Registration

Planning

Students are expected to meet with their faculty advisor before or during the period set aside for registration to discuss course choices. Academic Services staff members can assist students as they prepare for registration and registration conversations with their faculty advisor. Students who have not conferred with their advisors may not be eligible to enroll in courses.

Registration Procedures

New students are registered for courses before arriving for their first term. During the registration completion period (add/drop) changes to a student’s class schedule may be made only with the approval of the faculty advisor and instructor involved.

For registration during the term, students should plan their schedules with their advisor. During the registration period, students contact their prospective instructors for 4000-level courses in order to request placement in the course. For 2000-level courses, students register directly online.

Please note: Students who have outstanding balances due from a prior term or who have not satisfied other requirements connected to a financial lock (i.e. Financial Aid paperwork) will not be permitted to register.

Tutorials

Tutorials are courses designed collaboratively between students and faculty and generally address content and/or learning opportunities that are not represented in the regular curriculum; they also occasionally serve as the structure through which students complete advanced work. They supplement—but do not replace—the curriculum as the central venue for teaching and learning at Bennington. Students with approved Plans may propose an individual or group tutorial with a faculty member if both agree that a tutorial is the best way to address a particular topic or approach; faculty are under no obligation to offer tutorials. Tutorial applications are to be completed by the student (in consultation with the faculty sponsor), and are due to the Office of the Registrar prior to the add/drop deadline. Students are generally limited to one tutorial per term, but may in exceptional circumstances take two when endorsed by the Plan committee. Students are also limited to four total in their time at Bennington unless they have secured permission from the Office of the Provost. Tutorials appear as regular, credit-bearing courses on one’s transcript; student work is assessed and evaluated based on the expectations set forth in the tutorial application.

Auditing

Auditing permits students to attend classes; it does not obligate them to hand in any work, nor does it obligate faculty to evaluate work. Students may audit a course only with prior approval from the course instructor and the Office of the Registrar. In order to formalize an audit, students should complete an add form and indicate on the form that they intend to audit. No credit is awarded for audited courses and students may not change an audit to a credit-bearing course after the add period (see below).

Add/Drop/Withdrawal Policy

All students, in consultation with their faculty advisors, may make adjustments to their course schedule at the beginning of each term. This is accomplished through individual outreach to faculty members and completion of Add/Drop forms, which are available online in the Student Forms and Resources section on the Registrar's webpage and require the approval of the course instructor and faculty advisor. Students who begin a class late (add the class after it has begun) are generally considered absent for the classes they missed and are not excused from completing the missed work. Students should always be certain to check course attendance policies and monitor total absences, especially when they have missed earlier class sessions due to a late addition.

During the first two weeks of each term, dropped full-term courses are not noted on the transcript; between the third and eighth weeks, they are noted as “withdrawn” on the transcript. Students are not allowed to withdraw from full- term courses after the eighth week without permission from the Office of the Provost and Dean and this permission is given only in exceptional circumstances (see withdrawal from a course in the second half of a term below). Note: Deadlines may be different for 3- or 7-week courses.

Students may not withdraw from a course to avoid failing due to an issue of academic dishonesty.

Withdrawal from a course in the second half of a term. When a course cannot be completed for some exceptional circumstances (e.g., illness, injury, or extreme personal circumstances) following the withdrawal deadline each term, the student must speak with the faculty member, the faculty advisor, and the Office of the Provost to request permission to withdraw. (Accommodations under ADA and Title IX that include withdrawals after the deadline are reviewed and approved by Academic Services.) When applicable, documentation from medical care providers must be submitted to Academic Services for these withdrawals. Withdrawals are noted on transcripts. No refunds are given for withdrawn courses. Normally, withdrawals must be requested before the last day of class each term. No credit is granted for withdrawals; therefore, cumulative pace is affected when students withdraw from a course. See the Quantitative Standard section for information about minimum cumulative pace requirements.