2008-2009 Catalog - Virginia Wesleyan College

PLAN OF STUDY 31Minor: Students have the option of completing one ormore minors in addition to a major program. This choicemust be approved by a full-time faculty member in theminors department who will certify that the student hascompleted the requirements prior to graduation. No morethan eight semester hours taken to fulfill requirements for astudent’s major (or majors) may also be used to fulfill minorrequirements. A course used to fulfill a minor requirementmay be used to fulfill a General Studies requirement.Students with Advanced Placement credit should consultthe specific department to determine if those semesterhours can be included as part of the minor. Application forMinor forms are due in the Registrar’s Office by March 1for May or August graduation and by October 1 forDecember graduation.A minor shall consist of a minimum of 18 semesterhours (traditionally graded). At least 9 semester hours mustbe taken at the 300/400 level. A minimum of 9 hours mustbe taken in residence at VWC. A 2.0 GPA (C) average isrequired for all courses taken in the minor field. Studentscannot complete a minor in the same area(s) as their major.The requirements for each minor are listed in theappropriate section of this catalog which deals with thatdiscipline.Virginia Wesleyan College offers the following minors:MinorsArt (See Studio Art)Art HistoryBiologyBusinessChemistryClassical StudiesComputer ScienceCriminal JusticeEarth and Environmental SciencesEnglishEnvironmental StudiesFrenchGermanHistoryJournalismMathematicsMedia StudiesMusicPhilosophyPolitical SciencePsychologyReligious StudiesSociologySpanishStudio ArtTheatreWomen’s and Gender StudiesAuditing a Course: Students may audit a course byelecting this option at the time of registration and with thewritten permission of the instructor, the student’s adviser,and the dean of the college. The charge for audited coursesis the same as that for other courses.Less formal arrangements are possible with thepermission of the instructor, but in such instances, thecourse shall not appear as part of the permanent record.Catalog of Entry: Students who have left the college fora time, have not earned additional credit, and have beenreadmitted to Virginia Wesleyan may choose to satisfyeither the requirements listed in the catalog which wascurrent at the time they first enrolled in the college or thosein effect at the time of their application for graduation.Students who have left the college and earned additionalcredit prior to readmission to Virginia Wesleyan mustsatisfy the requirements listed in the catalog at the time oftheir application for graduation.Registration: By the beginning of each semester, studentsare required to formally register for classes at the timespecified in the course schedule prepared prior to eachsemester. Currently enrolled students should register duringadvance registration to have the maximum chance ofobtaining a satisfactory class schedule. Late registrationextends through the first five days of the fall or springsemester. Refer to the Registrar’s Office home page forregistration information and for details concerning courseofferings, procedures, and requirements.Change of Registration: Students may change aregistration (adding or dropping a course, or changing asection of a course) by completing a Course Selection Format the Registrar’s Office. Students wishing to add a courseafter the first week of classes must have the approval of theinstructor, and the course will increase the total hours in astudent’s course load even though another course may bedropped (see “Withdrawal from Course”).Class Attendance Policy: VWC expects students toattend all class meetings of courses in which they areenrolled. Each professor will set an attendance policy andinclude it in the course syllabus. Professors, who bestunderstand the course responsibilities of individualstudents, have sole authority over course attendancepolicies; they may evaluate all excuses for absence anddetermine whether or not to permit students to make upwork missed. Professors may request from the college nurseor a physician a written confirmation of illness, or from thedean of students a written confirmation of the absence forreasons related to co-curricular or extra-curricular activities.Course Loads: A full-time student is one who carries atleast 12 semester hours per semester. A student who carriesfewer than 12 semester hours is classified as a part-timestudent. The following restrictions are placed upon themaximum course load which a student may carry in a givensemester; exceptions to these policies may be made onlywith the written endorsement of the student’s facultyadviser and the approval of the dean of the college: