or a U for a course in which the student earned a C-, D+, D, or an F; and
• the Registrar’s Office will not report to any instructor the names of students who are registered in a course on an S/U basis nor will the student be required to do so.

Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades do not affect a student’s grade point average. In addition, if a course is offered only S/U for all students, it will not be counted as one of the four courses allowed.

Registration

Students are notified via their Northland email two weeks prior to the opening of online registration. This allows students to meet with their advisors to prepare a schedule for the upcoming term and to be granted registration clearance. Full details regarding the registration process can be found on the student web portal of my.northland

Courses Requiring Instructor Consent: Students need to complete an Add/Drop Form for courses that require instructor consent or for prerequisites to be overridden. Instructors must sign the form for this purpose, but advisors do not need to sign.

Special Courses

Special courses include Internships, Independent Studies, Arranged Courses, Field Experience, Senior Thesis, Teaching Assistant, and Research Assistant. Students may enroll in special courses provided they meet all eligibility criteria. These courses cannot be added to a student’s schedule until all required forms are completed and processed by the Registrar’s Office. For more information regarding these courses click here.

Special Students

A special student (non-matriculating) is an individual who is taking classes but not pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree at Northland College. These students may be fulfilling degree requirements for another institution, attending for personal enrichment or career advancement, or have completed a degree at Northland College but have returned to complete an additional major, minor, concentration, or emphasis. Students who are non-degree seeking are not eligible for federal or state aid.

A non-matriculating student wishing to register for 5 or fewer credits must complete the Special Student Registration form, which is then submitted to the Registrar’s Office with payment. A non-matriculating student wishing to register for 6 or more credits must go through the Admissions Office prior to registration.

If the student wishes to enroll in a program and work toward a degree, the student must go through the admissions process and will become a matriculating student at that time.

Audit Courses

After obtaining permission of the instructor, a student may audit a course and regular course work will not be required. Art and music studio courses may not be audited. Audit courses appear on a student’s transcript with a grade of “AU.” A change to credit or audit status may be declared during the add period of each session, and a student must fill out a Special Student registration form or an Add/Drop Form to make the change. See the Tuition section for information regarding the audit fee. Applicable course fees are required for audited courses.

Add/Drop Courses

Students wishing to add one or more courses once the term begins must complete an Add/Drop Form available from the Registrar’s Office. Students must obtain a signature from the instructor of the course they wish to add. Courses will not be added to the student’s schedule until the completed forms are received by the Registrar’s Office.

Students may drop courses online via the student web portal on my.northland until the end of the add/drop period each term. Drops requested up to and including the second Friday of the fall or winter sessions or the first Wednesday of the spring session will be removed from the transcript. A student who drops a course after these dates will receive a “W” (Withdrawn) for the course. Any student withdrawing from a course later than the second Friday after mid-session of the fall or winter session, or later than the second Monday of the spring session, will receive an “F” for the course. Exceptions to this policy will only be allowed in unusual circumstances by petitioning the Academic Standings Committee.

Petitions for late add/drop of courses approved by the Academic Standings Committee after the add/drop period will be charged a late add/drop fee.

Administrative Drop Policy: A student who registers prior to the first day of class but who misses the first two meetings of a 50-minute class or the first meeting of a class that meets for 75 minutes or longer may have his or her registration in that course cancelled by the instructor.

Faculty-initiated drops must be received in the Registrar’s Office by Wednesday of the second week of the fall and winter sessions; this policy does not apply to the spring session. If extenuating circumstances prevent a student from attending the first meetings of a class, the student must contact the instructor or the Registrar’s Office prior to the first class meeting to make alternative arrangements and to confirm registration in the course.

Repeating Courses

Any course may be repeated unless otherwise noted. The credit and grade earned in the course most recently taken will be used to calculate the accumulated credits and the cumulative grade point average. The previously earned grade will still appear on the transcript even though it no longer is calculated in the GPA or accumulated credit totals. Some courses may be repeated for duplicate (or more) credit and are noted as such.

If a student fails a course within one of the required Natural, Growing, or Superior Connections curricula, he or she must repeat the course in order for the block to be considered completed. Repeat rules relating to calculation of GPA will be as described above. In the rare case that the failed class is not offered again, the student must complete a similar course approved by the Connections curriculum program coordinator in order to complete the block. In this case, the previously failed course will remain in the student’s GPA and not be replaced by the grade earned in the substitute course. A student is required to repeat an entire two-course block if he or she fails both of the block courses.

Courses within a Natural, Growing, or Superior Connections block cannot be repeated unless the original grade earned was a grade of F.

Course Substitution Policy

Occasionally students may find they are unable to take a requirement as stated in the College catalog. Under these circumstances students may substitute an approved course for a requirement within a major or minor. Depending on the requirement, certain restrictions and procedures apply.

Major and/or Minor Requirements

Under the following conditions, a course may be substituted in a major or minor.

• Transfer Equivalency - Upon further review of an initial transfer evaluation, a department chair may propose to change an equivalency or to accept a transfer course in lieu of the current requirement.
• Course Cancelled and Replacement Non-Specified - Substitutions may become necessary when a course is cancelled.
• Time Conflict - Sometimes time conflicts occur and courses cannot be arranged or taken in a subsequent session.
• Teacher Education Program Requirements - The Education Department Chair may substitute all elementary education requirements, all secondary education licensure requirements (not including courses within teaching majors/minors), and the specified breadth courses for teacher education that may result in liberal education substitution within those areas.

No other reasons are allowed for substitutions. Substitution forms must be filed with the Registrar’s Office.

Under exceptionally rare and unusual circumstances a substitution may not be available. If this is the case, a student may seek a waiver by petitioning the Academic Standings Committee.

Transcripts

Students and graduates have access to unofficial transcripts through the my.northland student portal.

Official transcripts are obtained by submitting a request form, which can be found on the bottom of the home page of the website at www.northland.edu. For security purposes, this form requires the student Social Security or Student ID number and signature. It can be submitted to the Registrar’s Office either by fax, scan and email, or U.S. mail. This form is required regardless if requesting an official or unofficial transcript. Official transcripts will only be released if all financial obligations have been fulfilled.

Each transcript request is $5. The option of UPS overnight delivery is available for an additional charge.

Please allow three to five days for processing. Official transcripts are mailed. Unofficial transcripts can be faxed with permission or mailed. Only grades earned at Northland College will be computed for determining cumulative grade point average (GPA) and academic status.

Academic Integrity Statement and Policy

The Faculty of Northland College value academic integrity as a guiding principle for the intellectual inquiry, research, discussion, and writing that are central to the academic program of the College.

When faculty and students participate in these activities, or when students are completing assignments, quizzes, or exams, they are expected to act with honesty and to acknowledge when they have incorporated into their own work the ideas, information, or language of others. Failure to make these acknowledgments in an appropriate manner is a violation of academic integrity.

Students are responsible for understanding and using appropriate forms of acknowledgment and documentation in their academic work at the College as well as for completing assignments, quizzes, and exams with integrity. When they fail to do so, individual faculty members may penalize students in a manner consistent with policies outlined in their syllabi. These penalties may include, but are not limited to, failure of an assignment or a course.

In addition, faculty are required to notify the Dean of the Faculty about all documented violations of academic integrity. Records of these violations are maintained in confidential files by the Office of Academic Affairs and are correlated to identify individuals with multiple or particularly severe violations. These records are also reviewed by the Director of Teacher Education to assure continued eligibility for teacher licensure.

When the severity or quantity of an individual’s academic integrity violations warrant, the Dean of the Faculty may request that the Academic Standings Committee review an individual’s records. If the committee determines that the severity or number of violations warrants action, the committee may act independently of course instructors to penalize a student. These penalties may include placing a student on academic probation, suspending a student, or dismissing a student from the College.

If a student believes that s/he has been wrongly accused of violating academic integrity, the student may request that an ad hoc review panel be convened by the Dean of the Faculty. Requests for an ad hoc review must be made within ten business days of the accusation.

The ad hoc review panel is chaired by the Dean, and must include two faculty members and two students selected by the Dean in consultation with the President of the Northland College Student Association. Once convened, the Panel will determine how to proceed with an investigation of the violation in question and will establish a timeline for its completion. The outcome of the investigation will be communicated in writing to the student and faculty member(s) involved and will guide the Dean in a final decision about the case.

Academic Suspension

A student with a cumulative GPA below 1.5, who earns less than a 1.0 GPA during any session, or who was on Restricted Probation and failed to comply with the conditions as prescribed. All suspended students must appeal or petition for reinstatement. First-served suspensions are for one session while subsequent-served suspensions are for one academic year. A student may immediately appeal his or her suspension if s/he has serious mitigating circumstances that affected his or her performance. A student who successfully appeals his or her suspension will be placed on Restricted Academic Probation regardless of his or her cumulative GPA. (Please see Appeal Process below.)

If the appeal is denied, the student cannot be readmitted to Northland College as a full-time student until s/he has met satisfactory academic standing. The student can meet the standing by enrolling at Northland for a maximum of 8 credits per term and increasing his or her overall GPA to 2.0 or by taking approved courses at another institution and earning a minimum GPA of 2.0*.The student may apply any amount of repeat coursework, completed at Northland or elsewhere, to improve overall GPA.

*Please contact the Registrar’s office for more information on how completing coursework at an institution other than Northland will impact your Northland GPA.

Re-Admittance to Northland College

The re-admittance process is dependent upon the length of time a student has been away from Northland College. Clearance is required from the Registrar’s Office, the Business Office, and Student Services for all returning students. A student who is returning after time off for academic suspension must petition Academic Standings regardless of the length of time the student has been away.

A student returning within a two-year period must contact the Registrar’s Office for re-admittance. These students are allowed to return under their original catalog. A student returning after two or more years must contact the Admissions Office for re-admission. These students will be admitted under the catalog that is in use at the time of readmission.

For more information and clarification regarding the catalog, please see “Catalog Assignment”.

Commencement Participation

Northland College has one commencement ceremony per year, which is held in May on the weekend of Memorial Day. The Registrar’s Office confirms the eligibility of students to participate in the May commencement. The listing of eligible students is then presented to the Faculty for final approval.

Students who qualify for eligibility are those who:

• have successfully met all degree requirements for a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree over the past academic year and did not participate in the previous commencement ceremony;
• are registered and will be completing their final requirements during the summer term; or,
• are Education majors who will complete their student teaching in the fall of the following academic year.

Students who do not fit into one of these categories and would like to walk in the upcoming May commencement ceremony for personal reasons, must submit a petition to the Academic Standings Committee by March 15.

Students who lose eligibility to participate in the ceremony are those who:

• fail a required course in the winter term; or
• are suspended due to poor academic performance in the winter term.

These students may petition the Academic Standings Committee to participate in the May commencement ceremony. Due to tight timelines at this point surrounding commencement, students must contact the Registrar’s Office within 24 hours of the “Final Grades due date” for the deadline to submit a petition. If this timeline is not met, the student may be allowed to participate; however, the student’s name may not be included in the program.

Official Graduation Date on Transcript

Northland College has three conferral (graduation) dates per year, which coincide with the last day of the Fall (December), Winter (May), and Summer (July) semesters. Students who were granted an incomplete in a class during their final semester will have six months to complete the work. Upon completion and submission of the grade by the instructor to the Registrar’s Office, the conferral date that coincides with the student’s last semester will be applied to the transcript. If a student does not complete the work or the grade is not submitted to the Registrar’s Office within the required six months, the student will be required to repeat the course. Upon completion of the course, the appropriate conferral date will be applied.

Students who are completing their final degree requirements elsewhere must submit official transcripts, sent directly from the originating institution, to Northland College. The first conferral date, after receipt of the transcript, will be applied to the Northland transcript.

Leave of Absence Policy

Students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Northland College and who must interrupt their education for a period of not more than one year may be eligible for a leave of absence from the College. Students can be considered for a leave of absence for personal, medical, or financial reasons (non-academic), or for study (academic reasons) demonstrated to be relevant to the student’s academic goals and when the coursework is not available from Northland or other institutions with which Northland College has a formal cooperative program.

Process

To be considered for a leave of absence, a student must complete a Leave of Absence form from the Student Life office. If s/he is seeking a leave for academic reasons, the student must arrange this experience with their academic advisor and receive approval by the Registrar’s Office; for non-academic reasons, approval must be received from the Dean of Student Life. If the reason for the leave is medical or psychological, documentation will be required to support the request. Students will also need to meet with the following offices as necessary: Student Life, Financial Aid, and Student Accounts.

Students granted a leave of absence, and who are in good standing with the College, will be able to access their Northland College email during the approved leave and will receive information regarding registration. During the last semester of a student’s leave of absence, he/she will have the opportunity to pre-register for the following semester by contacting the Director of Career Education and Retention. Students will be assisted in their re-enrollment process, and their return to the college will be coordinated with other campus offices as appropriate. Housing and financial aid applications completed within the stated timelines will be considered as on-time applicants. Northland financial aid awards will be in the same proportion and amounts as the last date of attendance. Students are not eligible to reside on campus, attend classes, or participate in regular campus activities during their leave of absence.

When a student obtains a leave from the college after the start of a semester, the policy for grades assigned to courses for which s/he is registered is the same as the course withdrawal policy. On the leave application, students must indicate the last day of class attendance. A student taking a leave prior to the mid-semester date does so without academic penalty and is assigned a grade of “W.” If a student takes a leave after the deadline for individual course withdrawals and up to two weeks before the end of the semester, he/she will not receive a “W”; instead, they will receive the earned letter grades as assigned by their faculty.

Incomplete (I) grades earned during the semester prior to leaving College are subject to the same college grading policies. Hence, even though students may not be enrolled for the full semester, previous semester incompletes must be made up by the specified dates.

Students who leave the College after the start of a semester will follow the same process and timelines as the withdrawal process for all forms of financial aid and any tuition refunds, if applicable.

Leaves of absence will not extend beyond one academic year. If students do not return from the approved leave of absence, they must contact the Registrar’s Office in writing to withdraw from the College. Students who do not withdraw from the College will be administratively withdrawn. All students who have withdrawn or have been administratively withdrawn must apply for re-admission.

Students Called to Active Military Duty Policy

Northland students called to active military duty with an activation date during a semester have the following options

• receive course grades for the current semester, as approved by instructors, if enough of the semester has been completed (This determination is up to each individual instructor and depends upon different course requirements);
• receive incompletes, if approved by instructors, with the opportunity to complete the courses within the existing incomplete grade policy;
• receive administrative drops with a refund for some courses and grades/incompletes in other courses, if approved by the course instructors (Administrative drops result in the class not showing up as enrolled or attempted for the semester, and administrative drops may not be the best option for students receiving financial aid);
• withdraw from all current semester courses with a full refund of tuition and fees (This would result in no classes showing on a transcript either as enrolled or attempted for the semester, and this may not be the best option for students living on campus or receiving financial aid);
• receive grades of “W” for all classes enrolled for the semester, regardless of date of withdrawal (Refunds will be calculated using the refund schedule published in the catalog, and this may be better than other options for students receiving financial aid or living in campus housing).

Refunds or repayments of VA benefits received by the student will be determined solely by VA regulations.

Name Change Policy

A current student wishing to change his or her official name may do so by providing the Registrar’s Office with official documentation for one of the following:

• valid driver’s license or picture ID;
• Social Security card;
• marriage certificate; or
• court document stating the name change.

Address Change

A current student wishing to change his or her address may do so by providing the Registrar’s Office with the necessary information. This not only includes the address but also the type of address. Students must provide an off campus address as a Legal/Home/Permanent (LHP) address; a Northland College campus mailbox is not a valid LHP.

Official Communication

All currently enrolled Northland College students are provided with access to the my.northland student web portal, a Northland email address, and a campus mailbox. The web portal provides students with general information such as deadline dates, tuition rates, and registration materials; personal information such as grades, tuition balance, schedule of classes and unofficial transcript; and interactive services such as online registration and a GPA calculator. The email address is the official means of communication with the individual student. The campus mailbox is for correspondence that is addressed to the student coming through the U.S. postal office as well as various inter-campus departments. Students are expected to check the portal, email, and their campus mailbox on a regular basis.